Like an actor who insists on being photographed from his "better side," Rab's terrain has two halves that are quite different from each other. If seen from the mainland, Rab resembles a strip-mined mountainside devoid of vegetation and inhospitable to intelligent life. The southwestern side of the island, however, is a very different story. Tranquil beaches and coves, green spaces, and a beautifully kept medieval Old Town belie travelers' first impressions. Rab has been a haven for tourists since the 19th century, but its history goes back even further.
Like Pag to the south, Rab was settled by Liburnian Illyrians, who were succeeded by a series of conquerors: Romans, Byzantines, Croat-Hungarians, and finally the Venetians, who plundered the timber on Rab and other offshore Kvarner islands to build their ships. This wholesale environmental piracy left a vast swathe of ruined terrain. It wasn't until the late 19th century that tourism began to cross the forlorn-looking east side of the island to get to Rab's verdant southwest side, where hotels began to sprout for aristocrats intent on frolicking in the surf.
Italy and Germany dominated Rab around World War II, and the island finally reverted to Yugoslavia in the late 1940s when Tito took control. Tito converted the barren little island of Goli Otok (between Rab's east side and the mainland) into a prison camp where he detained Stalin supporters (though officially the place didn't exist and wasn't mentioned until Tito's death). It is said that men who wound up on Goli Otok spent their days carrying rocks from one site to another and back again.
Today Goli Otok is a tour-boat stop and Rab is a mecca for economical family vacations and for visitors who want to combine a beach vacation with a little history, The island's main tourist destinations are Rab Town with its medieval center and series of Venetian campaniles (bell towers); and Lopar Peninsula at the island's northern tip, with its sandy beach and shallow water. Rab is also becoming a popular overnight stop for luxury yachts, which become tourist attractions themselves when they tie up in Rab Town's horseshoe-shaped harbor.
