Travel Tip: Rijeka, Croatia

From Hungarian Balaton, where the off-season calm had completely enchanted us, we set off further. Our destination was clear – Croatia. And for me personally, it was a milestone in my life. It was the very first time in my life I was heading to the sea! 🌊

A drive without traffic and last-minute accommodation 🚗

We set off from Balatonalmádi on the motorway straight towards Rijeka. It’s about 400 kilometers, and I have to say that traveling in September is a total travel hack. The Hungarian motorway was completely empty, and the Croatian one almost as well. No stress, no traffic jams. In Croatia, motorway tolls are paid at gates depending on which sections you drive through.

Since we knew that prices drop after the season and there’s plenty of vacancies everywhere, we booked accommodation just before departure through Booking. And we hit the jackpot! We chose the Apartment Opa Gold with two bedrooms on Ulica Matije Gupca. The location was absolutely brilliant, everything was close by, and the price? Just 490 CZK per person per night. An absolute steal for three nights. We basically only used it for sleeping, so I completely forgot to photograph it.

The only slight downside was paid parking. We left the car at the nearby large Delta car park. Even though it’s huge, finding a spot during the day was quite a challenge, and sometimes we had to wait a while for someone to leave. In the evening, though, there was luckily always a spot. 🅿️

We arrived in Rijeka around nine in the evening. When I got out of the car, the first thing that hit my nose was that summery, humid, hard-to-breathe air. Exactly the kind that apparently typically comes with the sea.

We stayed longer at Balaton than we’d planned (it was simply so beautiful there), so we went to bed very soon after arriving at our accommodation, excited for the next day. 🙂

First encounter and giant yachts 🛥️

The second morning it finally came. We set off towards the coast. We walked through the park past the beautiful building of the Croatian National Theatre, and suddenly it opened up before us. Gorgeous, enormous, luxurious yachts bobbing on the surface, and behind them the endless blue sparkled. The sea! My very first sea in life, seen with my own eyes. That feeling can’t even be described, I just stood there and stared. 🙂

We walked all the way to the Riječki lukobran pier, a long breakwater with a stunning view. I was photographing like crazy because the panoramas were unbelievable.

Giant yachts in Rijeka's harbor

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From there our steps led into the very heart of Rijeka – to the famous Korzo promenade. It’s a lively, wide street lined with beautiful colorful buildings, little shops, and cafés. The dominant feature is the stunning yellow City Clock Tower.

We walked along the Korzo all the way to the end, to the fountain on Jadranski trg square, from where there was a beautiful view of the majestic Jadran Palace. Right nearby, the monumental Capuchin Church caught our eye. It has a striking stone staircase and an unusual façade that immediately grabs your attention.

The Korzo, the yellow City Clock Tower, and Jadranski trg

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We continued uphill, wandering through romantic stone alleyways, and I fell more and more in love with Rijeka. It has an incredible charm. What’s more, all the people we met were incredibly nice and helpful. Whether in restaurants or shops, they always tried to help. It was funny that they sometimes understood Czech and we understood a bit of them, but English bridged the gap.

The atmosphere of the markets, Kontinental Park, and a salty taste test 🌊

Right near our accommodation we discovered something great – every morning the local market (Glavna tržnica) came to life there. Stallholders offered heaps of fresh fruit, vegetables, and all sorts of things. As we wandered through the city, we came from the other side to the park by Hotel Kontinental. There’s a beautiful gazebo there and a statue of Janko Polić Kamov, the famous Rijeka writer, leaning against the railing. When you look up from there, giant high-rise apartment buildings tower in the distance on the hills, creating a fascinating contrast with that historic part of the city.

Kontinental Park and a walk along the Rječina river

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After lunch we finally wanted to reach the sea for a proper beach. To save time and avoid trekking there on foot (it was quite far, after all), we called a Bolt. It dropped us as close as it could get.

Rijeka’s beaches are hidden below the hill, below the level of the road where the driver dropped us off, so you have to walk down steps to reach them. And that’s exactly where it happened. I walked down, touched the sea water for the first time in my life, and – of course I had to taste it too. And it really is salty! 😂

We walked along the beaches all the way to the back, to Grčevo beach. There we settled down for a while, rested, and simply soaked in that endless view of the waves and boats on the horizon. It was a beautiful oasis of calm. The sea water was completely transparent, beautifully clear, you could see all the way to the bottom.

Grčevo beach below the city

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Then came the less popular part – climbing all those steps back up the hill. We headed to a nearby large shopping center (Tower Center Rijeka), where we bought treats for dinner and breakfast, tapped a Bolt in the app once again, and let it take us back to the apartment for the evening.

Rijeka completely won me over, enchanted me, and fulfilled everything I had hoped for from my first encounter with the sea. And the best part was still ahead of us. The following days were full of amazing trips… but where exactly we went, you’ll find out in the next article. 🙂