There are many things to do in Crikvenica all year round and for which the place is not just a good summer destination. If you want to avoid the crowds, you might consider visiting Crikvenica out from the busiest summer months.
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15 best things to do in Crikvenica Croatia
1. Relax at its pubbled beaches and bays
Crikvenica and its Riviera offers full small bays with pebbles, which are perfect outside of summer too. If you are brave enough you can swimm in the sea no matter the season, but if you are like us, you will be already happy to sit down, relax and listen to the sound of the sea, with great views towards the Krk Island.
2. Take your dog to a dog beach
If you are traveling to Crikvenica with your dog, you will for sure be happy to know, there’s a separate beach for dogs, offering additional services for them too. In fact, Crikvenica dog’s beach is the only one in Croatia, where you can treat your dog with a special dog beer, ice-cream, cake, tea and shower.
3. Enjoy one of its many festivals and events
No matter when you will be visiting Crikvenica, I am sure you will be there in time for some kind of festival. Crikvenica Riviera organize more than 250 festivals / events in a year.
4. Do a day trip to the Rab Island or Krk Island
Crikvenica is a great base for day trips too. You can visit different destinations inland or you decide to spend a day at the nearby Krk Island or Rab Island. There are water taxis departing from the small port at the main Crikvenica’s square.
5. Learn about Adriatic Sea in Crikvenica Aquarium
The aquarium in Crikvenica is small and would need a renovation, but if you are traveling to Crikvenica with kids, I am sure they will enjoy it a lot. Looking at fishes is always fun and the aquarium mostly contains domestic fishes from the Adriatic Sea, with few tropical spices too.
6. Sign up for panoramic boat trip
Even though you are not planning to visit the nearby Rab Island or Krk island, you still can decide for a panoramic boat trip. We took a two hours long glass boat trip, with a short stop at Krk Island and our Ren loved it – especially spotting fishes through the glass boat.
7. Enjoy in some water sport activities
Like every coastal town, you can also find different kind of water activities in Crikvenica. Some are more for the summer months, but some can be enjoyed through-out the year. You can choose from diving, fishing, stand up paddling, kayaking, tobogganing…
8. Get your adrenalin pumping at Adrenalin park
Adrenalin park, including tree-climbing and paintball, is not open all year long, but only in warmer months, which is perfect for some family time.
9. Take a walk at its coastal walk
If you are not in a good shape or just rather enjoy taking it easy, you will for sure like the long coastal walk, connecting different towns on Crikvenica Riviera. Unfortunately, the coastal walk is shared by cars, but when we were there it did not get much traffic, so it was still perfect for little kids to run around.
10. Try out some of the hiking and cycling paths
Crikvenica does not offer just a standard coastal walk, but has more than 300 kilometers of maintained hiking and cycling paths. Some are easier than the others, but I am sure you will find the one, suitable for you. Don’t forget on the famous Love path, which is 8 kilometers long.
11. Hike up to Badanj Fort
The Badanj fort is one of the oldest preserved forts in Vinodol district and is set high above the River Dubračina. You can hike up there for nice views over the valley and mountains as a walk on the Love Path.
12. Wander around the picturesque coastal towns
Crikvenica Riviera, apart from the Crikvenica town, includes also other small villages, like Dramalj, Selce and Jadran. We liked Selce a lot and mostly because of few really beautiful bays with white pebbled beach and turquoise water. If you are already in Crikvenica, do stop at the nearby town Novi Vinodolski and hike up to its recognizable bell tower – The Steeple, which was build where in 15th century stood a church – constructed in one day, as a promised church at the time of the plague. You will also be able to see the views over the Krk Island from up there.
13. Take a deep breath at the Mediterranean labyrinth of love
Not far from the Badanj fort lies the Mediterranean labyrinth of love, made out of the bay-leaves / laurel bushes, which is often one of the most popular souvenirs for tourist to take home. You will also find picnic / BBQ spot right beside it, what makes it a nice place for families and friends hang out.
14. Take a look “through” The Eyes of Vinodol
When traveling to Crikvenica you will be able to notice some high mountains at the back, what gives the whole area even more spectacular feel. Make sure not to miss a visit to at least one (out of 6) scenic viewing spots, called the Eyes of Vinodol. You can reach them by foot, by motor-bike, bicycle or car, but note the road is very narrow with limited space to encounter other vehicles.
We visited the Vidikovac Pridva and left with Mahavica, Slipica, Gradina, Sviba and Kuk for our next time in Crikvenica.
15. Get romantic at the Kissing spots
In love or not, make sure to find the popular kissing spots in Crikvenica Riviera. The locals like them for good and romantic views, but tourists mostly stop there for their Instagram photos. Nevertheless, there are 10 in total.
Some useful travel tips for Crikvenica Croatia
Where to eat in Crikvenica Croatia?
Tourism in Crikvenica is already celebrating its 130th birthday, so you can imagine you will find plenty of options to eat and drink there. We always enjoy some traditional food, so we visited the local Konoba Trabakul, not far from the main square in Crikvenica. The food was really good, so I am sure you will not be disappointed if stopping there.
Where to sleep in Crikvenica Croatia?
Crikvenica offers many different accommodation options – from apartments, camping grounds to hotels, but due to a collaboration with Megabon Slovenia, we stayed at the Hotel Mediteran, about 1 kilometer from Crikvenica town. The hotel is already a bit old, but it has perfect location – set right at the coastal walk and steps away from the pebble beaches. We had half board included and the food was good too. And we just loved the views from our balcony. If you’ll be visiting Crikvenica during the summer months, you can check the packages for hotel Mediteran here.
Things to do in Crikvenica are so diverse that destination is perfect for everyone – traveling there with or without kids. But if you really want to make the best of it, try to avoid traveling there during the peak season (July and August), as it gets especially beautiful, having all the places (almost) all to yourself. We were there in april and loved it.
Be inspired and watch a video about our visit to Crikvenica here.
The blog post was written in collaboration with Megabon Slovenia, but everything above was written as our own opinion and results of always being curious and interested in things to do in a destination. We also have to thank Ford Slovenija for renting us out the beautiful Ford Focus (Slovenian car of the year 2018) and Crikvenica tourism board for travel tips and ideas on things to do there.
