The Magical Island of Pag
The island of Pag is part of the Dalmatian islands off the coast of Croatia in the Adriatic Sea. Since 1991, Pag has been part of the Croatia and is becoming a tourist hot spot on the Adriatic. Pag has been inhabited for over 2000 years and still has much of the flavor left by former rulers including the Roman empire and the Italian state of Venice. The island is connected to Croatia by a 300 meter long arch bridge. During times of war, this bridge has been Croatia's only connection with the outside world.
View over Pag
History
Despite its small size, Pag has been much coveted by other countries through the years. This is because even before the start of the Roman empire Pag was well known as the best source of salt in Europe. Pag has a bay that is geographically situated to easily mine salt. Salt was valued highly during the days of the Roman empire and this led to Rome fighting on more than one occasion to keep Pag from invaders such as the Ottoman empire, Austria during World War I, and Russia during World War II.
Pag, Croatia
Places
The island of Pag has two major towns, Pag in the south and Novalja in the north. Novalja is a much smaller town, situated by the Zrce beach. This beach has become a prime tourist spot for students and young people. Zrce Beach has developed the usual beach culture with boardwalks, shops and night clubs. The town of Pag has over 4,000 residents of the islands 7500 citizens. The town has a very old world look with many of the town's homes featuring the coat of arms from the families who built the homes. Here you can visit several religious sites built dating from the 1500s. The architecture of the homes is Byzantine from the early 1500s. The town of Pag is surrounded by a wall and fortress structure built by the Romans to protect the city in ancient times. They are also several smaller communities on the island that are devoted to agriculture or fishing.
Culture
The people of Pag base their culture on Croatia with a bit of Venice and Byzantine influences. Residents still wear native costume for most social events and market these costumes world wide. For the women, these costumes feature a scarf made out of lace that is only made on the island. This lace is registered by UNESCO on their cultural heritage list. The citizens continue ancient traditions of salt mining, olives, grapes and assorted vegetables. The island raises sheep and produces a cheese called Paski Sir from their milk that is starting to win world wide acclaim. The natives of Pag speak Croatian, but also know English, Italian, French and some Russian.
What to do
The island of Pag offers much to the outdoors for the traveler. Pag has the largest coast line of all the Adriatic islands and has several wonderful beaches where you can jet ski or wake board. The island has two lakes for sailing. It has many rocky areas on the island perfect for hiking or repelling. Tours of the Adriatic with fishing or snorkeling abound on the island. You can visit vineyards, olive grooves, cheese farmers or learn how to dance the native Croatian dances like a native.
Nighlife and Gastronomy
The nightlife in Pag Island mostly centers around the beaches, especially the Zcre Beach area. This area includes 24 hours nightclubs. One of the best is Payaya Club which has two separate nightly parties which include dancing, singing and bungee jumping. During August in Pag there is a yearly Arts festival which includes many street performers and parties. Restaurants can be found throughout the island, but many of the best ones are in the hotels and resorts on the island. These include the Boskinac in Novalja, the Belvedir in Kolan, and the Bistro Na Tele in Pag.
Activities
Travelers to Pag can set up tours through agencies or hotels. Tours can include an assortment of boating activities, trips to the national park on the island, hiking, historical walking tours of Pag, trips by bus or car around the island and trips to see Croatia. Other activities include learning how to make lace, cheese, olive oil, wine and native cooking classes. Art classes and dancing classes can also be arranged for visitors to the island.
The island of Pag is small enough that staying anywhere on the island will allow a visitor to see all of the island. During the summer, students take over the beaches on the northern end of the island. If you are looking for quiet, you may want to stay in another area of the island. Places to say include the Bosinak in Novalja, the Luna Island Hotel in Lun, the economical Hotel Tony in Pag, or the Andrea or Magdalena in Pag. There is also an airport on the northern side of the island that allows travelers to fly directly to the island of Pag.
Here you can get further information about the Island of Pag on Wikipedia.