Novalja, Croatia - A Travel Guide
Last Updated: July 23, 2026
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ABOUT NOVALJA | SHOULD I GO? | WHAT TO DO | WHERE TO STAY | WHERE TO EAT | WHERE TO PARTY
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Nothing But Beaches and Clubs
Novalja is located on the Croatian party island of Pag, in the northwest of Croatia out in the Adriatic Sea. The town has a normal population of just over 2000 people, a number that skyrockets when the festivals arrive in.
Novalja and the island of Pag (and Croatia as a whole, for that matter) have seen a lot of turmoil over the years, changing hands from empire to empire, king to king and country to country. Now finding peace under the Republic of Croatia, this island is flourishing as a tourist hotspot, even if this is to some of the local's dismay. Whilst a vast number of the islanders are profiting from one of Europe’s newest party scenes, others feel it is ruining the tranquillity.
This debate has proven so equally opposed that the population has stayed stagnant year on year from the turn of the millennium onwards, and this in part is due to tourism. Some of the people have left to get away from what is seen as a nuisance, an infestation of drunken behaviour and carelessness.
Not everything can be blamed on the tide of tourism though, a lot is thanks to the lack of opportunity for the younger generations, who are looking more to the bigger cities within the country for a better standard of life.
What Just Happened?
Our plan was set out perfectly. Part One: we would come and party hard at Croatia Rocks, one of the best festivals in the world, which takes place in Novalja. Then after 4 days of madness and mayhem, we would move south for Part Two and relax in one of the most tranquil and beautiful parts of Croatia - Hvar.
Part One was a major success, partying harder than I have ever partied in my life during the hours of darkness, and recovering and rebuilding on the beachfront during the days, to do it all again. All this happened along the majestic Zrce Festival Beach, where we got to party with the likes of Rudimental and other massive names who were headlining, which was sick.
I have to admit I don’t remember too much about the goings-on, and that's keeping this guide pretty short and sweet. I can say with certainty that we had a brilliant time, and no pictures or blogging we do will pay suitable respects to this mental 4 days in heaven.
Unfortunately, this does mean I can't tell you too much about the area, but I'll give it my best shot!
So Should I go there?
This is a tricky one. The reason I say that is because the area is fantastic: beautiful long beaches, rolling hills and wonderful scenery, and when you mix that with the weather, well, it’s perfect.
But…
Why would you come here when you have the likes of Hvar and other stunning beach islands stretching the length of Croatia and the world-famous Dubrovnik on the southern tip of the country. You would then also have to factor in that you have Venice and a vast number of beautiful Italian beachside towns no more than a 30-minute flight away.
Therefore, the only reason why you would choose this location, in my opinion, is for the same reason we did: there is either a massive festival on the island, or you are coming to pretend there is and get extremely drunk on one of the beaches.
It really is as simple as that, you would come here to get off your face at night and then relax during the day. It isn’t the best piece of travel advice we have given or necessarily a 'purist' traveller's idea of fun, but occasionally many of us like to do something like that. Look at Thai'land's Full Moon parties - the main reason you go to Koh Phangan is for that exact reason, so why not here?
What to do when Backpacking Novalja
Ok, this is the section I have been dreading. If you've read the above, then you know I didn’t do a lot beyond getting very, very drunk, and that’s about all there is to do. Most people wouldn't come here to explore or enjoy the activities, as they are very limited.
Paški Most
We will start off with something most of you will see as you enter the island, and that is the beautifully crafted Paški Most, the bridge onto the island.
Now, you may think, “Wow guys, you’re struggling here...”, and you would be right. In a way we are. But when you drive onto the island, pull over to the side of the road, get out the car, bus or whatever you’re travelling in, and take a look. The stunning water, rocks and the bridge make for a lovely photo, especially if you have the setting sun igniting the horizon to complete the magnificent backdrop.
At least when you see this bridge, you’ll smile to yourself and think, “They were struggling for ideas, big time. But have come up smelling of roses!”.
Probably.
Beaches
There are so many beaches, and they all were shimmering away in the sun, crystal waters glistening as they slowly ride the incoming waves ashore.
However, not all is as it seems. It took me a couple of glances to work that out actually - the beaches aren’t sandy paradises, they are shingle beaches. Which - for the same totally shallow reasons that people judge certain places, body types, or foods as 'good' or 'bad' completely superficially, usually without even considering their history, story, and inner beauty, or what joy and happiness they could offer the world - suck.
We want the sand beaches. They're just better.
That said, one thing I did notice was how clean they were, which really was a surprise considering only hours earlier people were eating, drinking and getting very drunk in, on and around them. They really do look pristine, and I love that.
There are many to choose from around the island, and some are more geared to relaxing and being in the water than others, whilst some are geared more to food shacks and spending a couple of hours sipping cocktails in the sun.
Plaža Planjka Beach is buzzing with excitement, games, water sports and a ton of activities, as well as seating for those who wish to take life a bit easier.
Zrce Festival Beach is exactly as the name suggests; surrounded by clubs, bars, and food shacks where you can chill in the day, but by night the wild side of life descends.
Plaža Caska, on the other hand, is a wonderful place to relax and soak up the sun. It can get busy, but this doesn’t detract from the tranquillity of the bay in any way.
Beyond that, I'm really struggling. so I think that I'll have to end this section here. At the end of the day, it was all about the Croatia Rocks festival for me on my visit.
Where to Stay Whilst Backpacking Novalja
There are loads of hotels, hostels and apartments in and around Novalja, and that’s hardly surprising as there are often big festivals and events down on Festival beach. Big festivals mean big numbers of people surging to and from the area, riding the party tide, and these people need somewhere to stay.
We didn’t actually stay at our first suggestion as it was fully booked but have only heard good things about the Big Yellow House. Ideally located on the beachfront in the main town, this little hostel has killer views out over the bay, wonderful gardens and a great bar. The tales we've heard tell that the staff are always on top form and will assist and help whenever and wherever possible. As we found out, you will have to book in advance as it gets booked up very quickly.
Apparently, they have recently moved to a new bigger and better hostel, and I have been in contact with them recently about the new location so standby for updates, but it's somewhere we are excited to go and see.
There are a couple of other hostels in the area, but we don’t know too much about them.
In regards to our accommodation, we stayed at Apartments PAG-Travel in a holiday complex called Gajac. Basically, the little area was a mass of apartments on the coast, all centred around a few bars, an outdoor table tennis area, shops, and a couple of restaurants. It isn’t really ideal but it did the job.
We only wandered into the central hub on one occasion, as it wasn’t of any interest to us. The apartment had everything we needed but was pretty cramped and uncomfortable. When you think these are purpose-built holiday lets they should have a better design. But to their credit they are cheap, and that’s all that mattered to us.
Weirdly it seemed that we had to book a minimum of 3 nights in the apartment, but the costs for three nights between two people was 1,338kn (~£160), which isn’t too bad really. Not great for what you get but not expensive enough to moan too much about it!
Where to Eat When Backpacking Novalja
The sad truth of this story is that we were so drunk from start to finish that we only ate burgers, fries, and anything else considered hangover food. Yes, I became uncultured. I broke every one of our rules on what to eat and where, because as you know we do like to eat local and try the country’s cuisine, but I needed fried food to survive. I let myself down, Far Out down, and you down, and for that I am sorry.
I am however going to casually drop the excuse that I didn't actually see many places that served local foods, so it wasn’t entirely my fault.
The one decent place we found and the only one worth recommending was called Pizzeria More, which is ironic as the one thing you don’t want after you’ve finished is more pizza. It's huge.
I have a big appetite, but this was the size of my torso and weighed as much as well. I did finish it, but damn. I didn't want to, but it so tasty that I basically hate-ate the second half. All of us left the restaurant feeling like we had eaten everyone else's meals as well as ours. The atmosphere on the beachfront restaurant was great, the staff were amazing, the food was beautiful and the views, well, you can imagine...
Pretty damn special.
Where to Drink and Party when Backpacking Novalja
Now for the main event. Basically, the Croatia Rocks festival takes place within all the clubs that front Zrce Festival Beach, and that is the only place to be. It is the biggest, the wildest, the craziest and downright mental-est party I have ever been to. I will go into a bit more detail but first, there is one other place I would like to mention, and that’s Caffe Bar Oaza.
Located on the west coast of the island to the south of Novalja, this wicked beachside bar smashes out some of the craziest cocktails on the island. Now, drinking two for one cocktail in the shade in your swim gear, then running across the boiling sand into the sea, only to return for the next two cocktails 30 minutes later does make a bar easy to like, but even out of this setting this place would still be epic.
The bar staff were all so much fun and looked after us during our hangover cocktails, or, as we liked to call them, predrinks. All the prices were great, with a gin coming in at 18kn (~£2), and if you are nice to the staff, you may get slightly more than the single shot, if you catch my drift.
This is a must go. It’s never overly busy, a real chilled location, great music, amazing people, cheap drinks and great vibes.
Now back to the festival. As mentioned there are a number of clubs down on the beach, all of which offer something different: different music, vibes, drinks, swimming pools, stages... the list is endless. What I'm saying is whatever your taste in music, whatever you look for on a night out, this small, crescent-shaped beach will provide it.
With five clubs, beach bars, food stands, a piercing hut and much much more, you will not know where to start. The evenings roll in, the clubs turn from relaxing chilled spots to mayhem as the crowds return with the nights' breeze.
Don’t bother doing your make-up or your hair, you’ll end up in the pools within the clubs (some leave them open all night, whilst others close the pool area for safety) or the sea. The floor pulsates with the beat of the music, you can see the sand bounce in front of you, and then from nowhere, someone will fly overhead on a bungee. The circus and the night out has begun.
My two favourite clubs were Aquarius and Papaya, both very different but just as good as each other, although you really won't want to miss out on Noa Beach Club either, which dances out over the sea which is ready to catch you should you drunkenly fall overboard.
All I can say is go, expect to get wet, drunk, very mashed up, and to wake up still wet, drunk and mashed up, and just a lot poorer than when you arrived at the party.
What You'll Need to Blend In
A spare eardrum
An enjoyment of
beach parties
To be a sun worshipper
Be able to deal with the 'Woooooooooo!' girls every time their mate walks in
