We may have found the best family-oriented naturist campground/ resort in Europe.
Valalta has recently been putting a lot of money into upgrades, and it shows. We stayed 3 nights in one of their apartments last week. It had been recently renovated, and was easily the nicest apartment or guest house we stayed in during 15 days on the Adriatic. We went with our two kids- do note that it’s not “clothing optional” around the beaches and pools; all ages are expected to be nude around the water. They do have one small beach area to the side set up as “clothing optional” for teenagers (dance music playing, and most seemed to keep their bottoms on). Most people dress at night, and for activities like yoga, Zumba, etc.
The whole atmosphere of Valalta is really amazing- it's like summer camp for European families. Almost everyone was part of a multi-generational unit- most have been coming here for years and years, staying in semi-permanent camp sites. Well behaved children and youth of all ages, and lots of mutual respect. We found out kids will sometimes stay a month or more, and cycle through visiting parents, uncles, and grandparents. We’re English speakers- and found we were a real rarity among guests- we would guess about 65-70% German or Austrian, 25% Italian, and 5-10% from Croatia, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Poland, Sweden, Czech Republic, etc.
Valalta is HUGE- capable of accommodating about 6500 people. With a decent sized supermarket, pharmacy, spa, gift shops, gelato stands, a produce stand, marina, tennis courts, 3 mini golf areas, a half dozen pools, and about 7 separate restaurants, grills, and beach bars- all on site- it starts to feel like a small town. With 5 km of coastline, the smart guests bring bicycles. The camp pitches seemed kind of crowded to us (though quiet, very clean, safe, and well organized); we were glad we got an apartment. Because we were there in high season, beach and shaded pool chairs would get mostly full by 10:30 or 11, but even then it wasn’t impossible to find a place to put your things- it’s very spread out, so never feels too crowded in one place. No one gets up at the crack of dawn to reserve sunbeds- that was nice.
There are dozens of organized activities every day (day trips out, river cruises, water polo, volleyball, pool aerobics, yoga, kids club, kids parade, etc), but it’s just as easy to relax and do very little. Our kids loved the water slide area (conveniently located next to a bar for the parents!), and all the blow-up “bounce-house” style inflatable equipment in the water. The Adriatic Sea is beautiful!
Being in an apartment, we cooked our own breakfast (daily fresh made bread and chocolate donuts in the market!), packed a lunch, and then ate out at one of the restaurants for dinner. The kids’ favorite was easily “Saline” which has delicious wood fired pizza, is right on the beach, and has gorgeous sunsets.
Three days was way too short- we could have easily stayed 10 days here, and used it as a base to explore Istria, Rovinj, Venice, and Plitvice Lakes.
