(This post has been edited to add that I know most people find this blog entry because they want to learn how to get to Saharun when they are in Zadar. To keep things easy for those people, here are the directions at the top of the post. If you want to continue to read about OUR fun day in Saharun (and learn some tips about going, AND see our pics!), continue reading all the way through.)
AND OUR BLOG ENTRY ABOUT OUR DAY IN SAHARUN (from summer 2012)…
On that Tuesday morning, we were up earlier than any other day on our trip. We needed to catch the ferry out to the island of Dugi Otok, so we could spend the day at Saharun Beach. (I often saw it mentioned as Sakarun Beach a lot too. Perhaps the names are interchangeable?) On the previous day, I had gotten information from the owner of our hotel about when to get the ferry and where to get the tickets. I also scheduled us for a breakfast reservation – the only time we would try out the breakfast at our hotel. (I wasn’t kidding about not being a morning person.)
We got down to the outdoor dining area for our scheduled breakfast time (which I think was 9:00am), and we had a little bit to eat. But we were so tired and I know I wasn’t personally very hungry, so we only ate a little, then took some bread and fruit with us to have along for our day trip.
I had first heard about Saharun Beach when a very good friend of mine went to visit one of her friends in, of all places, Zadar! She went in June and as soon as I saw her photos, I knew I wanted to go there. The color and clarity of the water reminded me of pictures of the Caribbean. I HAD to see it for myself! And fortunately, her friend, whose family was from the Zadar area, gave me all kinds of great info on some of the details of how to get to the actual beach once we were on the island. (Along with other great Zadar tips.)
We got all of our stuff together and started walking for the Barka boats. Once across to Old Town, I ran ahead to the ticket office and bought the actual tickets for the ferry. Jadrolinija is the ferry line that seems to take everyone to all the outer islands and other areas around the coast of Zadar.
We found spots on the ferry on the top level, and we were ready to enjoy our voyage to Dugi Otok!
Here are some pics as we got ready to set sail….
It was while taking pics atop the ferry that my camera broke. Yup. Something obviously got caught between the lenses during one of the times that I put it back in its case, and it lost it’s ability to focus at certain distances. The lens just would not retract all the way no matter what – even when turning it off and on. And a ‘lens error’ message kept coming up on the screen. Great. I mean, it was four years old, but still. I wanted it for the rest of my trip! Couldn’t it have broken after I got back home??? At least I had my iPhone to take pics with.
The ferry ride was about an hour and twenty minutes long, and we eventually arrived at Dugi Otok. And almost immediately, there was the bus to take everyone around the island. (There was only one bus, so you didn’t have to worry about getting on the wrong one.)
After about a twenty minute ride, we arrived at the stop for Saharun. Passengers get off the bus along the road, but then have to walk down a long stretch of a path/dirt road to get to the actual beach. There were a decent number of people there, but compared to the other beaches, it was not crowded at all. We found a place for our towels and got comfortable. The beach itself was rocky/stony like many of the others in Croatia, and also like other beaches in Croatia, tops are optional for women. Again, as I said in my review of Zadar area beaches that I posted in August, if you are uptight about seeing more of people’s bodies, then a beach vacation in Europe might not be the ideal trip for you…
The water here was just as beautiful as the pictures. And the sun was shining intensely down from the cloudless sky.
Here are some pics from the beach!
The water here at Saharun is shallow far far out into the bay. You can keep on walking out and out and still be able to stand on the sea floor. As a result, the water was a bit warmer here than the beaches along the actual coast of Zadar itself. We spent the time swimming and sunning, but also borrowed a ball from a group of girls, and Miloš taught me the right way to catch and throw a ball, water-polo style. I think I actually got half decent at it, considering I’d never done it before, AND my hands are small.
And because we both have blue eyes, the water really accentuated them. I really hoped we could have caught the effect on camera, but we weren’t successful.
Here’s two of our attempts….
After awhile, we did get hungry and ate the fruit that we brought from the hotel.
But eventually we needed something a little more substantial – so it was palacinka time!
