Things To Do in Cres and Losinj Islands

Cres Town

During the day, Cres Town resembles a deserted coastal village somewhere in southern Italy, thanks to its complement of small fishing boats, Venetian-style architecture, and relentless sun. The sound of Cres’s peculiar chatter is a mix of Croatian and Italian that makes you forget that you’re in Croatia.

Cres’s main square, Trg F. Petrića, extends to the harbor. It is home to a lovely 16th-century loggia where public announcements once were posted. It also has an impressive 16th-century clock. From Trg F. Petrića, go through the 16th-century gate to Pod Urom, another square where you will find the church of St. Mary of the Snow. This little church has a graceful 15th-century portal adorned with a relief of the Virgin and Child. It is open during services only, but it’s worth trying to coordinate your visit with Mass so you can see the carved wooden Pietà inside.

Beli, Valun & Lubenice

North of Cres Town, the island becomes steep and the road becomes a twisting, narrow ribbon more like a roller coaster track than a thoroughfare. About 8km (5 miles) past Cres Town, the road forks into Beli, a captivatingly rustic hilltop village that is practically deserted, with a pleasant pebble beach down below. In the past there was a bird sanctuary in Beli, dedicated to protecting the region’s endangered griffon vultures, but sadly it has now closed down.

Valun is just 14km (9 miles) southwest of Cres Town, and can only be accessed by private transportation. Even with a car, you have to walk down a long flight of stairs to the harbor. Like Beli, Valun is anything but crowded. There are a few restaurants for those who are attracted by Valun’s beaches. For history buffs, Valun is home to the Valun Tablet,which is really an 11th-century Glagolitic-inscribed tombstone. The Valun Tablet (with Latin translation in case you can read that dead language) can be viewed in the town’s parish church.

Lubenice is 4.8km (3 miles) southwest of Valun atop a windy ridge high above a beautiful clear-water cove. The view from this tiny hilltop village is breathtaking. There’s just one small eatery, Konoba Hibernica, where you can taste local lamb. You can get to the water below by picking your way down the gravel slope, but invest in a bottle of water first. Don’t forget that you have to climb back up, unless someone meets you with a boat in the bay.

Lošinj

Mali Lošinj, the main settlement on the island of Lošinj, started building its reputation as a tourist destination at about the same time it stopped building ships for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The town prospered despite the decline in industry because wealthy Austrians began to winter there, as they had in Opatija, albeit on a smaller scale.

Some of the villas built on Lošinj in that era still exist (the town peaked as a building center in 1868), as does the shipyard itself, which is still working. Despite its annual influx of foreign tourists from all around the globe, Mali Lošinj has retained its charm and character, mostly by keeping the big resort complexes outside of town on Ĉikat Bay, west of the center. On summer nights, the Riva Lošinjinjskih Kapetana (promenade) along the harbor can resemble New Orleans at Mardi Gras, and getting a table at a restaurant or a room in a hotel can be impossible. But Mali Lošinj manages to handle the chaos without blinking an eye.

As a general rule, the restaurants that line the harbor in Mali Lošinj are a little higher priced and more orientated towards tourists. For more authentic dining options, head to Veli Lošinj or other smaller settlements on the island.