1

You are not going to believe, but the truth is that there is no direct bus connection between Valbiska ferry port and the town of Krk on Krk island. The only public connection between Valbiska ferry port with some of Krk destinations is with Malinska and Omišalj towns, but these connections are rare and only twice or thrice a day.

The main reason for such a situation is the fact that Valbiska actually is not an inhabited place, but just a port and most of the travellers using it have their own cars. Of course, there are lots of buses that use this ferry port, but most of them are agency organized package arrangements that just transit through this place.

Basically, the best option is to take a catamaran from Rab to Rijeka (it departs in the morning hours) and then to take a bus from Rijeka to any destination on the island of Krk. I know it seems quite a lot of travelling, but in reality it is not and it is also the most convenient option.

2

Thank you so much for this information. It is indeed surprising that there is no bus connection.

Is it possible to get a taxi? Would there be taxis around or would we need to call one to come from Krk Town (in English)? Do you think this would be practical and reasonably affordable?

Otherwise, as you say, we may need to go via Rijeka, which sounds like quite a long journey.

3

Hi Helen104!

It is possible to get a taxi. There is a taxi service provided by Taxi Krk ( http://www.taxi-krk.com/# ). The best option is to contact them on the phone +385912526785 on the day before your departure from Rab (Lopar) and tell them when your ferry arrives. The price from Valbiska ferry port to Krk town is roughly 130 HRK (17.3 EUR or 14.50 GBP).

I assume that this option would be best for you.

4

Thank you very much, flumy. I'm guessing you must be a local. Do you think it necessary to pre-book the ferry?

5

You are right. I live in Rijeka :-) It is not necessary to pre-book the ferry. There is always quite enough place for all the passengers because it is a car ferry, so even when it is entirely crowded by cars, there is so much space left for the passengers on the upper deck

6

Thank you. Roll on May - can't wait!

7

flumy, my friend and I can't decide whether to stay in Punat or Krk town. We're not really focused on spending a lot of time at the beach but are more interested in seeing interesting towns, some easy hiking, relaxing in a cafe, etc. Which would you recommend?

Unfortunately, we'll only be on Krk a few days. We were originally only going to stay on Rab but decided to split our stay across the two islands.

thank you,
Helen

8

Definitely Krk. It is larger and has more heritage places, although Punat is also quite a relaxing place to spend a few days there. Krk is also known for its old part of the town, rich history concentrated on very small surface. It is also possible to do some research of the surrounding nature using the marked walkways. Here is one good example of the map with possible easy hiking walkways: http://www.tz-krk.hr/images/Download/hiking_map.jpg . I can honestly tell you that they are pretty easy, I investigated some of them and very interesting ones are those that lead to some small and almost abandoned villages. Especially interesting walkway is the one that is situated right from Krk town toward Punat and Košljun island in the large bay. When you arrive at the end, Punat will be just across the entrance of the bay. On the island of Košljun there is one of the most famous Franciscan monasteries in Croatia.

Well, I have no doubt that you will spend a few days in Krk town enjoying your time.

9

Thank you, flumy! Krk it is.

10

Hello Helen and Flumy,

I am coming to Rijeka (Vrbnik on Krak) with a friend on the weekend of May 18. We will be staying for just 3 days, and so would love to get the most out of our first time in Croatia. Flumy, being a local, would you be so kind to suggest what we can do during our stay in Krk? I cannot seem to decide whether it makes sense to travel to the other islands while being on such a short stay. Are there any islands nearby that are a 'must see'? We are looking to enjoy the beach, and see some nice sights of course (although I am sure wherever we go in Croatia that would be guaranteed). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Best,
Irina

11

Hi Irina

Vrbnik is small, but very picturesque and inspiring town and the seat of one of seven Krk boroughs. So, it is nice place to spend your three days.

Now, it is hard to say how to spend your days in the best way because I don't know how do you plan to reach Vrbnik and do you plan to rely for your stay on public transport or your own/rented car. I am asking this questions because it makes huge difference.

In the case that you plan to rely on public transport, then I would recommend the following itinerary:

May 18 - Vrbnik arrival. Explore Vrbnik. It will be just fine for this day. In addition you can walk for several kilometers around Vrbnik on some of the pretty walking trails. Here is the map of the island with the most important walking trails:

http://www.krk.hr/en/docs/tzkrkHR/documents/45/Original.pdf

May 19 - Today is Sunday and the public transportation is almost nonexistent. There is only one bus departure in the late afternoon hours. Now, you can choose to spend your time in Vrbnik or to make an arrangement with some of the locals to transfer you to the town of Krk where you can enjoy the place for a good part of the day. It is by far, the most interesting inhabited place on the entire island. When I said to make an arrangement with the locals I had in mind that one way bus ticket for this route costs 29 HRK, so the fair price for the one way transfer from Vrbnik to Krk by the local person would be around 75 HRK or roughly 10 EUR.

To get back from Krk to Vrbnik, you can use the taxi (it will be around 100 HRK - roughly 13.5 EUR), or you can agree with the same local person from Vrbnik to come, to pick you up in Krk according to your agreement.

May 20 - One of the most famous `must see` places on Krk island is Košljun. It is small island within the Punat bay (Puntarska draga in Croatian). It is famous for its old monastery and also wonderful and preserved plan and mushroom incredible number of species. It is interesting that on the the island there are 540 plant and mushroom species, almost half of the number that can be found in the entire UK!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzpEpchmi5M

To reach Košljun it is the best option to take an early morning bus that departs from Vrbnik at 06:25 and arrives in Punat at 06:43 for the price of 27 HRK. Here you will have to wait for a while and take a water taxi to take you to Košljun island.

After you have explored Košljun, you will return by water taxi to Punat and depart from Punat to Vrbnik by bus at 15:23. Keep in mind that this is the last buy on this route. Of course, you can make an agreement with some of the locals to give you a ride for the same price as for Krk. It would be a bit more expensive, but also more comfortable and without waking up early in the morning.

Now, I am not certain if you have one day more or you are departing from Vrbnik on May 21? In that case, please, just be well informed about the bus schedules because Vrbnik is the place which is not on the main island road!

As far as the beaches are concerned, I am afraid that the weather conditions will not be favorable for such an activities. The weather forecast shows the possibilities of some rain and the temperatures are not expected to be on the levels suitable for a beach.