Island Cres is proud to host some of the best beaches in Croatia. Here we try to present our favourite beaches on the island, each having its own charm, and offering a different experience. Keep in mind though that the accessibility of the beach is inversely proportional to its desertiness. We believe everyone can find his own favourite beach on the island Cres, and will keep returning back to this beautiful island.
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Lubenice beach (Sveti Ivan), island Cres |
Beach near Lubenice, island Cres |
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Beach Sveti Ivan under the stunning village of Lubenice is reknowned as one of the top beaches in Croatia. As you get closer to entering the crystal clear blue waters of Lubenice beach, its tiny peabbles become finer and finer, til almost sand, fine enough to nurture your body, but just coarse enough not to stick to you and your towel. This beach is just perfect. But as nothing comes at no cost, you will either have to hire a boat or join an excursion boat for a day trip or walk from the Lubenice village (for free:-)). The descent takes about 40 minutes, but it might take twice as long to get back to this stunningly beautiful village high up on the rocks. It is possible to walk from Lubenice village to the Blue grotto beach (Zanja) as well, provided you take a left turn after around 15 minutes of walking down. Take pleanty of water. This beach has been listed as the 15th most beautiful in the world by 'Bild'. |
If you are lucky to come by boat, you can explore some breathtakingly beautiful little beaches and coves on the way to Lubenice beach, which is situated between Martinscica and Valun (twice closer to Martinscica). It takes around 45 minutes to get from Martinscica to Lubenice beach by an average boat of 8 horse powers. Next to the Sveti Ivan beach there is almost a replica of the same beach, which comes with a bonus: Blue grotto - a hidden cave with a large blue lagoon inside. If you are brave enough, you can dive out of the cave - just take a deep breath and be carefull not to come up to surface too early. Just a bay away from Blue Grotto, you can find this particular secluded little beach on the photo which also has a sweet secret: there is a fresh water spring (which is safe to drink) just a short walk up the rocks. |
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Beach Zdovica - Valun island Cres |
Beach Raca - Valun island Cres |
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| If you are not into walking and have small kids, then Valun is your destination! Both beaches in Valun are perfect swimming beaches. In general, Croatia is a very safe swimming destination with very calm waters (unless there is a storm or strong wind conditions, which is quite rare in summer). Croatia and its Adriatic sea is really like a huge swimming pool. In general, there are no currents, rips or dangerous sharks. The eastern Valun beach Zdovica hosts one of the cutest small camping grounds in Croatia (tents only) with pleanty of shade and bush sites. It is only 5 minutes walk from the Valun centre, which is closed for traffic. The beach has public showers and toilets, but not much shade. |
Valun western beach (called Raca) has been voted one of the top beaches in Croatia. Many people consider it to be the best family beach on the island. You do need to find your parking spot, and the best bet is to park at the entrance to Valun village, which is closed for traffic. There is a small charge for unlimited stay. From the carpark, proceed straight down until you get to the sea, then turn left and you will see the beach. It will take you around 8 minutes to walk. There are a few parking spots closer to the beach, but good luck in finding the space and even better luck getting out of there up the steep narrow road:-). Raca beach is like a big safe swimming pool with a pleanty of shade under pine trees and fine pebbles. Sea is very clear and tame here, there is hardly any boats and you can swim from one end to the other of the bay (quite a decent size) as many times as you wish. |
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Marascica beach - Stivan island Cres |
Beach Ustrine - island Cres Croatia |
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If you prefer some quieter beaches on the island Cres, there are quite a few hidden gems, where you can easily find your private space, even in August. One of them is Marascica beach, 1 km down on a sealed road from Stivan village. There will be a few local boats parked there, but not much traffic and crowd free. The sea here is crystal blue and very clean, great for swimming. The beach has tiny pebbles and public showers. From Stivan beach you can also walk to find a secluded spot just for yourself. |
Another much less crowded spot on the island Cres are the 2 beautiful beaches under the village of Ustrine. There is a very steep sealed road that leads from Ustrine to the sea. It used to be possible to drive all the way, but last year there was a car ramp. The walk down takes about 15-20 minutes, but back up the hill would take longer. If you do like walking and exploring, you will be rewarded with the 2 beautiful beaches with tiny pebbles and clean blue seas, very safe for swimming. This beach is also part of the great Stivan-Ustrine walk. |
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Beach Mali bok - Orlec, island Cres |
Beach Ustrine - island Cres, Croatia |
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| Although the majority of the great swimming and relatively easily accessible beaches are on the western coast of island Cres, there are a few true gems on the much steeper eastern side as well. One such beach is Mali bok, under the village of Orlec. This is a stunning spot for swimming, snorkelling and diving, but it gets very deep very quickly and might appear a bit scary, as the coast on this side is very steep. The access to the beach is partly by car on a sealed narrow road from Orlec, then a not too long steep walk down to the beach. If you are lucky, you might even spot a griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), the biggest bird in Europe, which only finds its home in a very few remaining places in Europe, including island Cres, truly the eco island paradise of Adriatic. | This is the other beach in the Ustrine bay, under the Ustrine village. The same applies as above. This particular beach is the first one you come to when walking from Ustrine. The other beach (photo above) is a further 15-20 minutes walk from here. |
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Cove near Slatina, Martinscica, Cres |
Bay Koromacna, island Cres, Croatia |
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| This is one of the many little coves, which you can find all around the camp Slatina in Martinscica. Autocamp Slatina is a stunning caravan park, set in a huge pine forest in a beautiful natural environment, with ample space and good facilities. It is surrounded by beaches and little coves, great for swimming, like the one on the photo. | This is another quite secluded swimming spot on the steeper eastern side of the island Cres. It is the bay of Koromacna, under the village of Belej, just a short drive from Stivan. The beach is rather small here, but there is a man built stone warf with protection for small boats. There won't be much traffic or crowds here. The Koromacna bay is quite large and very pretty, with clean deep blue waters, inviting you for a dive and swim to the nearby caves. Pleanty to explore. You might guess, this is another drive-the-narrow-road and walk-the-rest combo deal:-) |
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Beach Lucica, Stivan island Cres |
Meli - sandy bay on island Cres |
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From Stivan beach (Marascica) you can take the unsealed road to the left, where you could find along cosy spots on the rocks, just for yourself. The road then narrows down to a path and if you proceed, you will come to a beautiful secluded litle beach called Lucica. It takes only 10 minutes to walk there from the main Stivan beach. You can walk even further to a few more little coves, until the path becomes unpassable. |
This is a secluded sandy bay on the eastern side of island Cres, reached only by foot or boat. You could get by car to the village of Plat and then continue on foot for 25 minutes through nature, following a signposted path.The shallow sandy lagoon is ideal for kids, playing volleyball in the sea, wading through water, enjoying all the benefits of a smooth soft sea ground. Well worthed the effort. Bring enough water and please take your rubbish with you! Depending on the weather, there could be more or less sand over there. |
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Beach under Pernat, island Cres |
Secluded beach under Stivan island Cres |
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From the village of Pernat you could descend down the beautiful unspoiled nature to the little secluded beach. It takes around 1 hour to get down. The walk gives breathtaking views to the coast, coves and far shores. |
From Marascica beach under the village of Stivan, you can walk even further from Lucica bay to a few more little secluded beaches with crystal clear waters and excellent snorkelling. |
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Martinscica seaside, island Cres |
Honeymoon beach near Stivan island Cres |
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| In Martinscica you can find many pristine small beaches with tiny pebbles and clear waters. | This is another completely secluded becah you can get to by walking to the left from Marascica beach under the village of Stivan, I named it 'Honeymoon beach':-) |
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Below you can find more photos of the beaches alreday described above |
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Marascica beach - Stivan island Cres |
Marascica beach - Stivan island Cres |
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Beach near Lubenice, island Cres |
Meli beach - a close look |
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Lubenice beach from the village |
Beach Raca - Valun island Cres |
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