Itinerary — Zadar & Petrčane
The Ultimate 7-Day Luxury Itinerary for Zadar & Petrčane
A day-by-day luxury week in Zadar and Petrčane: Kornati yacht charters, fine dining, sunset wine tastings and hidden coves, based at Casa al Este.
Day 1
Arrival & sunset on the terrace
Settle into Casa al Este and let the pine-scented air and sunrise sea views do the rest. Unpack slowly, pour something cold, and claim a lounger by the heated pool before the light fades.
For dinner, drive ten minutes to a konoba in Diklo and order the day's catch grilled whole with blitva — Swiss chard and potato dressed in olive oil. Book a terrace table so you can watch the sun melt into the Kvarner Gulf.
Day 2
Zadar old town & the Sea Organ
Walk the marble streets of the Roman forum, step inside the ninth-century church of St Donatus, and browse the silver and filigree workshops on Kalelarga. Time the morning so you finish at the City Market for figs, olive oil and a sliver of sirana cheese.
Return in the late afternoon for the Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun — Alfred Hitchcock called this the most beautiful sunset in the world. Cap the evening with a maraschino at a bar on the promenade; the cherry liqueur has been distilled here since the 1500s.
Day 3
Private charter to the Kornati Islands
Board a skippered day charter from Zadar or Petrčane and head for the Kornati archipelago — roughly eighty islands of bare karst and water so clear you can count the sea urchins. Plan two or three swim stops and a long lunch on Levrnaka or Mana, where a simple grill and a bottle of Pošip white set the tone.
The boat returns by early evening, leaving time for a sauna and a quiet dinner on the villa terrace. Bring reef-safe sunscreen and a hat — shade is scarce on the water.
Day 4
Hidden coves & the pine-shaded coast
Walk the coastal path north from Petrčane to find small unnamed inlets where you are often alone before ten. The pebble coves below Punta Skala are clear, shallow and sheltered from the maestral — the easiest swim from the village.
For a longer outing, drive ninety minutes to the ferry and cross to Dugi Otok for Sakarun, a white-sand lagoon with turquoise shallows that feels borrowed from the Caribbean. Pack a picnic and leave before the afternoon crowds.
Day 5
Sunset wine tasting in the hinterland
Drive inland to the vineyards around Benkovac and Bibić, where small family wineries pour Babić, Debit and Maraština against a backdrop of stone walls and olive groves. A late-afternoon tasting often turns into a long table dinner — book ahead and ask for the peka if it is on.
The reds here are sturdy and age beautifully; bring a bottle or two back to the villa for the evening. The drive home along the coast is one of the prettiest in the region as the light goes low.
Day 6
Krka waterfalls & Paklenica gorge
Head south to Krka National Park and walk the wooden loops above Skradinski Buk, the largest cascade in the park. Go at opening time to walk the lower lakes before the coaches arrive, and swim where permitted in Roški Slap.
On the way back, detour into Paklenica for a short gorge hike under the sheer face of Velebit — an hour's drive from the villa and a striking change of scene from sea to stone.
Day 7
Slow morning & a farewell swim
Sleep late, take breakfast on the terrace, and fit in one last swim before you pack. If time allows, the Nin salt pans and sandy Queen's Beach make an easy half-day with children, just twenty minutes north.
Leave through Zadar airport, twenty minutes south, already planning the return. Casa al Este keeps the same calm whenever you come back — sunrise, heated pool, and the sea at the door.
Ready to make it your own? Casa al Este is your luxury home base for the week.