Vrsi

The village of Vrsi, widely known for its seamen, is located on a small peninsular and has a beautiful indented coastline 30 kilometers long with a lot of bays and beaches. Many will be surprised to find as many as four small churches in Vrsi. Those who know Vrsi well, know the reason why, as this place was formed from four parts.

Two of them are the small islands of Mišjak and Zečevo. In fact Zečevo is only conditionally an island, that is it can only be called that when it is high tide and seawater floods its low connection with the mainland, and during low tide it becomes a peninsular. Along with the old village centre, most attractive for tourists are Vrsi-Mulo and Vrsi-Zukve, right by the sea in the Nin bay.

Nin’s Privlaka

If a visitor wants to feel the atmosphere of a former fishing village, he does not need a time machine, he should visit Privlaka which is only 4 kilometers away from Nin. It is located on a spacious, flat peninsular and is surrounded on three sides by the sea and beautiful beaches.

The sunsets here are unforgetable. Privlaka is famous for its „sabunjari“, that is people who dug out sand from the Nin bay using special wooden boats. Today, however, Privlaka is primarily a tourist place, which like Nin, thanks to its sandy beaches and warm, shallow sea is, ideal for a family holiday.

Nin’s Grbe

The tourist place of Grbe is located northeast of Nin and has an interesting history. It developed at the beginning of the 19th century on the remains of the once residential and commercial premises of the tobacco factory which was built by the Venetian nobleman Jerolim Manfrin.

Even today, one of the monumental gates to the former tobacco factory is evident, and most tourists call it the „Triumphal Arch“. The plantation of the tobacco did not last for long and on its remains the place of Grbe developed, building its present and future on tourism.

Nin’s Zaton

The administrative part of the town of Nin is a small place called Zaton only 1.5 kilometers south of the old town of Nin. Zaton dates back to the 17th century when the parish church, dedicated to the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built.

The most important monument in Zaton is the Tower of Kaštelina from the 16th century, built by the Venetians in order to defend Nin from the Turks. In front of the headland Kremenjača there are the remains of the ancient port of old Nin (Aenona), which is the subject of underwater archaeological research. Ships, called Serilie Liburnice from the 1st century were found here, whose partial reconstructions are kept in the Museum of Nin Antiquities.

Near to the ancient port there are the remains of the Church of St. Andrew from the 16th century. In the old part of the village Dalmatian style architecture can be seen (17th – 20th century). This is the place tourists often choose for a family holiday. Its position facing the Zadar channel offers an unforgetable experience of the setting sun.

Riviera Nin

Together with Nin, this riviera includes Grbe and Zaton which belong to it administratively, then the independent municipalities of Vir, Privlaka and Vrsi as well as Petrčane which officially belong to Zadar. These are all beautiful tourist places each having its own interesting story.

This story is further enriched with the close places of Ninski Stanovi, Žerava and Poljica-Brig, also administratively part of the town of Nin, whose idealistic rural setting is completely new, but equally interesting to the visitor.

Nin’s beaches

Nin’s beaches are one of its trademarks and an impressive scene remembered by all those who have been here, at least once. It is not surprising that many rate them as among the most beautiful in Croatia, if not in the world.
Nin’s beaches total a staggering 8,000 metres in length. The longest and most famous among them is a three-kilometre long beach to which a legend is connected. Tradition has it that the wife of the first Croatian king, Tomislav, was especially attracted by its beauty, and the Royal Family, whenever they officially came to Nin would visit this beach to enjoy a few rare and relaxing moments there. Hence the name Queen’s Beach because of its extremely long shallow beach and beauty, families with small children even today take delight. What is interesting is that you should pass over a ten metre long shallow stretch of water in order to reach it. In its vicinity there is the largest known location of medicinal mud in Croatia.
According to the choice of the American Travel Channel, the Queen’s Beach is at the top of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
The other Nin beaches such as Ždrijac, Prodorica, Bilotnjak as well as Zaton Holiday Resort are also attractive. The last one, which is located in the tourist settlement Zaton Holiday Resort, has a blue flag as an internationally recognised sign for quality and facilities. The beach is surrounded by children’s theme parks, swimming pools and water slides with many restaurants and cafes.

Natura habitats

Visitors and experts agree on: the area of Nin and its surroundings is a unique landscape of rare plant and animal species with 8 NATURAL 2000 habitats, 5 endemic, 4 critically endangered, 1 endangered and 5 sensitive plants. This area is of exceptional value to the present day generations as well as those future generations for which it has to be preserved. This is what it is done here profesionally and with no compromise.
The existence of NATURA 2000 habitats is due not only to the uniqueness and features of this area but also to the sustainable development and the awareness of the local people of the importance of nature and the interdependence of biological diversity and tourism. In the Nin lagoon very rare habitats formed: a low muddy and sandy coast with marshy areas containing the distinctive flora and fauna and sand dunes with rare plants. Professionals recognise the ecological value of the Nin habitats so that the plant communities connected with sandy and muddy shores are strictly protected and listed as important habitats in the natural ecological network. The preservation of nature is carried out according to the criteria of the world’s largest coordinated network protection areas, NATURA 2000. One thing is certain: Nin’s extraordinary natural heritage is an exceptional regional and national attraction and value to the world. 

Rare and endemic plants

In the Nin lagoon many rare and endemic kinds of plants can be found. It is interesting that this world is characterised by the nature, primarily the shallow waters and the very high salinity. The most impressive adaptation to the laws of survival is perhaps best illustrated by the plant type (Srcocornia fruticosa) – sometimes called, salicot, sea beans, pickleweed, glasswort or samphire, which grows along the muddy coast in very salty earth, so thickly that it creates fields which are called salt marshes.

This plant is fleshy, it has a thick stem which is a real reservoir of water, and small leaves which prevent too much evaporation. Its cellular juice has a high concentration of salt, which enables it to take water from salty deposits (otherwise the plant would lose water ). The large amounts of this kind of plant are a source of food for other kinds, primarily birds such as the herons, waders and grebes