Croatia | Exploring Zadar’s Coastline on Horseback
Croatia has so much more to offer than just the established tourist sites such as Dubrovnik, Split or hidden gems such as Korčula or Rovinj. With the region of Zadar fast becoming the newest member of Croatia’s tourist elite due to the beautiful cities (Zadar or Sibernik) and wonderful countryside, explorable islands and coastline. There are endless tracts of wild mountain paths to explore, as well as some spectacularly beautiful stretches of coast between the pebbly beaches. So how better to explore this diverse countryside than on horseback….
Even easier as we’re staying at Zaton Holiday Resort who have their own riding centre. So we relented and allowed both girls the chance to add to their growing horseback adventures on this European Roadtrip (see Kvistli, Norway or Pembrokeshire, Wales)
Whether you’re looking for a fun ‘first experience’ or an exciting and challenging ‘hack’ it appeared they had something to suit everyone. So perhaps this is the place for any budding ‘horse lover’ to live out your dream and gallop in the waves on a nearby beach or to trek up the Velebit mountains… It appears they’ll cater for all riders, from young to old with all different levels of experience and we’re certainly inexperienced adult riders!!!
Although we’re no riding experts, more an active family who love a challenge, it appears that the local area of Nin really is the ideal setting for a ‘holiday’ horse riding experience. With it’s varied terrain and wonderful climate, it’s full of forests, olive groves and beaches (plus the oldest royal island town in Croatia!)…. However, although our girls are growing in confidence and ability, we felt the 2hr ‘beach ride‘ was too much. Opting instead for a brilliantly varied 90mins ‘hack’ through vineyards, coastal paths, forests and wild grassland paths.
Lottie & Libby have developed a genuine passion for riding and horses in general, and our recent visit to the impressive animal welfare charity (Bransby Horses – see blog post) reminded them just how important horse welfare is… So we were delighted to see the owners of ‘Libertas Riding Centre‘ not only shared the same view but also had a focus on ‘safe first riding experiences’! With both girls loving the chance to wear full riding vests and to canter for the first time. All under the careful supervision of an experienced guide who immediately bonded with both girls.
Excellent service makes all the difference
We’ve loved meeting new people throughout roadtrip, and today was no different… as the fantastic owner (Sanja) couldn’t have been more helpful. We love that not only is this the type of riding centre that caters for experienced riders, but they also offer pony rides for smaller children on Zaton’s beaches…
Sadly all good things must come to an end
Although we could happily have stayed in the 5-star campsite at Zaton, we’ve also headed further afield in this region to discover a ‘Buggy Safari at Biograd‘ & ‘Island Boat Trip & Scuba Diving in Zadar‘… It really has proved a great place for a family vacation and judging by the smiles as we walked away from the riding centre… this will not be forgotten in a hurry by our girls!
nin
so where did we park the bus for the night?
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