Krk Island and Beautiful Baška
A trip from Rijeka to the island of Krk and the town of Baška – turquoise sea, a pebble beach, an ice-cold swim, and the historic town of Krk.
On the next day of our stay in Rijeka, we decided it was time for a proper trip. We chose the island of Krk, which is connected to the mainland by a huge bridge. We drove all the way down, as far as we could go – to the town of Baška. It’s about an hour’s drive from Rijeka, and the navigation took us through incredible, terribly long tunnels carved into the rocks. And the views along the way were simply amazing! 🚗🏞️
When we arrived in Baška, the navigation directed us to a designated car park. We were a bit surprised that it looked like a small football stadium. A man happened to be working there, so we went to ask him, just to be sure, whether we could really leave the car there. And imagine our surprise – the man spoke to us in Slovak! He immediately reassured us that it was the off-season, that there was no parking fee, and that we could stay there all day. Apparently, you still had to pay yesterday. That’s what I call luck right from the start. 🙂
We walked on a little further, and the famous Vela beach opened up before us. Baška is known for its almost two-kilometer-long pebble beach, and the sight was incredible – ahead of us, a turquoise sea, and behind it, towering, majestic, completely bare cliffs. 🌊⛰️
The way to the car park and the first view of Vela beach
An Ice-Cold Swim and Forgotten Swim Trunks
Even though it was the end of September, my husband had a clear plan. He’d brought his swim trunks and said that since he’d come all the way to the sea, he might as well have a swim. I tried the water, and to me it was freezing, maybe around twenty degrees at most. But he actually got in! A few people were sunbathing a bit further away, but he was the only one swimming. So he had the entire sea all to himself. 🙂
Right next to us was one of those classic beach changing cabins, so after his icy swim he went to change there. The beach shower wasn’t working anymore because the season was ending, but we had bottles of clean water in our backpack, so at least he could rinse off quickly. Well, the poor guy forgot his swim trunks in the changing cabin! So they might still be there on Krk to this day. 🤭
My husband, the only daredevil in the sea, on an already off-season beach
The Colonnade, Ice Cream, and the Pier
Then we went for a walk along the local long colonnade. There were stalls everywhere, local vendors offering souvenirs, so we bought a few too. Then we couldn’t resist the local ice cream, which looked really good. We sat down for a while in one of the cafés and just watched the calm and enjoyed the good ice cream. 🍦
A walk along the colonnade full of stalls and cafés
After that, we continued at a slow pace further back to the pier where the boats were. The view of the harbor, the cliffs, and the calm water was gorgeous, so I just kept taking photos. What caught our attention was the German we heard at every step. Mostly older German tourists were walking around, and there were cars with German license plates parked everywhere. Germans must really love it here, and I can’t blame them at all. After a few hours, we slowly set off toward Rijeka.
The view from the pier and the boats in the harbor of Baška
The Historic Town of Krk
On the way back, we also wanted to see the historic town of Krk itself, one of the oldest towns on the Adriatic, made famous by the powerful noble family of Frankopan. We parked according to the map a bit further from the center, but for free. And we went for a walk to the harbor and through the historic streets full of stone houses. It was a bit overcast, and we were amazed by the huge number of boats in the harbor, but I have to admit that I liked Baška a little more. It had a wilder, more romantic feel to it. In Krk, we had a late lunch with a direct view of the sea from a restaurant terrace, and then it was time to head back to Rijeka.
The historic walled town of Krk with a harbor full of boats
Croatian Roads
And here I have to mention one thing about Croatian roads. We were probably the only ones on the entire island, and in Rijeka too, who kept to the speed limit. The local Croatians drove incredibly fast, speed limits were more of a suggestion to them, and the police drove just as wildly. And the honking! Especially in Rijeka itself, drivers honk at each other constantly, and every so often you hear a horn somewhere in the city. During the day, it causes quite a bit of noise and chaos, but it has its own special atmosphere. What we really loved, though, were the highway tunnels. Driving hundreds of meters through the inside of a rock is quite an experience.
The next day, a trip home awaited us… Well, not quite home. We still had a journey through Hungary ahead of us. And where else did we stop along the way back, since our trip was far from over? You’ll find that out in the next article. 🙂
