Croatia Wave's luxurious villas, fine dining and exclusive parties

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Croatia Wave offers lux festival packages in 21 towns including Dubrovnik
Fresh Island Festival takes place annually on Zrce Beach on the Isle of Pag
Wine-tasting, National Park visits and in-villa massages are also available

Published: 02:16 EST, 6 September 2015 | Updated: 08:17 EST, 8 September 2015

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Three years ago I visited Croatia for Hideout Festival, and made the unfortunate error of booking a spot in a budget camp site rather than spending a bit more on an air-conditioned apartment.

So when the opportunity arose to return to the Adriatic in luxury fashion I was certainly ready to revise my current impression of the holiday location.

This time around I was headed to Fresh Island Festival with Croatia Wave, a travel company catering primarily for travellers wanting to visit the growing number of music events setting up shop in the Eastern European destination.

A view of the swimming pool, outdoor sofa area and view of the Croatia landscape from the villa in Pag

I flew into Split from London and was greeted by a driver, arranged by Croatia Wave, ready to take me to the villa in Pag, though it was slightly disconcerting that I hadn’t been given the actual address.

As a lone female traveller I wanted to know exactly where I was going and eventually the company returned my call with the relevant info. However, I didn’t account for a two hour journey so my advice would be to book a flight to Zadar airport to cut your travel time by half.

The villa was a welcome sight and not just because of its Mediterranean-style architecture, but the views it offered of the surrounding hills, mountains and hidden beaches below.

The four star villa sleeps 10 people and comes with two kitchens, two bathrooms, as well as an outdoor dining area with a barbecue

My double room came with a balcony and beautiful view of the sea

My room, a double with lots of storage space, came with a balcony that provided a full view of the beautiful landscape and it was rather lovely waking up to it every morning of my visit.

The villa came with five bedrooms – two of which had twin beds – three bathrooms, a large living room, dining room, kitchen as well as a separate open plan kitchen and living room in an adjoining section.

That first night in the villa I was treated to a traditional Croatian Peka Barbecue made on the biggest griddle I’d ever seen. Certainly a perfect piece of equipment for the avid cook that would suit any party up for a touch of home cooking.

We dined at the outdoor table and drank locally produced wine until I was suitably stuffed and retired to my cool room ready for the first full day in Croatia.

Day One: Wine-tasting, boat parties and Joey Badass

After a continental breakfast of fruits, bread and cheese, our party enjoyed a quick dip in the villa’s pool to cool down – it does get hot - before heading off to the five star Hotel Boscinac in Novalja for some wine-tasting.

The entire property is surrounded by vineyards that provide the grapes for some of Croatia’s finest wines and a trained sommelier gave great detail about the red and white contents of each glass we tried.

My unrefined nose couldn’t quite pinpoint the exact flavours but nonetheless my palette very much appreciated the taste.

The wine cellar at Hotel Boscinac in Novalja where we did some wine tasting

A trained sommelier gave great detail about the red and white contents of each glass we tasted

Plates of appetisers were served to accompany the wine tasting

Lunch included an octopus salad with a main of grilled sea bass with a Swiss chard sauce

After the tasting we took lunch on the hotel’s veranda and this pescatarian thoroughly enjoyed a starter of octopus salad followed by a main of grilled sea bass with a Swiss chard sauce.

After lunch we headed to the festival for the first time and jumped on Croatia Wave’s sponsored boat party with Bonafide magazine and London’s Faded DJ collective.

Guests travelling with Croatia Wave get a 10% discount and it's definitely worth buying your tickets well in advance as hundreds of people were turned away from the vessel.

Drinks prices were low with a beer or vodka mixer costing 350 Kuno (£3.50) each - though it took half an hour just to get one - and anyone who’s a fan of hip hop, R&B, garage, grime and dancehall would not be disappointed with the musical offerings of the Faded DJs as the boat circled the surrounding islands.

Croatia Wave’s sponsored boat party with Bonafide magazine and London’s Faded DJ collective

Guests travelling with Croatia Wave get a 10% discount on their boat party ticket

Our party danced and enjoyed the music from the top deck of the boat party

Joey Badass performs at Papaya night club on Zrce Beach on day one of Fresh Island Festival

Four hours later we headed back to the villa to rest, shower and change before the evening's activities continued at Zrce Beach for the first headline acts at Fresh Island.

Other clubs located on the pebble beach open earlier and offer your typical Magaluf-style house/pop playlists, but for Fresh-goers the party starts at Papaya and Aquarius from 11pm and go on until around 5am the next morning.

Joey Badass was the perfect headliner for the festival’s first night and with the cool breeze from the sea washing over the heavy dancing and dutty wining, clubbing hasn’t looked or felt so good.

Day Two: Chasing waterfalls, tasting the sea and Action Bronson

We got back to the villa pretty late/early in the morning and if you’re staying in Pag be prepared to pay around £60 taxi fare for a ride back from Zrce beach.

A small power outage had caused the air conditioning to shut off so I woke up to a sunny view from keeping the balcony doors open and more than few mosquito bites. (TIP: Pack insect repellent in abundance).

Everyone benefited from a lazy morning soaking up the sun, cooling off in the pool and grabbing a late breakfast before our host's arranged for a car to take us to Krka National Park in central Dalmatia about an hour and a half away.

Krka National Park in central Dalmatia about an hour and a half away from Pag

The national park is named after the river Krka and features beautiful waterfalls and lagoons

We stripped off and enjoyed the cool waters during our visit to the park, as did many families and friends

The national park is named after the river Krka and honestly it was like something out of Blue Lagoon as we walked through the vegetation, over ponds and streams, to arrive at a beautiful cove with a waterfall plunging into the clear water.

The natural pool isn’t just for observing but for enjoying and we stripped off and navigated our way through the rocks for a refreshing dip in the afternoon sun.

Nearby are a number of food stands and a restaurant, providing outdoor seating and cover from the heat waves, so Krka definitely offers a greener alternative to a day at the beach.

That evening we dined out at Stara Solana, located in Pag Old Town, which boasted a menu filled to the brim with dishes made using locally-sourced fish, meats and vegetables.

Stara Solana, located in Pag Old Town, boasted a menu filled to the brim with dishes made using locally-sourced fish, meats and vegetables

Octopus is clearly a local favourite as once more it came with our starter salad and later in the assorted seafood platter alongside sea bass and crayfish

Octopus is clearly a local favourite as once more it came with our starter salad and later in the assorted seafood platter alongside sea bass and crayfish with a garlic, spinach and a potato side.

Luckily I didn’t go back for thirds (but of course I had seconds) because we were next whisked away on a speed boat to Zrce Beach for night two of Fresh Island.

Definitely the coolest way to travel, though it was quite ominous at night across the black water until the lights of the beach came into focus.

We docked at Noa Club, which I wouldn’t recommend considering it charges you to use their toilet, and swiftly headed to Papaya to catch Tim Westwood’s set.

Croatia Wave arranged for us to be whisked away on a speed boat to Zrce Beach for night two of Fresh Island

Action Bronson at Aquarius nightclub on Zrce Beach

The Big Dog hasn’t lost his touch and clearly he still has a large British following who were going wild for his set, but we sneaked out before it ended to get in prime position for Action Bronson at Aquarius.

The man from New Jersey pulled off a killer performance, and even brought on Joey Badass and Danny Brown to stage, before throwing his free Puma trainers into the crowd and then spitting his lyrics from nearly every corner of the club.

Day Three: Sunbathing, poolside massage and a farewell dinner

We arrived back at the villa a lot later than before, but thankfully Croatia Wave had made sure the air conditioning was fixed for our return and the room was beautifully cool to fall asleep in.

It wasn’t until mid-morning that our group had fully risen from bed, and while the majority headed to the secret little Dubrava Beach - just a short 10 minute walk from the villa - I took advantage of the quiet to read my book from the cool shallow end of the pool.

After two nights of clubbing at a hip hop festival a little alone time to unwind was essential.

For lunch our Croatia Wave host grabbed a few freshly made pizzas from Stara Solana for the bargain price of 50 kunas (£5.00) each and then arranged for all of us enjoyed a massage at the villa thanks to Jurica Bendelja and his team.

For just 120 kuno (£12) you can get a relaxing massage including back and legs, and just 30 kuno more for the sports variety.

Dubrava Beach is just a short 10 minute walk from the villa

Time to unwind: Enjoying the pool at the villa on my final day which was definitely the hottest

Though the sports massage is definitely not for the faint-hearted because at moments I could seriously imagine what being tortured for information felt like. Still my muscles had never felt so loose after.

We enjoyed the rest of the day’s sun at the villa before heading back into Pag Old Town for dinner at Na Tale restaurant where I had a shrimp risotto.

We found an abundance of restaurants nearby to choose from and also a few clubs for those not wanting to venture back to Zrce beach and to enjoy a night a little closer to their temporary home.

With an early flight in the morning a return to Fresh Island was not on the cards, but a glass of wine back at the villa definitely was, and our party enjoyed some good chats and laughs before we finally parted ways.

Croatia Wave arrange for massages at the villa by local professional Jurica Bendelja and his team

This visit to Croatia was certainly a marked improvement on three years ago, and even Fresh Island’s line-up was more suited to my musical taste than Hideout, but it wasn’t just the improved accommodation that made this experience more fulfilling.

It was the opportunity to explore more of what the country has to offer than just nightclubs, bars and restaurants, and having a team on call who can make your holiday wishes happen.

From wine-tasting to taxi firm numbers, private massages to boat parties, Croatia Wave have you pretty much covered and I’m certain I’ll be calling them ready to get Fresh once again next year.