My journey across the Island of Pag on a charter yacht

My wife and I have always been fond of sailing, especially around Croatia. We chose Croatia as our main holiday destination because we've already been there several years ago and really enjoyed our stay. This time we decided to visit one of the islands there. We've heard good things about Pag from our friends, so we decided to give Pag a chance. We weren't disappointed. Pag was exceptionally beautiful.  

The weather on our journey was wonderful. We had no problems reaching the island. It wasn't windy at all, which allowed us smooth sailing all the way to the main harbor of Pag Town. Once there, we set anchor and proceeded to explore the island on foot. One of our friends recommended several other places to park your vessel but we didn't want to risk it because of the occasional winds in Pag. The island is really long and narrow with a lot of rocky surfaces, but that didn't stop us from venturing deeper inside the town and the island itself.

After a few miles of walking, we decided it was best to take the cab to town since we were starving for food. Sailing always gets our appetite going. The restaurants there have an amazing offer of food that differ from local and European dishes. We decided to order some of the island's famous cheese and lamb, which proved to be an excellent choice indeed. Everything was so delicious! The name of the restaurant was Dva Ferala and on our way in, I think I overheard someone say that the name means something like "two lanterns". My wife thought it was rather romantic. I concur. Atmosphere was great!

After stuffing ourselves full, we took a nice stroll on the boardwalk of Pag Town where we sat on one of the park benches there and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon soaking up the sun. Birds chirping, cool, fresh air caressing your cheeks, a real Zen-like experience if I may say so. The next day we decided it was time to fully discover all the wonders Pag has to offer so we joined on of the diving clubs there (Foka). We were immediately thrilled to see that one of the groups was getting ready to embark a journey across the Adriatic in search of underwater treasures and marine sightseeing. Joining up with them was a good call. They took us really far away from land, where we equipped our diving gear and submerged. You can imagine my excitement when I saw a sunken ship during our trip. I was really glad I brought my underwater camera. This will make a great photo!

Our last destination was the Zrce beach, a famous destination for younger generations. Zrce is the Croatian equivalent of the Spanish Ibiza. It is literally packing with bars and restaurants that offer non-stop drinks and play loud dance music. We didn't stay too long because Emma wasn't feeling too well, could've been the sun. That day was particularly hot. We decided to cool off with a relaxing swim and while on the beach, one of the locals said we should visit this little fishing village, 7km away from Zrce. The village is called Mandre. Since we didn't have anywhere to spend the night, we decided to give it a go. At first we thought we weren't going to find a place to stay because most of the apartments and rooms had already been booked in advance. This is pretty usual during summer. After all, Pag is a great tourist attraction.  When we were just about to give up, we managed to actually find a nice place to rest and regain our strength. This nice family took us in for one night. They said that their guests hadn't arrived yet, and since it was getting dark they're most likely not to come at all, so they allowed us to have the place to ourselves. If you're ever in Mandre, ask for the apartment Ruzica and you won't be disappointed. We were told that the place is usually booked for the whole summer, so it was pure luck we managed to find room.

Eventually, we set sail back home once we were sure we had seen everything Pag had to offer.  It was a really lovely time and we plan to do it again next year. I hope I've inspired you to visit Croatia and give Pag a chance. Have a nice time and safe trip!