UKC

Hi there! I'm off to Croatia next month and am planning to climb in Paklenica National Park for a week. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on reasonable accommodation? We're likely to have a hire car and would like to be near the beach/some bars as well as the Park.
Thank you! Lyndsay

In reply to Lyndsay Superclimber:

http://villakristina.webs.com/

Stayed here,reasonable price and decent accommodation, on the seafront in Starigrad, walking distance to bars and restaurants. There are lots of apartments like this in Starigrad, not many on the web though.

Dave

In reply to full stottie:

http://www.mdclimb.com/about/Apartments_in_Paklenica/

Run by climbers, ticks your boxes

In reply to Lyndsay Superclimber:

Thanks for the advice guys - that's great. Is Starigrad the best place to stay then, even with a car? It doesn't say much about it in the guide book. Are the beach/restaurants any good? Also, can you walk into the park from there? Thanks...sorry for all the questions!

Lyndsay

In reply to Lyndsay Superclimber:

From a Paklenica point of view Starigrad is a good place to stay. Good for restaurants, the best one I thought was the Dalmacija (which we went to several times) down on the seafront (on the road with the cemetery), good service, good food and free wi-fi. I should add that Croatia is not the most adventurous country when it comes to cuisine, but this was pretty good fayre. It was very quiet (read utterly laid back and relaxed) when we were there in June 2013 so if it is exciting night life you are after then you might want somewhere more lively. You could walk to the park from there (about half and hour to 45 min) but it was only 5 - 10 min by car. There is a climbing shop down by the petrol station and a shop which also sells some climbing equipment in Paklenica itself.

One thing Zadar airport is my current favourite airport I have never got on or off a plane so quickly and felt so relaxed.

In reply to Lyndsay Superclimber:

I'd agree with Duncan Bourne about Starigrad being the obvious place to stay for Paklenica - otherwise you'd have a fairly long drive each day. The beach is not a classic sandy beach, but the water is clear and warm - the best stretch of 'beach' is outside the Restaurant Dalmajia mentioned above (also the best fish in town, although there is a small restaurant just east of the Ante Steakbar that does a more home-cooked version of a similar menu).

The Paklenica Buffet (Restaurant Dinko, run by one of the early pioneers of climbing in Paklenica) is the equivalent of Pete's Eats, frequented by climbers, and is at the entrance road to the Park.


By the way, if you don't already know this, you have to buy a climbing permit for the park - one, three or five day passes, 150 kuna for 5 day pass,which doesn't have to be used consecutively. Sundays used to be free, but not now.

Its a spectacular place to climb - grades can be harder, or occasionally easier, than you might expect.

Dave

In reply to Lyndsay Superclimber:

Starigrad is the logical place to stay for Paklenica since the park entrance is in the town. There are many places to stay (apartments, campsites), but I wouldn't really recommend starigrad as a place to stay ... its functional, but oddly charmless. The restaurants are ok, but unmemorable, the town is set back from the beach and it lacks much atmosphere. It feels like it could be so much better than it is. If you see a nicer town/village along the coast maybe worth a look.