Pag Island, Croatia: Cheese, Lace & Salt Traditions

PAG ISLAND ESSENTIALS

Accommodation: Booking.com

Getting there: car / bus

Getting around: car

Activities: GetYourGuide

To experience the best of Pag, it’s advisable to travel by car. Although I arrived by bus, I was lucky to have a (fantastic) guide from the tourist board, Bernard, showing me around by car.

If you were to visit without a vehicle, you’d be restricted to Pag Town. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as it’s a lovely place, but there’s more to Pag Island that you’d miss.

Things to do on Pag Island

For an initial overview, here are a few of the attractions on Pag Island.

• Explore Pag Town – admire the various churches including St Mary’s Church, the museums dedicated to regional crafts and try local dishes at the various cafes and bars
• Eat Pag cheese – my highlight of visiting Pag Island from Zadar! More on this to come…
• Visit Pag Lace Gallery – inside the Ducal Palace in Pag Town, the intricate designs tell the story of lace-making, a craft that dates back centuries
• Learn about Pag salt production at the Permanent Exhibition of Salt (not to be confused with Solana Nin Salt Museum on nearby Nin Island although this is also worth a visit)
• Try traditional food – Pag lamb and fish are best washed down with local brandy and Pag wine
• Experience Pag Carnival – in particular, the Pasko kolo is a traditional folk dance that won’t be seen elsewhere
• Take a boat cruise from Pag Town harbour around the island’s surrounds
• Visit Stari Grad Pag – this archaeological site was once a thriving town. To this day, a procession carrying a statue of the Virgin Mary journeys between the old and new town to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven.

Now, let’s dive deeper into the wonderful cultural traditions of Pag…

Without doubt, the highlight of my trip to Pag Island was eating delicious Paški sir, the famous cheese made exclusively on Pag. This hard cheese is farmed from the 35,000 sheep who call the island home.

Last year, Pag was listed as one of the 9 best cheese destinations in Europe! With destinations like Gouda, Emmental, Roquefort and Camembert on the list, this is high praise indeed.

Noted by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, lace-making has been recorded in Pag as far back as the 15th century. Instead of being written down, the techniques then were passed through generations of women who learnt the craft from their mothers and grandmothers.

The making of Pag lace empowered women to have a better life than working in the fields. Originating in the Convent of St. Margaret, girls would learn to read, write and make lace. The trade has since won numerous awards and accolades such as the gold medal at the Paris World Exhibition in 1937.

The best place to learn more is Pag Lace Gallery in Pag Town. Entrance is 10 kuna and the opening hours are:

• 10am-1pm, May
• 9am-12pm, Jun & Sep
• 9am-12pm & 7-10pm, Jul & Aug
• By arrangement at the tourist office Oct-April.

I saw the complete process while touring the Solana Pag saltworks starting with the vast salt plains and finishing with huge piles of salt awaiting packaging inside the factory.

Sadly, cheap and low-quality production overseas has undercut the quality salt industry. But, given that low-quality salt ‘eats’ whatever you store it in, thus soaking up plastics and other potentially unhealthy particles, it’s highly advisable to buy quality salt.

I also learnt about flor de sal (salt flower): gourmet sea salt made from the top layer of the salt harvest. Known for its high calcium and magnesium content, it’s sold at a higher price and often found in Michelin-starred restaurants.

I took home a Pag salt goodie bag that’s been enriching my Airbnb and hostel kitchen cooking over the last month!

Over all, I had a fantastic day on Pag Island. I’ve never been anywhere quite like it… I suspect there’s nowhere quite like Pag! I’ll remember it a long, long time.

More Pag activities: