Level of difficulty 4 paddles |  Gastronomy 3 pitchers |  Length 7.8 km |  Time 2 – 2.5 hours

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Lanterna Bay can be easily explored from the tranquil and historically significant holiday resort of Novigrad. The tour south of town combines the safety of paddling near the shore with a homeopathic dose of open-sea paddling.

General information

• Novigrad tourist information
• Istra tourist information
• Istra Card
• Novigrad Wikipedia
• Istria Wikipedia
• Climate
• Wind, waves, weather

Navigation rules

The beaches around Novigrad are very popular and accordingly there are enough swimmers in the water - they have to be avoided and given priority. The same applies to the motor boats, yachts and taxi boats along the route. Ships are not to be expected, but of course they have priority.

Dangers and risks

The small Karpinjan Beach is walled towards the marina so that the water is thrown back into the sea along the vertical walls. When there are waves, you should rather use the pebble beach to the west.

Here and along the town wall there are more than enough bathers and also some paddlers in the water, so start carefully and kneel so as not to endanger anyone! Also along Lanterna Bay, which is a veritable holiday resort full of hotels, you should be prepared for many bathers.

Along the town wall, the water level in the area of the walled bathing areas is sometimes very low. If you paddle too close, you risk falling into the water and possibly onto the sharp-edged rock below.

Around the lighthouse, along the mole and the town wall of Novigrad, keep a safe distance, because here too the waves can push paddlers against the barriers and the stony seabed is not very deep. This also applies to paddling along Lanterna Bay. Wearing shoes is an advantage here.

There is sometimes a lot of traffic in the water along the entire route - especially near the new port (mainly boats and yachts). Boat waves can severely challenge balance, regular scanning the surroundings is required.

Of course, the open sea also has its typical dangers here and should therefore only be crossed by experienced paddlers. It is advisable to have a buoyancy aid with you and, if possible, do not to paddle alone!

Directions

From the centrally located roundabout at the Plodine supermarket, drive the D75 northwest towards Umag, pass two more roundabouts in quick succession and turn left towards Karpinjan Beach after 120 m (into Kastanija Street, along the harbour). Shortly before the tennis courts there is a paid parking lot on the left (0.7 € per hour/as of 2023), at the last tennis courts there is a free parking lot (entrance to the Lungomare restaurant).

Public transport connections to Novigrad or at least the surrounding area can be found on Omio and Busbud. From the center you walk to the starting point of this paddle tour in decent time if you carry the SUP on your back.

Parking

On Kastanija Street, shortly before the tennis courts there is a paid parking lot on the left (€0.7 per hour/as of 2023), at the last tennis courts there is a free parking lot (entrance to the restaurant Lungomare). From both parking lots you reach the beach in one minute.

Swimming

Novigrad's most famous bathing beach - Karpinjan Beach - stretches north of the town's center for about 500 m in length, with the longest section being a stone and pebble beach and the shorter section consisting of concrete plateaus. The shallow shore is particularly ideal for children and the elderly, which is why it is usually very busy.

In addition to a wide range of sports facilities, bathers will also find gastronomy, sanitary facilities, parking spaces and shadowy pine trees.

The average water temperature is impressive all year round: in summer it is 22 – 24° C, in late autumn and spring it is still around 18° C. Even the coldest months still measure around 10° C, which means you could also dare to cool down after a winter paddling tour, as long as the notorious fall winds (Bora) do not trigger storm warnings.

Tour

From Karpinjan Beach to the left around the lighthouse, across the sea to the other side of Lanterna Bay and back again.

Length

7.8 km

Time

2 – 2.5 hours

Start and landing

At any point along Karpinjan Beach in northern Novigrad.

SUP rental

Jetski Novigrad
Kastanija 1, 52466 Novigrad
Phone +385 (0)91 604 2121

Jetski Novigrad
Kastanija 15, 52466 Novigrad
Phone +385 (0)91 604 2121

Belistra Water Sports
Livada ul. 13, 52466 Novigrad
Phone +385 (0)91 5228 810

PulaKayakRental
Mobile SUP rental in Istria
Teslina 30, 52100 Pula
Phone +385 (0)977 636 590

Up and down over the water

The historic Novigrad trumps primarily with its nice old town and the countless bathing opportunities in and around the small Istrian town. Of course, there are always paddlers frolicking around in the demarcated swimming zones near the shore. But paddling only gets really interesting when you venture a little further out to sea.

Excellent opportunities to start SUP tours can be found on the popular Karpinjan beach north of the town's center. Fortunately, there is a free car park in front of the restaurant Lungomare and a fairly cheap car park about 150 m away. From both parking lots you walk through the spacious park full of pine trees to reach the water. Like all water accesses in the town area, this beach is also largely walled and easily accessible via stairs.

As soon as I get on my board, I realize that the forthcoming paddle tour will demand a lot from me, when waves coming in from the side almost throw me back into the water. Absolutely safe footing and experience in sea paddling are not only an advantage here, but a prerequisite if you want to enjoy the following seven kilometers and be back in a reasonable time - at least during the high tide, which starts in the late afternoon.

Although the Bay, in which the harbor is located, is quite sheltered from the wind and the light waves are easy to calculate, there is regular ship and boat traffic here. If you don't start directly at the gravel beach, but at one of the walled water accesses, you have to reckon with strong waves sloshing back. So always paddle away from the bank structures kneeling before you get up

The advantage of the light breeze blowing against me is that it gives me the subjective feeling of paddling faster than I actually do. Despite it, I reach the lighthouse in Novigrad after a few minutes and find myself in a pleasantly swaying swell. The lighthouse is located at the head of a mole, the inside of which serves as a berth for yachts and boats and can be accessed on foot. A little beyond there is the small port called Mandrac, which once served as the town's only port. Meanwhile, behind it - between the beach and the town center - is the new and larger main harbor with about 400 modern parking spaces for yachts and boats.

Now it's off to the open water, where I initially keep a distance of at least ten meters from the mole so as not to be pushed onto the wave-breaking rocks. After all, I'm now dealing with somewhat stronger waves and an estimated two Beaufort winds from the west. This means that the wind strength is in the pleasant annual average and the sea remains paddleable, even if it requires a lot of concentration and coordination on the SUP.

Balancing the waves requires enormous leg and hip strength, so I paddle along Novigrad's promenade and past the historic town wall with high muscle tension. However, my distance to the old town is increasing, because I orient myself at the opposite end of the extensive Lanterna Bay, which lies about two kilometers south of town.

I paddle mostly on my own and can fully concentrate on the waves, which give me a rollercoaster ride full of fun, as long as I can catch the waves properly and follow their rhythm. Then it goes up and down between crest and valley in pleasant intervals, whereby I paddle portside in short strokes in order to ride the waves as long as possible. It's tedious, but just as entertaining.

In addition, I only encounter the taxi boat here, which runs back and forth between Novigrad and Lanterna every hour. From time to time I stop and enjoy the silence around me while I look after the ships on the horizon and leisurely rocking up and down. The view of the mainland, on the other hand, reveals a clear view of the blue-painted Mirna Bridge, which crosses the river of the same name. It is almost six kilometers to get there and one day I will also paddle towards this River and further.

Just before I reach the mainland on the other side, I watch a jet ski driver doing his rounds vigorously in front of me, giving me an extra boost of waves. This is not surprising, especially since the next jet ski rental is not far away.

A little later I'm paddling along the shore line of the spacious holiday resorts of Valmar, probably the largest and highest quality provider of holiday services and facilities in Croatia. At first the shore is still rocky and offers a number of hidden berths, but after a few hundred meters I'm amazed when I suddenly see a sandy beach in front of me. Lanterna Beach is also part of the huge Valmar complex and was artificially raised, but it is still beautiful to look at.

In the area of the aqua park I start the way back and set my SUP back towards Novigrad. In the meantime the wind has shifted a bit and after a few minutes I'm perfectly positioned on the board so that I can fully enjoy a downwinder. The side-lapping waves require skill and peripheral vision, but I can now paddle more distance with fewer strokes. You float over the waves with incredible ease when you need about a third less effort.

Novigrad with its distinctive bell tower, which looks very similar to the Campanile of San Marco in Venice, is getting closer and I am heading towards the middle of the peninsula that forms the old town center.

About 130 m in front of the brick shore with its countless breakwaters, I break through the limitation of the swimming area. It's best to look for anchorages of the ropes, because that's where they're pulled down a bit into the water and fixed to the bottom, so you can glide over them without fin contact. In the early evening most people are drawn back to the old town or to their accommodations. Nevertheless, the promenade is lively and people eagerly pose at the stone viewing house Belvedere to snap a souvenir photo with sea view.

Along the fully intact wall from the 13th century, a little caution is required going towards the mole if you paddle close to the shore. First of all, the water level is barely lower than one to two meters in several places, which can lead to a hard landing on the jagged rocks if you fall. You can see the shallow areas well by the light coloring on the satellite image. On the other hand, the waves can cause paddlers to drift too close to the bricked shore, especially at high tide. Still, there is ample opportunity to examine the town's wall more closely, which Novigrad owes to being a member of the WTFC (Walled Towns Friendship Circle).

After about two hours I turn right again at the lighthouse and let the wind and waves gently push me back to shore. A wonderful and technically varied ride ends here in the bay in front of Karpinjan Beach. It won't be the last, as there are still some interesting routes to explore around here.