Zadar

Driving Down the Kvarner Coast
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We arrived into Zadar on the Northern Dalmatian Coast close to 8:00pm. Leaving Pula and the Istrian Peninsula around 10:00am, we took our time driving the very winding coastal route through Opatija and Rijeka, headed south through the coastal Kvarner region and made the journey inland at Senj. The road leading inland through the mountains is a bit demanding with many sharp turns and if you are running low on gas you better fill before you hit the mountains because there will not be a gas station anywhere in the approximately 100km drive through the mountains until you reach the motorway and even still you will have to travel on the motorway some 60kms before the next service station appears. We were extremely lucky as our engine practically shut off as we pulled into the gas station.

Colleen in front of Largest Fall
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We headed inland close to the Bosnia-Herzegovina border to visit the famous Plitvice Lakes National Park, known for their many waterfalls. We learned that the lakes, waterfalls and flow of the river as we saw them had not been altered since the last ice age and the park is definitely a sight to see. Plitvice Lakes National Park is huge and if you want to see all that it offers you should stay at least a couple days. There are a few hotels located within the park. But if you are there for just a day trip, enter the park at parking lot #1 and you will be able to see most of the major falls and lakes.

The Sea Organ

Plitvice Lakes
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Zadar, Northern DalmatianCoast. Of all of our stops along the Dalmatian coast, Zadar is by far the smallest and least visited town. If you don’t have plans to see the Zadar Archipelago, one or two days is enough to see all of Zadar. It took us about 2 hours to zigzag the entire town of Zadar and if we hurried we probably could have done it in about 20 minutes. However, small as it is, Zadar has plenty of attractions to see. Our personal favorite was the Sea Organ. We thought they were just steps that led down into the sea, but when we got there, the steps had grooves carved directly into the stone and whenever the waves hit the steps it played music like a gigantic organ. It sounded amazing! The rest of the time was spent relaxing by our hotel swimming pool and having a nice night of downtime to refresh and regroup from our travels.

Plitvice Lakes
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Split and Diocletian’s Palace is next.