Last minute we had to change our trip to the Paklenica National Park due to covid-19, but my gosh am I glad we did. Paklenica National Park is located around 47km from Zadar, which is the airport that we chose to fly into. Flights to Zadar were super cheap and we only booked around 1 month before hand due to our previous flights to Slovenia being cancelled. We hired a car from Zadar but you can also get a bus straight from the airport to Starigrad.
Starigrad is the nearest coastal town to Paklenica National Park which is where we chose to book an Airbnb, it is a great location as you can easily access all the hiking trails (more on Starigrad later).
Paklenica National Park covers just under 100 square km and has a mixture of high peaks and deep gorges and is covered in pine forests (it is stunning). There are several challenging hiking trails (climbing is also super popular) but there are also moderate-easy walks available as well.
There are tons of organised walking tours if you would prefer to follow a guide, but we just decided to make up our own route using the AllTrails app (honestly this app is game changing if you like hiking, especially if you purchase the pro version as you can download a map in advance and use it even when you don’t have a signal)!
You will find the Paklenica National Park Entrance just a short walk from Starigrad (around 15 mins). You can start your walk from Entrance one and choose a trail to follow using the map they provide you with! We didn’t actually start our hike at Entrance 1 instead we hiked up from Starigrad and ended our route close to Entrance 1!
Starting your hike at Entrance will cost you 60 Kuna (June, July, August & September) which is around £7.50 so super affordable! You can also choose to purchase 3 day or 5 day passes and the price goes down! As we didn’t start our hike from Entrance 1 we didn’t actually have to pay an entrance fee! We left as Entrance 1 so we are not sure what would have happened if we had decided to follow a trail from Entrance 1 without paying.
We started our Hike in Starigrad (see photo of location below) and hiked all the way up to Tomici and then continued onto near Ovčji kuk (or that is the nearest place I can see on the map)! Originally we were using all trails but actually we noticed that the route was marked out with red and white signs (which was amazing) so instead we just followed these!
Full Route Map
Starting Point- footpath just off Velebitska Ulica
Be prepared to crawl up several parts on your hands and knees and when going down to go onto your hands and feet! It was slightly challenging at time’s (not gonna lie I did fear for my life) but it is so worth it for the breathtaking views!
We ended our walk at the entrance and headed straight to Taverna Konoba Marasovic for a beer! The food looked absolutely incredible and someone was already booking a table for Saturday evening (it was only Thursday) so we have a feeling it has a good reputation!
Staying in Starigrad
To be honest these isn’t a lot to do in Starigrad itself but if you are visiting Paklenica national park and the Zrmanja Canyon then it is a great place to base yourself (blog post to come!) We chilled out several afternoon by the water (it isn’t really a beach but there are places you can sit)!
- Venture to the port and enjoy dinner, there are a couple of restaurants to choose from. The pizza restaurant (Pizzeria Kaleta) was delicious and the pizzas were huge for just £8 each… oh and they also do a fabulous pina colada!
- Take cash! We noticed that everything was super cheap in Starigrad compared to some of the other locations we visited but we also noticed that a lot of places in Starigrad do not accept card so make sure you have some cash on you!
- If you like running head towards Seline as you can get a lot further that way out of town without having to run along the road with no pavement.
- Visit the Zrmanja Canyon during your visit to Starigrad it is breathtaking and definitely a highlight.
- If you like camping then there are tonnes of campsites to choose from and they are all on the water front as well.
- There is also a huge supermarket in Starigrad called Tommy’s which you can get all your supplies from.
- Pack insect repellent 🦟 there are so many mosquitos, we got attached badly even with the spray on. I would recommend wearing it in the day and night.
