Novalja

Novalja

The town of Novalja has about 3,500 inhabitants, making it the second largest town on the island of Pag, located between Rijeka and Zadar in the Croatian Adriatic. Novalja is the tourist center of the island.

It is only a few minutes to the party beach Zrce by the regularly running bus shuttle or by taxi. However, the island of Pag and the city of Novalja impress not only with the excellent opportunity for indescribable parties at Zrce beach. The unique landscape and crystal-clear water are worth a trip for both young and old. In addition to the proximity to the party beach Zrce and the Cocomo club located in Novalja, the town also delights with a beautiful promenade. Various restaurants, cafés, and bars invite you to relax and pre-party. You can also rent boats at the harbor and jump into the beautiful water at the beach sections.

Beaches around Novalja

In addition to the world-famous party beach Zrce, there are several other beautiful beaches around Novalja that are worth a visit.

The town of Novalja itself has a nice beach right in the city center. Here, too, you will find bars and can book various water sports activities. If you walk along Primorska ul. from the city center of Novalja towards the north, there are many small bathing bays on the left side where many Zrce tourists and locals cool off in the clear Mediterranean during the summer.

Other beaches near Novalja:

• Zrce

• Stara Novalja

• Caska

• Babe

• Cista

• Gajac

Camping Novalja

The largest and very beautiful campsite on the island, Camp Strasko, is also located in Novalja. In addition to a private beach and a newly built outdoor pool, Camp Strasko also offers its own restaurants and supermarkets. About 2 km north of Novalja lies the town of Stara Novalja in a long, northwest-facing bay. A very family-friendly sandy beach invites you to swim here.

Further outside of Novalja, towards the town of Lun, is also Camp Navis. You can find more about camping in Novalja and at Zrce Beach here.

History of the town of Novalja

Numerous archaeological finds and remains speak of the thousand-year history on the island of Pag and the town of Novalja. At times when good winds were very important for shipping, the natural bays around Novalja provided a safe stay, sometimes for days or weeks, until favorable winds began. Due to its location and the possibility of sailing towards Istria, the present harbor of Novalja became one of the essential ports on the Adriatic shipping route during Roman times, which leads from the eastern Mediterranean to northern Italy. Along the harbor, a settlement formed that bore the Latin name navalis or navalia, which translates to harbor. This name later became Novalja. It is believed that the harbor was used centuries ago, and the most significant archaeological site from antiquity in Novalja - the Roman water supply system - dates back to the 1st century AD.

Novalja experiences its intense development with the arrival of tourism on the Adriatic. The first tourists came to Novalja in the 1930s. The larger tourist expansion began in the last 70 years. Tourism fundamentally changes the previous way of life in Novalja and throughout Croatia and opens up new development opportunities. The new development of Novalja, as we know it today, began in the 1990s.