Umag. Things to do, map and hidden gems

The Savudrija lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse on the Adriatic and one of the oldest in this part of Europe: the tower, thirty-six metres tall, was built in 1818 on the order of the Austrian Emperor Francis I, at a time when Trieste was the empire's main port and navigation toward it had to be secured. The legend that goes with the lighthouse is lovely and probably untrue: that an Austrian count had it raised out of love for a Croatian noblewoman he met at a ball in Vienna, who died before the tower was finished. Something else is verifiable: the tower was the first in the world to use gas light from its own gasworks, a technology that was then a novelty. The lighthouse works to this day, and in the building beside it apartments have been fitted for rent. It is reached by the road from Savudrija, and the approach is open; the tower's interior is not visited, but the platform around it gives a view as far as Piran and, on clear days, to the Alps.

The Chapel of St Peregrine stands right on the shoreline south of Umag, on a spot tradition ties to the martyrdom of the town's protector: according to legend Peregrine was killed here in the 3rd century, and the place was venerated for centuries before today's stone chapel was raised on it. The building is small and simple, with one entrance and a roof of stone slabs, and it stands so close to the sea that in a storm the waves reach its threshold. That position is precisely what makes it unforgettable: a chapel amid the rocks, without a fence and without ceremony, with sea on three sides. It is reached by the coastal promenade from Umag, some twenty minutes' walk, or by car to the car park above. The interior is open on the feast day and by arrangement, but the exterior view alone suffices. For a visitor seeking a reason to walk the shore instead of lying on the beach, this is the best goal in the area, and the best at dusk.

Zambratija Bay is a quiet bay north of Katoro that hides a find of world importance: in its shallows in 2008 the remains of a wooden boat sewn with rope were found, dated to the Bronze Age, about three and a half thousand years old, and thus the oldest known boat of its kind in the Mediterranean. The find stayed underwater, protected and supervised, and research continues to this day; it is not visible from the surface, but boards along the shore explain what lies below. The bay itself is what it always was: shallow sea, concrete platforms, fishing boats and a small marina, without hotels and without music. Bathing is calm and warm, and the bottom is sandy in several places. By the bay work two taverns with fish from these waters, and to Sipar the coastal path is a ten-minute walk. For a day that joins quiet bathing with the feeling of being above three thousand years of history, Zambratija is the best choice of the Umag region.

Stella Maris Beach is Umag's longest arranged bathing stretch, laid along the sports and hotel complex of the same name south of the town: several hundred metres of concrete platforms and shingle, with a pine wood that descends almost to the water and gives shade rarely found on this part of the coast. By the beach are showers, cabins, bars, volleyball courts and sports equipment rental, and within the complex also the tennis centre where the Croatia Open is played. The sea is open to the west, clear and quickly deep, and the platforms ease the entry for those bothered by shingle. This is a beach for a whole day: shade behind your back, facilities along the path and a promenade that leads back into town in twenty minutes. In tournament week this is the season's greatest crush; the rest of the summer the beach takes all who come without trouble. The sunsets are, as everywhere on Istria's western coast, direct.

The Pozioi town bathing area is Umag's main beach and an example of what on the Istrian coast is called an arranged bathing spot: concrete platforms with ladders into the sea, belts of coarser shingle and pines above, all immediately south of the core and linked by a promenade that leads on toward Stella Maris. The sea here is deep close to shore and clear because the coast opens to the west, and the platforms give a level place for a towel and an entry without stones underfoot. By the beach work showers, cabins, bars and lounger rental, and a lifeguard service is on duty in season. Because of the closeness to the core this is the easiest beach for guests without a car: five minutes from the main square and two from the car park. In the afternoon the sun stays long, and the sunsets from the concrete are among the best in town, because the western coast of Istria is Croatia's only shore that looks into the open west with no islands before it.

Polynesia Beach at Katoro is the main bathing area of the tourist zone north of Umag and the best choice for families who want neither steps nor shingle: a long belt with concrete platforms and arranged sand-and-shingle entries, with a sea that deepens slowly and with a view of the islet of Sveti Ivan off the shore. Katoro was built as a holiday zone, so by the beach everything needed is in one place: showers, cabins, loungers, bars, restaurants, an aquapark, courts and a walking path that leads toward Umag in one direction and Savudrija in the other. The sea is clean and sheltered, and the beach carries a blue flag. The drawback is obvious: one does not come here for the original Istria but for comfort, and that is fine if it is planned that way. To the core of Umag it is a five-minute drive or a half-hour walk by the coastal promenade.