Croatia is home to over 1000 islands. Really. The majority of the islands are small and uninhabited, only accessible by private boat. The rest–the ones that are actually home to people–are well connected to the mainland (and other islands) by ferry. A few major islands seem to attract the bulk of the visitors, and during the height of the tourist season, these spots are often teeming with people from around the world searching for the best beaches and night clubs.
I’ll be honest, its not really my scene. I much prefer the quiet spots where you can almost forget that Croatia is becoming one of the top tourist destinations in Europe. Enter Cres. Cres is one of the largest islands in Croatia, located just beyond Krk, off the coast of Istria. It is connected by bridge to the islands of Losinj and Mali Losinj. There are a few large resorts on Mali Losinj, but overall the vibe is pretty chill.
After our trip to Kairos, we headed up the coast and took the ferry to Cres. We stayed in a lovely house in the town of Martinšćica on the south west side of the island. Our balcony had a lovely view of the sea, and we were just a few steps from a very passable restaurant, a cafe, and the obligatory local gelato haunt. We explored the island by day and returned to our beautiful little (temporary) home in the evenings to cook, drink wine, and enjoy the view.
Usually, when we travel, I come home with a laundry list of amazing places that I want to revisit, or places that I discovered but wasn’t able to fully take advantage of. I always have at least a few good restaurants to recommend, or a particular place for coffee. Not on Cres. I have nothing to recommend, but recommend everything at the same time.
Some of the highlights were: the village of Lubenice (which means watermelons), Valun, and the towns of Veli Losinj and Mali Losinj. Walk around, visit little villages and dip periodically into the sea–no need for lengthy itineraries or complex menus. After all, there’s no stress on Cres.
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