Things to Do in Pag, Croatia

Pag surprised me completely. I went expecting a beach island and instead found a landscape that looks like another planet, a long spine of pale bare rock and stone walls running through the northern Adriatic, wind shaped and sun bleached. It is famous for two very different things, a party that draws thousands in summer, and a cheese, lace and sheep tradition that has gone on for centuries, and it is the surprising mix of the two that makes it worth a visit. Here is my honest list of the things to do on Pag that I came away loving.

Walk the Lunar landscape

The thing that stuck with me most was the land itself. Pag is often called moonlike because huge stretches of it are bare rock, brown and grey and sculpted by the wind, with dry stone walls dividing it into low fields. It looks practically lifeless from the road, until you notice the olive trees and the sheep that make a living here, and then it turns strange and beautiful. The best way to feel it is to pull over anywhere along the coast road and just walk a rough track, with the wind in your face and the blue sea below. It has a stark, quiet drama you will not find on the lush islands farther south.

Wander the old town of Pag

The town of Pag, on the western side of the island, is charming in an unexpected way. Its historic core was rebuilt in the 1400s around a neat street plan, so the lanes are straight and laid out with real order, which is unusual for a Dalmatian town. I wandered the old streets between churches and squares and sat in the sun with a coffee, and it was a calm counter to the party reputation. There is a good historical museum in the old town too, and it does a lovely job of telling the story of the salt, the lace and the sheep that built this place.

See Zrce beach, the party strip

On the other end of the spectrum is Zrce beach near Novalja, one of the best known party beaches in Europe, a stretch of flat pebbles and clubs that host festival style events all summer. If you like electronic music and dancing into the morning, this is your spot, and nothing I say needs to convince you. But I want to be honest that my own favourite moment there was early morning, when the beach was empty and the sea was flat and it was just a good Adriatic swim before the music and the crowds took over. Whatever time you pick, the setting itself, a wide bay of the island’s north coast, is genuinely beautiful.

Taste Pag cheese

Pag cheese is one of the great Croatian foods, and it is worth seeking out wherever you go. Made from milk of the island’s sheep, which graze on the salty wild herbs and shells of the rocks, it has a firm, sharp, slightly salty character that is entirely its own. Older versions get hard and intense, newer ones are creamy, and the best way to taste it is in the tavernas with a glass of local wine and some prosciutto. I had mine on a sunny afternoon over a couple of hours that turned into a proper lunch, and it is now one of my standard memories of the island. Look for the protected mark on the wheel and you are eating the real thing.

Watch the lace makers and the salt pans

Pag has two proud crafts worth stopping for. The first is Pag lace, a delicate needlework made by local women, so fine it has been listed as a cultural treasure, and you can see it being worked in the small workshops and museums, especially around the old town. The second is the salt, because Pag has been a salt island for centuries. South of town lie the salt pans, shallow basins where brine crystallises in the sun, and they are strangely beautiful, geometric lines of white against the pale rock. A visit to see the salt production is simple and informative, and it explains a whole layer of the island’s history.

Find your own cove and swim

Finally, give yourself the simple pleasure of a quiet cove. Pag’s coast is a tangle of headlands and bays, and away from Zrce and the main beaches there are plenty of small, rough swimming spots that are practically empty. I found a pebble shore near the south of the island, dropped a towel, and swam in water so clear I could count the stones, with nothing but the wind and the gulls. The island is small enough that you can chase a stretch of coast that suits you, and the payoff of a lonely swim in that strange landscape is one of the best things Pag gives you.