Dates: 27-28 May 2022
Location: Stella Maris Resort, Umag
Sea Star Festival is one of the newest Croatian music festivals. The first edition took place fairly recently, in 2017. Nevertheless, the festival soon became extremely popular among visitors and is now regarded as one of the best festivals in Croatia. Sea Star takes place in the small town of Umag, located in the Istria region. The event traditionally starts in late May, marking the beginning of the festival season in Croatia. Keep reading to get the latest info about the festival tickets, lineup, and confirmed dates for 2022
About Sea Star Festival
As mentioned above, Sea Star is a relatively new music festival. Its founders are the same people organizing a super popular EXIT festival in Serbia. The popularity of the festival is proved by 50.000 people which attended the first edition, a record which still holds. Sea Star usually lasts for 4 days, which includes a Welcome party and an after-party. The support of the sisterly EXIT festival has proved to be extremely valuable, as seen by the musicians which performed at Sea Star so far. Wu-Tang Clan, The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, Paul Kalkbrenner, Nina Kraviz, and Robin Schulz are just some of the names who performed at the event. Generally, the festival is focused on several music genres, from rock and pop to techno and hip hop.
Lineup
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic which postponed Sea Star 2020, the organizers managed to bring back some of the confirmed artists. So far, only the first ballot of artists has been confirmed. Below is the list of all artists who will perform at Sea Star 2022. The list will be updated as soon as organizers announce new headliners.
| Cypress Hill | Amelie Lens | Dubioza Kolektiv |
| Meduza | Umek | Farrago |
| Insolate | Tijana T | Vojko V |
| Kuku$ | Buntai | Buč Kesidi |
| Andrea Ljekaj | Bronski | DJ Gumja |
| Marcel | Triad |
Tickets
There are 3 types of tickets for the festival:
- Regular festival ticket
- VIP Gold festival ticket
- Camping tickets
Both are valid for all festival days, however, with the VIP ticket you get access to the VIP Main stage zone. A camping ticket can be purchased for 2 or 3 days. As for the prices, the festival is currently offering a promo price:
- Regular festival ticket from 44€ + booking fees
- VIP Gold festival ticket from 100€ + booking fees
- Camping ticket from 30€ + booking fees
Tickets can be bought on the official festival website.
NOTE: The festival is traditionally giving a special discount for citizens of Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They can buy the tickets at somewhat cheaper prices. Proof of citizenship is not necessary, because the system will check your billing address when you pay for the ticket via credit card.
How to get to Umag
By Plane
If you plan on flying to the Sea Star festival, you have several options at your disposal. The festival is located in the town of Umag, which does not have its own airport. However, there are a few airports located fairly close. We have listed them below, along with information on how to get from each airport to Umag. Make sure to check if your hometown airport has flights to these airports:
- Pula Airport, Croatia (80 km)
- Trieste Airport, Italy (90 km)
- Rijeka Airport, Croatia (125 km)
- Ljubljana Airport, Slovenia (150 km)
From Pula Airport you can take a direct shuttle bus to Umag, or alternatively take a shuttle bus to Pula and then another direct bus to Umag. Trieste Airport has a shuttle bus or a train to Trieste, and then another direct bus to Umag. From Rijeka Airport take a shuttle bus to Rijeka, and then another direct bus to Umag. From Ljubljana Airport take a shuttle bus to Ljubljana center and then another bus to Umag. Pula Airport is the only one with a direct bus line to Umag. All other cases require at least 2 buses to get there.
By Bus
Although located in the far western part of the country, Umag is easily reachable by bus. You will find daily departures from all the larger Croatian cities, such as Zagreb or Rijeka. And since Umag is located near Slovenia and Italy, you can also find buses from Slovenian cities Ljubljana and Koper, and Italian cities Trieste and Venice. You can use this bus search website to find connections and buy tickets.
By Ferry
If you are coming from Italy, you can take a ferry to get to Umag. There is only one active ferry route to Umag at the moment; departing from Venice. In this case, taking a ferry is faster than taking a bus from Venice. Total journey time is about 2.5 hours. However, you will most definitely lose some time at border control in Italy. Please note that the ferry from Venice is the only international connection to Umag. There are no ferries from Slovenia.
NOTE: When coming from non-Croatian cities like Ljubljana or Trieste, please read the general information about entering Croatia here.
How to get to Sea Star Festival
Stella Maris Resort, where Sea Star takes place, is located 3 km north of the Umag city center. The bus station, or more precisely bus stop, is located at the address Kolodvorska 2. This is where you will be dropped when arriving at the city by bus. Unfortunately, Umag does not have a public transport system. That is why you will have to either walk or take a taxi from the city to the Stella Maris Resort. It all depends on where your accommodation unit is located. In the worst case, you won’t have to walk for more than 20-30 minutes. To see the exact location of the Sea Star venue, make sure to check the map at the end of the article.
Accommodation
Sea Star festival offers camping near the festival site. As mentioned above, you will have to buy separate camping tickets if you decide to go with this option. The camping site is located about 50 meters from festival stages and about 500 meters from the beach, so in an ideal location. Campers can use Stella Maris’s indoor swimming pools and parking area. You will have to bring your own tent and sleeping bags, however. Alternatively, there are numerous private accommodation units available to rent. Umag is a very popular tourist destination, so you will be able to find private accommodation, hotels, motels, and apartments nearby. We recommend booking everything in advance, as prices increase as the festival season approaches. You can use any of the most popular accommodation sites like Booking.com, Airbnb, or TripAdvisor to find your apartment.
What to see while at Sea Star Festival?
Umag is a small Croatian coastal town, providing a typical Istrian charm. It would be a shame not to visit some of the sights the town and its area has to offer. Here are some ideas on what else to see and do while at the festival.
Umag – a small, picturesque town rich in history. You just have to visit the Old Town and historic city walls. While in the city, make sure to check out the 16th Century church of Sveti Roko, Humagum park, and the Umag museum, holding artifacts from the Roman period. The town is also filled with restaurants and konobas where you can taste authentic Istrian cuisine.
Savudrija Lighthouse – also known as Cape Savudrija, is the oldest Croatian lighthouse. It is located about 9 km north of Umag, so you can get there by bike, car, or taxi. Unfortunately, the lighthouse is closed to the public, but you can explore its construction from the outside, and there are of course several beaches nearby.
Beaches – this is an obvious choice, as you will probably spend a lot of time at Stella Maris beach. However, Umag offers several others to choose from. Osmica Beach, Kanegra Beach, Polynesia Beach, Savudrija Beach, and Beach Aurora are just some of them. If you like crowded places, the main beach in Umag is also an option. Each one has its own perks, and we’ve marked the location of them all on our map below.
Jangalooz Adventure Park – located right at the Stella Maris Resort, this is a perfect choice for all adventure lovers. The park is suitable for all ages and offers various activities, from the zip line and wall climbing to free falling. This could be an interesting alternative once you get tired of the beach if that is even possible.
Sea Star Festival FAQs
Yes, you have to be at least 18 years old to attend the festival.
There are 6 stages plus a VIP zone. The stages sometimes don’t have the same names as they did in the last edition of the festival. However, all of them are located within a couple of hundreds of meters from each other.
The official currency in Croatia is Kuna. One Euro is equal to about 7.5 Kunas. There is an ATM machine at the festival venue. In addition, there are several other ATMs in Umag. Moreover, you can use contactless payment at the festival by buying a SEA STAR CARD. You just top up the money on the card and use it for buying food and drink.
As far as we know, there is no WIFI at Sea Star. You will probably be able to connect to the WIFI provided by the Stella Maris hotel and beach bars located near the venue. We recommend purchasing a Croatian SIM Card and buying some of the Internet packages.
Check-in is possible from the early morning hours, while check-out has to be done by noon on the last day of the festival.
Festival Map
Sometimes getting around the new country can be challenging. That is why we’ve come up with a map intended for anyone going to the Sea Star music festival. The map contains all the important locations in and around Umag, from festival venue to beaches and not-to-miss attractions. Check out the our Sea Star festival map.