Idemo redom. Rano jutro, ja i prijatelj, krećemo na vjerojatno posljednju udaljeniju destinaciju ove ljetne sezone. Gračac i Novalju dijeli otprilike 112 kilometara u jednom pravcu, što ovo ljeto čini najdužom turom u jednom smjeru, dužom i od Murtera, Vodica i samog Paga, mjesta koja smo redom obišli ove sezone. Krećemo se, naravno, preko našeg Velebita. Jutarnja panorama i pogled s ceste, negdje oko devet sati, uvijek su nešto posebno, koliko god puta to ponovili.

Let's take it in order. Early morning, me and a friend, setting off on probably the last far-flung destination of this summer season. Gračac and Novalja are separated by about 112 kilometres one way, which makes this the longest one-way trip of the summer, longer even than Murter, Vodice and Pag itself, places we visited one after another this season. We head off, of course, over our Velebit. The morning panorama and the view from the road, somewhere around nine o'clock, are always something special, no matter how many times you repeat the trip.

Prva prava postaja za stajanje je Posedarje, gdje popijemo kavu prije duljeg dijela puta koji nas čeka. Nakon Posedarja slijedi rotor i pravac prema Pagu, i tu put polako mijenja ritam, more se sve češće nazire s desne strane.

The first real stopping point is Posedarje, where we grab a coffee before the longer stretch that awaits us. After Posedarje comes the roundabout and the direction towards Pag, and here the road slowly changes rhythm, the sea starts appearing more and more often on the right.

Vozimo sve dok se pred nama ne ukaže Paški most, priča sama za sebe. Povezuje otok Pag s kopnom preko tjesnaca Ljubačka vrata, otvoren je 17. studenoga 1968., i otkad postoji, Pag gotovo da je zaživio kao poluotok. Betonski je to lučni most ukupne dužine 301 metar, s lukom raspona oko 201 metar, uzdignut oko 35 metara iznad mora i širok tek devetak metara. Uz sam most nalazi se i odmaralište gdje se može nešto pregristi, kojemu ne smeta ni onaj velebitski vjetar što se na mostu uvijek osjeti. Bura zna biti toliko jaka da se most bezbroj puta zna i zatvoriti, a upravo je sol koju ona nanosi razlog zašto je konstrukcija kroz godine više puta sanirana. Ali on je taj koji Pag i Novalju drži povezanima s ostatkom kopna, bura ili ne. Dvije fotografije predivnog zalaska sunca koje ćete vidjeti uz ovu priču zapravo smo snimili na povratku kući, ali stavljamo ih baš ovdje, uz priču o mostu, jer tu i pripadaju.

We drive on until the Pag Bridge appears ahead of us, a story in itself. It connects the island of Pag to the mainland across the Ljubačka vrata strait, opened on 17 November 1968, and ever since, Pag has practically lived as a peninsula. It's a concrete arch bridge, 301 metres long in total, with an arch span of around 201 metres, raised roughly 35 metres above the sea and only about nine metres wide. Right by the bridge there's a rest stop where you can grab a bite, undisturbed even by the Velebit wind that's always felt up there. The bura can get so strong that the bridge has closed more times than anyone can count, and it's exactly the salt it carries that has meant the structure has been repaired more than once over the years. But it's the one thing that keeps Pag and Novalja connected to the rest of the mainland, bura or not. The two photos of a beautiful sunset you'll see with this story were actually taken on the way home, but we're placing them right here, with the story of the bridge, because that's where they belong.

Nakon mosta kreće dionica prema Pagu, i to je dionica s jednom od ljepših panorama koje smo ove sezone vidjeli. Tko god razmišlja o relaciji Pag, Novalja, mislim da neće pogriješiti ako krene. Kroz sam grad Pag, koji je i sam po sebi prekrasan, samo smo prošli, jer je cilj bio dalje, pa smo krenuli uzbrdo prema Novalji. Panorama otoka odatle, ta bjelina kamena i pogled prema moru, doista očarava, gotovo pa mjesečeva krajolika koji Pag i čini prepoznatljivim. Nekih desetak i više kilometara prije nego što se stvarno približite Novalji nalazi se pumpa na kojoj vrijedi uzeti kratak predah, jer je to zapravo posljednja prilika prije samog grada.

After the bridge comes the stretch towards Pag town, and it's one of the loveliest panoramas we saw all season. Anyone thinking about the Pag to Novalja route, I don't think they'll go wrong by setting off. We just passed through Pag town itself, which is beautiful in its own right, because the goal was further on, so we headed uphill towards Novalja. The view of the island from there, that whiteness of stone and the sight of the sea beyond, is genuinely captivating, almost the moon-like landscape Pag is known for. Some ten kilometres or more before you actually reach Novalja there's a petrol station worth a short stop, since it's really the last chance before the town itself.

Onda dolazi Novalja, a uz nju neizbježno i Zrće, plaža koju su mnogi prozvali hrvatskom Ibizom. Danju je to sasvim obiteljska šljunčana plaža s Plavom zastavom, dovoljno mirna za kupanje s djecom, a navečer se pretvara u središte zabave s klubovima na otvorenom poput Papaye, Aquariusa, Kalypsa i Noe, te ljetnim festivalima koji privlače mlade iz cijele Europe. Novalja je i inače grad koji se pametno nosi s ljetnom gužvom, nudi dovoljno sadržaja da svatko nađe svoj kutak, bilo da traži partiju ili mir. Da bismo izbjegli gužvu, potražili smo lokalni kafić i, uz njega, čak i besplatan parking u blizini nogometnog igrališta. Odatle smo se polako, pješice, uputili prema plaži Straško i njezinoj odvojenoj camping zoni.

Then comes Novalja, and with it inevitably Zrće, the beach many have nicknamed the Croatian Ibiza. By day it's a completely family friendly pebble beach with a Blue Flag, calm enough for swimming with children, and by night it turns into a hub of fun with open-air clubs like Papaya, Aquarius, Kalypso and Noa, plus summer festivals that draw young people from all over Europe. Novalja itself is a town that handles the summer crowds smartly, offering enough on offer that everyone finds their own corner, whether they're after a party or some peace. To avoid the crowds we found a local café and, next to it, even free parking near the football pitch. From there we made our way slowly, on foot, towards Straško beach and its separate camping zone.

Plaža Straško

Straško Beach

Plaža Straško jedna je od najljepših plaža na cijelom otoku Pagu, duga oko dva kilometra, šljunčana i nosi Plavu zastavu. More je bilo bistro, čisto i predivno, baš onakvo kakvo se pamti. Iskreno, od svih plaža koje sam ove godine obišao, ova mi je, po mome skromnom mišljenju, broj jedan, i destinacija Pag, Novalja sljedeće godine ide ponovno na popis, bez razmišljanja.

Straško beach is one of the most beautiful beaches on the entire island of Pag, about two kilometres long, pebbled and holding a Blue Flag. The sea was clear, clean and beautiful, exactly the kind you remember. Honestly, of all the beaches I visited this year, this one is, in my humble opinion, number one, and the Pag, Novalja trip is going straight back on the list for next year, without a second thought.

Camping resort Hadria i restoran uz more

Hadria Camping Resort and the Restaurant by the Sea

Uz samu plažu Straško prostire se camping resort Hadria, dio poznatog kampa Straško, Novalja, kompleksa razgranatog na otprilike 57 hektara hrastove i maslinove šume, jednog od većih i vodećih kampova na cijelom Jadranu, nositelja prestižnog priznanja ADAC Superplatz. Preko njihove rezervacije može se posložiti sve, od kamp parcela, preko mobilnih kućica, do glamping šatora, a uz plažu se niže cijela šetnica s restoranima, beach barovima i slastičarnicama, tu su i bazenski kompleks, aquapark, sportski centar, kids club, kino na otvorenom, čak i mali zoo s domaćim životinjama. Mi smo se zaputili u restoran koji je dio tog sklopa, tik uz plažu, i tu smo se stvarno odmorili. Ambijent je bio ono što nas je prvo osvojilo: terasa u hladu, pogled na more koji se pruža sve do horizonta, i taj mir odmah do camping zone u kojoj se, čuje se, i dalje živi punom parom.

Right by Straško beach stretches the Hadria camping resort, part of the well known Camping Straško, Novalja, a complex spread over roughly 57 hectares of oak and olive forest, one of the larger and leading campsites on the whole Adriatic, holder of the prestigious ADAC Superplatz award. Through their booking system you can arrange everything, from camping pitches, to mobile homes, to glamping tents, and along the beach runs a whole promenade with restaurants, beach bars and pastry shops, plus a pool complex, an aquapark, a sports centre, a kids club, an open-air cinema, even a small zoo with farm animals. We headed for the restaurant that's part of that complex, right on the beach, and that's really where we rested. The atmosphere was what won us over first: a shaded terrace, a sea view stretching all the way to the horizon, and that calm right next to a camping zone where, by the sound of it, life is still going full swing.

Naručili smo pizzu i piće, i tu smo upoznali Gjoka, konobara iz Makedonije koji u Hadriji radi cijelu sezonu i, kako je i sam rekao, prezadovoljan je. Ima smještaj i obroke osigurane, uz sigurnu plaću, a usput stigne se i zabaviti i okupati kad smjena to dopusti. Na licu mu se vidjelo zadovoljstvo dok je pričao, bio je ugodan, pričljiv i iskreno gostoljubiv, i na kraju nas je pozvao da se opet svratimo, bilo ove ili iduće godine. Cijeli ugostiteljski dio resorta ostavio je isti dojam: ljubazno osoblje, uredan prostor i onaj osjećaj da si dobrodošao, ne samo kao gost koji plaća račun.

We ordered a pizza and a drink, and that's where we met Gjoko, a waiter from Macedonia who works the whole season at Hadria and, as he told us himself, is more than happy there. He has accommodation and meals covered, along with a secure wage, and still manages to have some fun and a swim whenever his shift allows. You could see the satisfaction on his face as he talked, he was pleasant, chatty and genuinely hospitable, and by the end he'd invited us to drop by again, this year or the next. The whole hospitality side of the resort left the same impression: friendly staff, a tidy space and that feeling of being welcome, not just as a guest paying the bill.

Nakon toga smo se još malo okupali, a onda polako krenuli kući. Na relaciji Novalja, Pag zaustavili smo se na posebnom stajalištu odakle se vidi gotovo cijeli otok Pag, slika koja jednostavno traži da se stane. Naravno da smo se uslikali i ponijeli sa sobom jako ugodne uspomene s ovog putovanja. Sam osjećaj tog pogleda, panorame, vjetra i svega ostalog bio je, iskreno, fenomenalan.

After that we had another short swim and then slowly headed home. On the road from Novalja back to Pag we stopped at a particular lookout point from where almost the whole island of Pag is visible, a view that simply demands you stop for it. Of course we took photos and carried away some really pleasant memories from this trip. The feeling of that view, the panorama, the wind and everything else was, honestly, phenomenal.

Kontakt: Camping resort Hadria

Contact: Hadria Camping Resort

Novalja, Straško i Hadria na karti

Novalja, Straško and Hadria on the map