Stara Novalja Pag

Stara Novalja is a small settlement on a broad, shallow bay on the north-west of the island of Pag, quieter than the party-coast town of Novalja further along, and it has become a family destination built around its sandy, shallow-water coves. The bay is wide and the water is calm and warm, which is what most of its visitors come for.

The best-known of the coves is Trinćel, a shallow sandy beach at the head of the bay, but the whole shore is a string of small sandy inlets backed by the bare karst of the island. The settlement itself holds the Roman aqueduct of Novalja, an underground channel cut into the rock that can be partly visited, and a small harbour.

Stara Novalja is the calmer alternative to Novalja and the Zrće party coast. The same stark karst landscape that defines all of Pag is here, the bare white stone, the salt and the sheep, but without the nightlife. The cheese, lace and salt of Pag are the island’s other products.

For photographers, the shallow sandy water of Trinćel and the karst shoreline are the shots, best in the morning calm. Reach Pag by the bridge at Posedarje or the ferry from Prizna, and use Stara Novalja as the quiet base for the northern end of the island.

Every spot here is mapped and verified. Share this guide if it helped plan your trip.