Why should Rijeka be your next travel destination?

So why Rijeka?

Why should Rijeka be your next travel destination? I’m sure that many of you have never heard of Rijeka, as the first association of Croatia are Dubrovnik, Split, Zagreb, Plitvice, Hvar etc.. and many other tourist destinations.

Rijeka isn’t a classic tourist destination, has never been and will probably never be. It was once a great industrial town that used to produce paper, sugar, playing cards, diesel motors, torpedoes and flour, and all of these goods were exported from Rijeka all over the world. Today, the city is trapped somewhere between industry and tourism. I know that at first sight this doesn’t look like a city you would want to visit, but I’ll show you that it isn’t like that.

1. Geographical Location:

Rijeka has a great geographical location at the Kvarner Bay and is well connected to the Croatian island, and south. It also has good connections to Central Europe. In a circle of about 100 km from the city center there are 5 airports (Rijeka (Krk), Pula, Zagreb, Trieste, Ljubljana) that are connected to more than 1000 worldwide locations.

Also, in only an hour and a half drive from the city, you can visit 3 of 8  national parks (NP Brijuni, NP Risnjak, and NP Plitvice), 4 big Croatian islands that are connected directly with the Port of Rijeka (Krk, Cres, Lošinj,  Rab) and many, many small ones such as Susak, the only ‘’sand’’ island in Croatia. You are also only a few hours away from Italy, Slovenia, and Bosnia. In addition, you can explore Istria and go wine tasting or truffle hunting.  There are more than a hundred ideas for a day trip from Rijeka.

2. Beaches & Clear Sea

The sea is clear in the whole Croatia and with an approximate temperature of 25 degrees during summer. The swimming season can start in late May for the brave ones. There are 10 hidden beaches within walking distance from the city center in the Pećine city district, and among them, there is also a beach with a nice beach bar called Pajol.

There are nice places in the suburbs, too; on the south, there is Kostrena with a 3 km long Lungomare along which there are plenty of restaurants, beach bars, a scuba diving club, and also a dog beach. And on the west side in the Costabella/Bivio city district, there are lots of nice places to swim, too, and there is also a beach for people with physical disabilities.

3. Festival

During the whole year, but especially during summer, lots of festivals here. Among the most popular ones are Opatija Jazz Festival, Liburnia Film Festival, Kastav Guitar Nights, Kastav Blues Festival, Ri Rock Festival, Dark "O" Metal Festival, Hartera Music Festival, The International Small Scenes Theatre Festival , Malik Fest - Festival of myths and legends of Istria and Kvarner, Rijeka Stairs-for fashion lovers, Rijeka Summer Nights- theatre , Summer on Gradina and the most famous Rijeka’s Carnival - the third biggest,  after the carnivals in Rio and Venice.  

At any time of year, you can find something for your soul.  

4. Food

Kvarner food is a combination of seafood and meat specialities from hilly suburbs. Mediterranean food is based on olive oil, seafood, a lot of spices, famous scampi and, in Istria, truffles. It is well known all over the world and under the protection of the UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage. The World Health Organization listed this diet as one of the three healthiest diets in the world, and it is highly recommended to eat this way in order to prevent a lot of modern-day health conditions. Some of Rijeka's specialities are ''Paletna krumpirica'', Riječka kremšnita''.