Island Cres offers beautiful walks with breathtaking sea views, ruins of abandoned villages and
old churches, native unique flora and fauna. Walks differ in length and difficulty - there is something for everyone.
Stivan, with its central position on the island is an excellent base for a visitor who likes walking and exploring
nature, history, ruins, secluded bays and beaches. Here we would like to show you one of our favourite walks that starts in Stivan.
Island Cres walk Stivan-Ustrine
The walk starts in the lower village of Stivan. It is an easy grade walk and takes around 2 hours to get straight to Ustrine village. However, you can walk to Ustrine bay, which will take you 1.5 hours one way. The full return trip to Ustrine bay, then further to the two Ustrine beaches, then up to the village of Ustrine and back to Stivan will take you around 5 hours. The best is to allow a full day and explore island Cres rich native flora and fauna, ruins of abandoned villages, churches, an old cemetery, have a swim in the Ustrine bay and each Ustrine beach plus picnic on the beach or in the nature.
The walk is mainly sheltered in the bush, but in hot summer months take pleanty of water. Wear walking shoes with socks, to avoid some prickly plants, which are pretty much the only thing that can harm you (if a thorn could be classified as a harm), since there is no poisonous snakes on the island Cres.
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Walk starts in Stivan village |
Island Cres walking - gate |
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At Stivan shops take a trun to the lower Stivan village, towards the beach. Then take the first turn left (cca 100 m down the road). |
Walk on the wide unsealed road for about 10 minutes until you reach the gate. Go through the gate, then close it carefully replacing the woden stick into the wire loop, as you found it. |
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Island Cres walk Stivan - Ustrine |
Island Cres walk - stone walls |
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| The road narrows down and eventually turns into a bush path. Enjoy breathing in pleasant smells of native aromatic herbs (sage, thyme, rosemary). See how many different kind of mushrooms you can spot afte rain. | Landscapes, vegetation and views change along the way. Often you will walk along stone walls (gromacha) and come accross a few gates. In the distance you can see the village of Stivan left behind. |
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Old cemetery ruins near Gradiska, Cres |
Old church ruins near Gradiska, Cres |
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| After around 40 minutes walking, you will come accross the ruins of an abandoned old village of Gradiska. Take a right turn just before the Gradiska ruins (there is a sign) and after just a few minutes you will come to the ruins of an old cemetery and its church. | Take time to explore the ruins of the church and the cemetery. It was once used as a main cemetery for nearby abandoned villages and Ustrine village, which is still about 45 minutes walk from here. From the cemetery return to the main path. |
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Walk from Gradiska to Porat, Cres island |
Bay of Ustrine, island Cres |
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| Back on the main track, soon after the cemetery turnoff, just below Gradiska village ruins, you will have a choice of continuing straigh to the village of Ustrine, which can now be seen in the distance, or taking a right turn down to the mouth of Ustrine bay, called Porat.. | If you decided to take a detour down to Ustrine bay (Porat), you would be rewarded with breathatking views of the crystal clear blue waters of the tame Adriatic sea, inviting you for a swim. |
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Swim at Porat |
Old chappel at Ustrine bay |
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| Take a well deserved swim in the tame waters of Porat, the mouth of Ustrine bay. There could be a bit of current here, but nothing dangerous, as the bay is very long. | Just above the bay, a short 5 minutes walk will take you to a little old chappel, one of the many old churches on island Cres. |
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Island Cres - Ustrine beach |
Ustrine village, island Cres |
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| You can now choose to return back or continue to explore bay of Ustrine, which offers two excellent swimming beaches with tiny pebbles. They are much easier to reach by sealed road from the Ustrine village, but with a bit of effort, you can do the full round trip. Just follow the coastline, above through the stony outcrops (the path will dissappear only for a very short period). You can see the bay at all times, so it is hard to get lost. | The village of Ustrine can be seen high above. |
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First Ustrine beach, island Cres |
Second Ustrine beach, island Cres |
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| If you chose the round trip, you will soon (around 20 minutes) arrive to the first fine pebbly beach of Ustrine. Here you can enjoy your second swim. | From the first beach there is a 20 minutes walk to the second Ustrine beach, where you can enjoy yet another swim in crystal clear sea or have a rest on fine tiny pebbles of this beautifull beach. |
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Ustrine beach to village walk |
Walk from Ustrine to Stivan |
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| After a decent rest, you will need to make a trip uphill to the village of Ustrine. Depending on your fitness level, it will take you from 20 minutes to half an hour. Once at the top, take time to explore the village, before turning left nad proceeding right to the end where you will find the new Ustrine cemetery. | Just behind the cemetery, through the gate, you can reach the road which will take you back to Stivan. The road starts off quite wide, since it is used by local cars to reach a few remote houses and get to a stone breaking place. |
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Ustrine bay - panorama |
Ruins of Pizin village, island Cres |
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| The road back to Stivan offers breathtaking views of the Ustrine bay. | A short 20 minutes walk will get you to the ruins of the old village of Pizin. Explore the village before continuing down the narrow path back to the ruins of Gradiska village, and then back to Stivan. |
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Walking on island Cres - water break |
Island Cres walking - stone signpost |
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| In hot summer months, make sure to take enough water and have breaks along this picturesque island walk. Explore the nature of this botanically rich island. As an interesting fenomena, Island Cres itself has more plant species than the whole Great Britain. | When you are not sure about the path, take a careful look and you will spot one of the stone made signposts which will show you the way. |
Island Cres coastal walk Stivan Island Cres beaches