Kotorska · Crikvenica
Crikvenica and arrival
Crikvenica has taken in guests since 1888, when the first bathing house went up on the shore.
Hotels and sanatoriums followed under the Austro-Hungarians, and in March 1906 the regional government declared the town a seaside resort and a climatic winter health resort. The season has moved since then: what is left of those years is the long seafront promenade and the beaches either side of the Dubračina, and the town fills in August and is quiet again by October. The name is older than any of it — crikva, the church at the river mouth.
Kotorska is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Crikvenica, perhaps the oldest. It lies beneath the village of Kotor, the first settlement in the area, built by the Frankopans in the Middle Ages. Archaeologists still uncover something of value at the nearby dig site from time to time.
This is the centre of sport in Crikvenica, with the gym and recreation centre, the football stadium and the athletics field all close by. The beach and the town centre are about ten minutes on foot, and the morning bakery is closer than that.
Photograph: Leo Wehrli, coloured by Margrit Wehrli-Frey, 1936. ETH Library Zurich, image archive, Dia_247-09406. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
Down Kotorska as far as the supermarket, across its car park to the river and over the footbridge. Then the far bank downstream, across the road at the bottom, and back over the river where the beach begins.
980 m from the gate to the water, and a little over twenty metres of climb on the way back — gentle, and spread over the whole distance.
Drawn from OpenStreetMap. © OpenStreetMap contributors
Beaches, nearest first
Walking times are from our gate.
- Kaštel
- Pebble, at the mouth of the Dubračina, beside the old Pauline monastery. 10 minutes on foot, 980 m: the walk drawn above.
- Podvorska
- Pebble, on the way to Selce. Beside the small harbour is the town's dog beach, which is free. 16 minutes.
- Balustrada
- In the centre, along the promenade, with beach volleyball and water polo. 18 minutes.
- Gradsko kupalište
- In the centre, beside the harbour: pebble under the pines, next to the town's swimming pool. 18 minutes.
- Pješčano kupalište
- The sandy one, and the beach for small children: sand and pebble, a water slide, and a ramp into the sea for guests who need one. Just past Hotel Miramare; in summer there is an entry charge, posted at the gate. About 22 minutes.
- Poli Mora, Selce
- In Selce: sand and pebble, with a water slide. About 50 minutes on foot along the sea, or a few minutes by car.
- Kačjak, Dramalj
- Near Dramalj, about 5 km north: cliffs and open sea on one side, green on the other. Take the car.
Photograph: Marino Klement, Turistička zajednica Grada Crikvenice.
Photograph: Marino Klement, Turistička zajednica Grada Crikvenice.
Photograph: Marino Klement, Turistička zajednica Grada Crikvenice.
Through the year
What comes round every year, here and within an hour's drive. The dates move a little each season; each line links to where they are published.
- January and February
- Carnival. Rijeka's international parade is on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday; Novi Vinodolski keeps its own, the Mesopust.Dates: Rijeka, Novi Vinodolski
- Mid-April
- The season opens in Crikvenica with a car show in the centre.Dates: Crikvenica
- Second half of May
- Scampi Festival in the restaurants along the Riviera.Dates: Crikvenica
- Early June
- (Sr)etno Selce, the village's festival of old customs.Dates: Crikvenica
- Mid-June
- Fiumanka, the sailing regatta in Rijeka.Dates: Rijeka
- July and August
- Primorje Nights: local produce, crafts and music in the evening, Thursdays in Crikvenica and Tuesdays in Selce.Dates: Crikvenica
- Mid-July
- CrikvArt, the street performers' festival in Crikvenica.Dates: Crikvenica
- July
- Uskok Days in Senj: the town goes back to the sixteenth century, sea battle included.Dates: Senj
- Early August
- The Summer Carnival in Senj.Dates: Senj
- 14 and 15 August
- Crikvenica Town Day, and the swimming marathon across from Šilo on Krk, swum for more than a hundred years.Dates: Crikvenica
- Second half of August
- Ružica Vinodola in Novi Vinodolski, the contest of the grape harvest.Dates: Novi Vinodolski
- End of August
- Fishermen's Week in Crikvenica, eight days running into September.Dates: Crikvenica
- Mid-September
- Stance Adria in Jadranovo: lowered cars lined up on the beach.Dates: Crikvenica
- Mid-September to mid-October
- Oily Fish Month in the restaurants along the Riviera.Dates: Crikvenica
- End of November to early January
- Advent by the sea in Crikvenica, and in Rijeka.Dates: Crikvenica, Rijeka
Photograph: Marino Klement, Turistička zajednica Grada Crikvenice.
Photograph: Hrvoje Košir, Turistička zajednica Grada Crikvenice.
Photograph: Miroslav Matejčić, Turistička zajednica Grada Crikvenice.
Days out
Distances are by road from the house.
- Krk town
- 43 km, about 50 minutes over the bridge. Our own favourite: a walk through the old town.
- Vrbnik and its wine
- 46 km, about an hour, also on Krk. Žlahtina, the local white, grows in the small valley above the village, and the cellars pour it for tasting. Locals often drink it as a gemišt, with sparkling water. The cellar nearest to us is Pavlomir, above Novi Vinodolski, 13 km away, which grows it too.
- Senj and the Nehaj fortress
- 34 km, about 45 minutes down the coast. The fortress was finished in 1558 for the Uskoks, stubborn people who did not care for strangers telling them what to do. The name itself means "don't care". It is a museum now.
- By boat to Krk and Rab
- Boat excursions to the islands run in season. Ask us and we will point you to one.
- Plitvice Lakes National Park
- 126 km, about two and a half hours each way, in Lika. Lakes and waterfalls in the forest, and worth the whole day.
- Rijeka
- 33 km, about 40 minutes. The nearest city, for a change from the beach.
Foto: Davor Žunić / Fotofaktor | Izvor: Visit Krk City
Photograph: Arne Müseler / www.arne-mueseler.com, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, cropped.
Photograph: Tesla Delacroix, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Getting here
Kotorska 54, 51260 Crikvenica, Croatia
Rijeka airport is 22 km away.
Someone from the family will be at the door when you arrive, to show you where to park and walk you up to the apartment. Check-in is from 14:00 to 23:00 — let us know roughly when to expect you.
