Queen's Beach, Nin

Kraljicina Plaza runs about three kilometres along the coast north of Nin and is one of the few genuinely long sandy beaches in Croatia, with water so shallow that it stays waist deep several hundred metres out - which is why families use it and why it warms up so early in the season. Behind it are low dunes and the lagoon, and at one end is the peloid mud that Nin has long used for treatment, which people coat themselves in on the shore. The name refers to a tradition that Croatian queens bathed here. Velebit rises across the water, and the wind here makes it a kitesurfing beach as well.

What you'll find

• Three kilometres of sand - unusual on this coast.
• Water waist deep far out - warm early and safe for children.
• Peloid mud at one end - used for treatment, applied on the shore.
• Velebit across the water - the backdrop from the sand.

When to go

June to September; wind makes it a kitesurfing spot in the shoulder seasons. Half a day.

What to expect

There is very little shade - bring your own. The shallow water gets warm and weedy in late summer. Parking is charged and fills. The bura can whip sand across the beach.

Nearby

Nin and its saltworks are minutes away; Zadar is south.