The Kvarner Gulf is the northernmost bay of the Croatian Adriatic, sheltered behind the islands of Krk, Cres, Lošinj, and Rab. It was the favoured seaside retreat of the Austro-Hungarian aristocracy in the late nineteenth century, and that history still shows in the grand villas and promenades of Opatija, just around the headland from the working port city of Rijeka.
The gulf's islands are its main draw. Krk, the largest and only one linked to the mainland by bridge, has a walled medieval town, the cliffside wine village of Vrbnik, and the beach resort of Baška. Rab has a perfectly preserved old town crowned by four bell towers and some of the only proper sandy beaches on the Croatian coast, concentrated around the village of Lopar. Lošinj, linked by bridge to Cres, has been a health resort since the Habsburg era and today is known for its dolphin research and mild climate.
Away from the coast, the small ferry village of Jablanac and the shipbuilding town of Kraljevica sit along the mainland shore, while inland Gorski Kotar rises into forested highland — a cool, green contrast to the coast, with karst caves and the Risnjak massif.
