I've just returned from my Mer-vacation on Rab island, Croatia. I've attended mermaid courses for the first 2 days and I've been discovering this beautiful island the rest of the trip.
I've decided to write about the most mermazing places that I discovered.
There is a map at the end
Rab Island is located between Krk and Pag Island. The first mention of this island is in Greek
Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax, 360 BC, under the name of Arba. The first time island was called Rab was in 7th century, when Slavs started to populate it. There was a concentration camp formed on the island (Kampor) during WWII. This island has a very rich history.
You can get to Rab island easily by ferry.
This diving center is located on the Northside of the island, right next to the sea. This is a perfect place for beginner courses, because of the calm, warm, and shallow waters around. More advanced divers can take a boat and dive more or less around the whole island. I can confirm that this center can easily find perfect diving spots.
They also have mermaid courses. SSI MERMAID course (2 dives), that takes place in the bay and is so much fun. Besides learning the right dolphin kick and duck dive, you can also learn something about first aid in the water (how to move a person on the surface of the water).
SSI MERMAID OCEAN (2 dives) is a more advanced course on open water, swimming up to 5 meters deep. Here you can learn more about diving into the depth, and saving an unconscious person from up to 3 meters below the surface.
I've attended both courses, and both were amazing. I learned a lot during those 2 days (especially first aid, which I really need).
Maddy was amazing and I can't wait to go back next year for SSI Free Dive Course.
Pudarica Beach
Pudarica beach is located on the Southside of the island, and it's really beautiful. There are many tiny beaches with small pebbles, located between the most interesting rocks.
If you want to find the best place, you should come here early. We arrived at 9 and we almost didn't have a place to settle. The most beautiful parts are on the left of the bar and on the right of the beach. There are many beautiful beaches along this coast if you're willing to look around.
This photo is from google, there were many people and I didn't feel like taking photos.
Sveti Ivan Beach
Probably the most beautiful view on the whole island. This beach is located directly behind the old town, so you can enjoy this beautiful scenery while swimming.
I really wanted photos here, and because this beach I usually full, we had to wake up at 6, but I have to say, the sunrise was totally worth it.
Those photos were created on my birthday, and I think these are the most magical ones I have had taken so far. But not everything was as pink as that sky. I lost my favorite necklace during the photoshoot. I really loved it and it was made directly to my style.
Because there was a storm forecasted for that night and the sea was already behaving like that, I lost hope of ever seeing it again.
It was as if the sea took its price for swimming in it during such a magical time.
We returned a few hours later with a snorkel and tried to find it, but we weren't successful. Instead, I found (approx 3m) 3 small abalone shells. And even when I'm a firm believer that we shouldn't take what isn't ours from the sea, I took those 3. I felt as if the sea returned them to me for the necklace, that it took. So I said goodbye to my necklace and accepted those 3 beauties as a present from the sea.
It may sound strange, but in a mind of a mermaid, this makes perfect sense....
Old town and marina
The Rab island has a really rich history, so even the old town is full of historic buildings, temples, and streets. One could get lost. Luckily the town isn't that big.
Marina is a perfect place for taking photos. There are many ships here, some offer tourist rides, others are restaurants and some are boat taxis, that take you around the island.
On Rab, as well as in other seashore places, many shops can be found selling shells and other sea creatures. They are all beautiful and huge. And even though they would look incredible in my sea-themed house, I didn't buy any. It used to be absolutely normal to get at least one and bring it home from your vacation. I even have a few from when it still wasn't widely known, that this business is destroying our underwater world.
So when you'll feel like buying a shell, remember, they are fishing them alive, and then killing them so that they can sell their homes to tourists.
Santa Maria restaurant is hidden in the smallest of old town streets. It was built inside of a 19th-century mansion.
So It's a truly beautiful place.
The food is absolutely amazing and the prices are good. My father even tried the Squid Goulash and was not disappointed at all.
We didn't wait for the table, but I think we were lucky.
We went there for my birthday, during the week and the weather was not nice...
We sat right next to this beautiful glass showcase that was full of shells and other treasures. Most of them look very old, and those starfishes are like 1 meter in width.
The last place I want to show you is an absolute secret gem from my point of view.
I think many people don't know this place. And they should.
To get there we need to take the ferry to get back to the mainland. It's only 10 minutes from there.
Jablanac
We parked our car in this tiny town. The ferry used to dock here, but it has its own marina now.
This small picturesque town is really looked down on. The historical buildings and atmosphere of this place are unbelievable.
You need to take a stone path from the beach in this town.
This path is without any railings and is usually very high above the water, so if you don't like heights this will be a challenge. Other than that, there are beautiful views all the way.
I would recommend some sturdy shoes for this part.
Uvala Zavratnica and swimming with a sunken ship
After 20 minutes or so, you will find yourself in the most beautiful cove on Adriatic shores. As far as people go, there are tourist ships sailing about during the day. The best time for some privacy is in the evening (it's open until 7 pm). The entrance fee to Velebit park is 30HRK per person.
Entry into the water is a bit harder, as there is a 1 meter high path build around the bay, so to enter you have to jump into ankle-deep water and then maneuver your way through rocks and sea urchins to get deeper. So shoes into the water are necessary.
If you have heavy equipment, or like me don't have any legs in the water, you can use the water entry point in the furthest most point of the bay, there is a small rocky beach. You can swim from there towards the ship. It is however 200meters so I recommend this only for strong swimmers.
There are many freshwater springs located in this bay, so the water can get really cold. We lasted up to an hour, mainly because we moved a lot.
This is a German ship that was sunk by British fighter planes during WWII (24.8.1944 - we went there this exact day, just 77years later)
The ship is now striped, but you can still find some parts intact.
You can even swim through some parts (as you can see up, on my left), I didn't do it though, because my tail is pretty big and I was afraid I would get stuck. I also don't recommend this to inexperienced swimmers.
This place was the most beautiful experience for me.
I was a bit disappointed with the water entry, but that was fast gone and I was happily swimming and splashing about. I was also afraid I would destroy the experience for the people who came for the ship. But I couldn't be more wrong. Many people took photos and snorkeled with me. I even got "You brought us joy" and "It's so beautiful to see you swim." said to me.
So this was the best of my trip to Croatia. Sadly, I could be here only for a week, but if I could I would spend here no shorter than a month. This year is still hard on traveling... Doesn't matter, next year will hopefully be better.