Croatia's Ultimate Island

Renting a boat, exploring secluded coves and snorkleing in crystal clear water; dancing with locals at the nightly outdoor "dance hall," exploring the ruins of St. John's; walking the winding passageways of Rab Town.

Quick Tips:

There are many parts of the island that are unreachable by car and difficult to see on foot. To see the real beauty of Rab Island, rent a boat and explore it from the water - you can weigh anchor anywhere and just start exploring!

Best Way To Get Around:

The only way to get around Rab Town is on foot - the town is almost 100% pedestrian-only. A car will be needed if you would like to check out the large resorts that dot the island. Rental boat is a great way to see the island's secluded, hard-to-reach coves.

Hotel Istra, Rab Town

The Istra is not glamorous by any stretch, but it is one of the few hotels on Rab that is located in Rab Town that is not a large resort complex. The dorm-like rooms are plain and have very small bathrooms. Be sure to ask for a room with a balcony (you will have a nice view of the harbor). The young staff is very helpful, and breakfast is decent.

Located at the head of Rab Town''s harbor, the Istra is just steps from all the sights, activities and restaurants the tiny town has to offer. Rab Town occupies a peninsula, and one can walk around the entire town in a matter of minutes. So, if you are interested in being near town, the hotel is perfectly situated.

The Istra had free parking for our rental car. We paid about $37 per night for two - so we knew not to expect too much. Rab Town was one of our favorite places in Croatia, so the so-so accomodations didn''t really bother us too much since the town was so amazing. We really didn''t want to stay out of town in one of the large, impersonal beach resorts that cater largely to vacationing Germans, so this was a good choice for us.

Also Check out http://www.dmmedia.com/Rab/Istra.htm for more info (in German, but with good photos and info)

My favorite of Rab Town's four bell-towered churches, Sveti Ivan Evandliste dates to the early 7th century. Little more than a ruin today, the church still has the ability to captivate. The columns of the apse still stand, as does the 13th century bell tower. Several guide books we had stated that the tower could be climbed, but it was closed when we visited and locals told us that it is rarely open due current preservation efforts. Several grave plaques are still embedded in the ground, and it is possible to discern where the columned aisle and other parts of the church once stood. It is truly fascinating. We visited several times during our walks around the town.

The remains of this church (which at one time also served as a Benedictine monastery and bishop's palace) sit perched high above the bay - it's a great place to go to see the sun set.

Admission to the church is free. Sveti Ivan is essentially a ruin - there are no information booths or other tourist facilities. The sight, while very well maintained, has been allowed to occupy its place on Gornji Ulica free of tourist trappings. As a result, it is a very peaceful place.

Renting a boat is a must on Rab Island - there are dozens of secluded coves and inlets and ice-blue waters just begging to be explored!

The first thing you must go to in order to rent a boat is acquire a Croatian Captain's License. This is not as tricky as it seems. Just go down to the Harbormaster's office (Lucka Kapetanija) located on Obala Kralja Petra Kresimira (the road which runs along the harbor) -- towards the end of the road (and the end of the peninsula) you will find this office. A license costs about $15 USD.

Once you obtain the license, you are ready to hit the high seas. We rented our boat (a small 4-seater with steering wheel) from the Numero Uno Travel Agency on Obala Kralja Petra Kresimira, which is located right at the head of the harbor and only steps from the Hotel Istra. The helpful young staff rented us the boat for about $27 USD, and we had use of it from about 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. They only ask that you don't go within a specified distance from shore (I think it was a mile), and that you don't attempt to travel to other islands. That's OK, though, because there is plenty to see just sticking to the Rab's coastline.

With a picnic lunch in tow, we swung around Rab Town's peninsula and were afforded incredible views of the town walls, which soar up over 100 feet from the water. The famous four bell towers were an awesome sight from the water. We putted along the bay and checked out the monastery of St. Eufemija before heading out to see the island's unpopulated west coast, which is jagged with inlets and secluded coves. Several times we anchored in a cove and went ashore to lay on a tiny, private stone beach, or just lay on the bow of the boat. We also snorkled in the crystal clear, bluer-than-blue water (which was also freezing cold - we brought our own snorkeling equipment). The super-clean water is alive with fish, crustaceans, and dolphins.

We will never forget this very special experience. I highly recommend renting a boat on Rab!

One easy observation can be made of Croatians - they love to dance! Each town seems to have its share of outdoor cafes that feature dancing and a live band. Rab Town takes this national pastime one step further - in a small square just off Trg Kristofor, a local band plays an odd mix of current American and Croatian pop, standards, and traditional Croatian music for a lively crowd. Everyone dances - from young children to teenagers to grandparents. Young couples danced around their sleeping babies' strollers.

The same band played all three nights that we were in town, and there was always a sizable crowd even though it was mid-week. It was a really fun way to spend an evening. After dinner each night we would go to get dessert and/or drinks at one of the cafes that bordered the dancing area, and inevitably ended the evening dancing alongside locals and other tourists. The band, which consisted of a very energetic blonde singer and 4 musicians, played everything from sappy ballads to Greek circle dances. The music begins around 8 p.m. and goes on some nights till midnight. Everyone gets really into it - and we had a great time. The whole island had a real party atmosphere at night. It was like a great wedding or family reunion. I highly recommend it!

To Get to the Dance Area

Rab is a really small town, and once the band starts up, they are very easy to find. To get to the dance area: from Trg Kristofor turn left onto Srednja Ulica and then make another immediate left - you'll come upon small tent in a square surrounded by small cafes. There is no charge to dance, and you don't have to order anything from any of the cafes to join in the fun.

Rab Town has very unique beauty that sets it apart from just about every place I have ever been. It is the largest town on Rab Island, it is still a very small and intimate place. Part of the Kvarner Island Group, it is the ninth largest island in the Adriatic. It has a reputation of being one of the sunniest and one of the most heavily forested islands in the Adriatic as well. The town was established during the Roman Empire, when it was made a municipality by Emperor Augustus in the 1st century b.c. The Latin axiom "Felix Arba" - the happy place - is still used today to describe this idyllic island. The town itself is built on a peninsula that juts out from the central southwest coast of Rab Island. There are three main passageways that parallel each other as they cut across the town - Gornji Ulica (upper street), Srednja Ulica (middle) and Donja Ulica (lower). There are no cars on the peninsula save for the road that lines the harbor, so strolling the narrow cobblestones streets is a joy. Most shops and restaurants are located in the lower section of town. Once you begin to climb the steep flights of stone stairs to the upper town, you will find primarily private homes and churches. The famous 4 bell towers belonging to St. Mary's Church, St. John's, St. Justine's and St.Andreas loom over upper town. Town architecture is fairly consistent, with buildings and streets made of stone and stucco. Outside of Rab Town, there are several very large, modern-style resort complexes that cater to European vacationers and provide various outdoor that make good use of the island's geography, such as camping, hiking, sailing and windsurfing, and biking. Suha Punta, Lopar, and Supetarska Draga are all popular sights for this type of tourism. The Kampor section of the island is the most sparsely occupied, and has an extensive network of biking and hiking trails. In drastic contrast to the lush, wooded southwestern side of the island (where all of the above places are located), the inland side of Rab Island is composed mainly of karst rock, and looks much like the surface of the moon. Desolate and inhospitable, the karstic landscape is the first thing you see when you get off the ferry from Jablanac - not terribly inviting. It provides a dramatic contrast to the cool green forests that await you on the other side of the island.

Croatia has a very good ferry system, and ferry schedules are fairly reliable (just be sure you double check any ferry information you get off the web once you arrive in Croatia). Rab Island was one of many stops we made along the Croatia's coastal road as we headed south from Opatija to Dubrovnik in our little rental car. The tiny town of Jablanac is where you catch the Car Ferry run by the Rapska Plovidba Ferry company to Misnjak on Rab. It's a short ride - about a 15 minutes, and the cost is minimal - about $8 USD per car (70 kuna); plus an additional $1 USD (9 kuna) per person. Ferries run regularly on the hour, but it is a very good idea to double check the ferry schedules before you plan your whole day around a specific departure time.

A Sample Ferry Schedule In September 2000, the ferries from Jablanac were running every hour (leaving Jablanac at 11:00 a.m.; arriving in Misnjak at 11:15; re-loading then returning to Jablanac for another boatload at noon). At that time of year, ferries service began at 5:30 a.m. through 8:30 p.m. In the peak seasons of July and August ferries run from Jablanac starting at 5:30 a.m. through 11:00 p.m. These times are from the 2000 schedule - so be sure to check with a tourist office in Croatia for a current schedule. The best ferry schedule I could find for your reference on the web is on this website: http://www.cts.hr/tedi/english.htm. To date, Rapska Plovidba does not seem to have their own website.

What to do When You Get to Jablanac

When you drive down the hill into Jablanac, you will queue your car up and wait for the signal from the ferry crew to load. The crew is very efficient in directing even the most clueless drivers onto the boat, and they can really pack them in! Once you've parked your car in the outdoor loading area, you are free to get out and enjoy the quick ride over to Rab Island. The ferry will approach Rab's karstic side (almost half of Rab Island is covered with karst - barren fields of porous limestone), so it looks like you are docking on the moon. Once you get back in your car and disembark it's only a short drive till you reach the beautiful, lush side of the island. Rab Town is only about 15 minutes from Misnjak, and there's basically only one road, so you can't get lost. The ferry folks will give you a map of the island when you buy your ferry tickets.