A May holiday in Croatia with kids and a dog: twice in Zaton near Zadar

In both 2025 and 2026 we spent majówka, the early-May long weekend we have back home in Poland, in the same place: Zaton, a small town on the Adriatic, a dozen or so kilometres from Zadar. Each time we drove through the night with our four daughters and the dog, and at the other end mobile homes at Zaton Holiday Resort were waiting for us. A family we are friends with came along too, with their three kids. In May it is already warm here, but the beaches are still quiet.

Through four countries overnight

We left Wielkopolska in the evening, and by morning we were already near Zagreb, where we took a longer break at a service station. We reached the resort in the early afternoon.

May 2025: the resort, Vir and Zadar

In 2025 we stayed in a mobile home with a covered terrace. We spent the first few days at the resort itself: on the beach, at the playground shaped like a wooden boat, on the mini golf course and at the evening kids' entertainment. We write more about the resort in our post Zaton Holiday Resort with kids and a dog.

On 5 May we drove to the island of Vir, which is linked to the mainland by a bridge. We walked the paths above the red cliffs, and the dog finally got a swim in the sea. You can read about it in our post Vir island with kids and a dog.

On 6 May we spent the whole day in Zadar. We listened to the Sea Organ, watched the Greeting to the Sun light up in the evening, and looked out over the red roofs of the old town from the cathedral bell tower. It is all in our post Zadar with kids. While we were there, we noticed that Zadar hosts an international dog show over the May holiday. We made a mental note for the following year.

May 2026: two dogs, a dog show and a boat trip

A year later we were back in Zaton, this time with two golden retrievers. Fiona, the younger of the two, was not just along for the holiday. On 3 and 4 May we showed her at the CACIB international dog show in Zadar.

In between the show and the beach, we also found a new place for walks. Right next to the resort lies the abandoned Zaton Šepurine military airfield, with a long concrete runway. We left the car at the edge of the runway and followed a path through the bushes down to the rocky shore. The dogs ran around on the stones, and the kids climbed onto boulders in the clear water.

On 8 May we took an organised boat trip from Zadar to the Kornati islands and Telašćica Nature Park. It was the best day of the whole trip, and we describe it in our post Boat trip from Zadar to Kornati and Telašćica.

One day we went out for lunch in nearby Nin, and we spent the evenings at the resort. In 2026 some of us flew home: mum and two of the girls took a flight from Zadar to Poznań, while dad drove back with the rest of the kids and the dogs.

Practical info

Checked in November 2026.

Getting there and tolls

• We drove through the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia and Zagreb. In 2026 a 10-day Czech vignette costs 300 CZK, and an Austrian one 12.80 €.
• In Slovenia, a car taller than 1.3 m above the front axle pays 32 € for a 7-day vignette, and a lower one 16 €.
• On the A1 motorway from Zagreb to Zadar our Ford paid 28.20 €, because taller cars fall into category II. An ordinary passenger car pays 17.60 €.
• For the stretch from the Slovenian border to Zagreb we paid 10 €.

Taking a dog to Croatia

• Your dog needs a microchip, a pet passport and a valid rabies vaccination. The Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reminds visitors about muzzles and leads.
• At the Zaton resort, dogs are allowed on the sand of the main beach, but they can only go into the water at the separate dog beach by the marina.

Flying

Ryanair flies from Zadar to Poznań in the summer season. In 2026 the route ran from 3 April to 23 October.