Camino Krk

MAIN INFORMATION

Camino Krk is a circular hiking trail that runs around the island of Krk. It is 150 km long and follows existing hiking and cycling trails.

The Camino Krk hike is divided into 7 stages , which means 7 days of walking .

The starting point is in the capital city of Krk, and it ends in Kornič pri Punat, 5 km before the town of Krk.

WHY DID WE CHOOSE CAMINO KRK?

My mother wanted to walk the route when she retired. I thought the idea was very feasible : Krk is close, the camino is short. Why delay?! Let's go this year!

WHEN SHOULD WE START THE CAMINO KRK?

We planned to leave right after May 1st, but unfortunately there was a lot of rain in May 2023 and we waited until the end of May for a window of good weather. After the favorable weather forecast, we quickly packed everything into our backpacks and set off for new adventures.

How to solve the logistical problem around the island and continue with the stages?

For me, the only option was to sleep in a tent and continue from stage to stage. Since there is no infrastructure for pilgrims, we decided to camp. The vast majority of pilgrims choose a base and find accommodation that offers sleeping and a ride to the start of the stage and then a ride from the finish line back to the apartment.

Our choice was physically more difficult because we knew that backpacks with all the camping equipment wouldn't be light, but at the same time we found this option interesting because after completing the stage, you can simply continue the journey from where you left off the previous day.

However, camping outside of campsites is prohibited in Croatia. We chose the places where we slept wisely: in a secluded place where we didn't disturb anyone.

We were wondering where to leave our car for the whole week. So we left it in the town of Krk, in the parking lot in front of the Plodine shopping center.

STAGES

1. STAGE: KRK-DVORI ST. JURIJA-PICIK-SKRBČIČI-BRZAC (16 km)

When we got out of the car, the afternoon heat hit us. We were already dressed and shod, only a backpack on our shoulders and we were off to new adventures. We set off on the main road towards the town of Vrh and soon saw the first blue and yellow sign on a side road marking the Camino.

The first day we just walked and walked, we told ourselves that wherever we went, we would go, without a plan . In a village we were looking for a water source, as we had pretty much emptied our supply due to the heat. A friendly local man easily refilled our water supply as soon as we asked him.

We had covered 16 km on the first day, and since it was getting dark soon, we were looking for a suitable place to spend the night in the forest around 8 pm. Due to the late departure from home that day, we were unable to continue our journey to the Glavotok campsite.

We settled in a beautiful forest, overgrown, but at the crossroads there was enough space for our tent . We cooked dinner - soup from a bag, added asparagus, fennel and a little pâté. Adrijana played the role of cook throughout the Camino, I didn't interfere in the kitchen. I had another function: setting up the bedroom (tent, pillows and sleeping bags).

Along the way, the cook gathered herbs every day and ensured that she had fresh vitamins every day. At that time, fennel, asparagus, bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, and sage were available in nature.

In the forest, we were immediately attacked by mosquitoes, and after dinner we quickly went for a well-deserved rest. We fell asleep to the barking of a deer.

2. STAGE: BRZAC-MILOHNIČI-SV. KERŠEVAN-FUMAK-PORAT-MALINSKA (24 km)

We woke up to the early morning birdsong and had breakfast - tea with freshly picked herbs, honey, butter, and jam. This was our daily breakfast. At 6 am we set off towards Malinska.

We had our first stop and a snack at the church of St. Kerševan in the shade of a black oak. We continued to the Fumak viewpoint, which is an artificially created shrine of a local man who lived abroad. He arranged it as a thank you to God after a serious accident in the forest.

Our destination for today's stage was Malinska , a seaside town with a small Draga campsite (only for motorhomes). We barely made it to Malinska, especially since I was really hungry, so we immediately found the first tavern upon arrival (sweating) and each ordered a portion of calamari. We had a hard time convincing the camp hostess to let us into the camp. We had a huge plot of land that could accommodate at least 5 of our tents, which seemed really ridiculous.

After two days of walking, we really needed a refreshing shower. The campsite had everything we needed: an outdoor kitchen, a shaded garden table where we could rest and plan for the next day.

3. STAGE: MALINSKA-OMIŠALJ-KAMP PUŠČA (25 km)

The third stage of the Camino Krk is a long and beautiful walk along the sea. The beautifully landscaped Paradise Road leads hikers, runners, and cyclists right along the seashore to the town of Njivice .

We only took time for a short rest on the empty beach in the morning, and we still had quite a few kilometers to cover that day. The last part of the journey to Omišalj was a long asphalt stretch of road, quite tiring in the heat.

We were looking for shade for a short rest. We arrived at the Fulfinum Mirine archaeological park with the remains of a Roman settlement, a still well-preserved Roman basilica.

We had to climb old stone steps to get to the old town center of Omišalj, and we couldn't wait to have lunch and rest. Lunch in the old town center was good, and we took a long break.

That day we had to buy a new supply of food for the next day. Next came the search for where to continue our journey, here we searched quite a bit with the signs, we could not find the old steps to the waterfront. An old and beautifully made stone path then led us to the sea. We found an empty seaside promenade, went straight into the shade, took our clothes off and jumped into the sea to cool down. It was pleasant, despite the cold sea…

We had a long way to go, we had to get to the Pušča campsite , which is a few kilometers away from Omišalj. We arrived late in the evening. Setting up the tent, having dinner, and sleeping. The problems for Adrijana began at night, when foreign motorcyclists came to the plot next to us. Enough sawing , she grabbed a sleeping bag with a mat and looked for a quiet corner to sleep. An empty remote mobile home with a roof and a terrace was a great solution. We could sleep there. This decision was excellent, only rested and sleepy can you continue the camino.

4. STAGE: CAMP PUŠČA-BALV VOZ-BISERUJKA CAVE-ČIŽIČI-SOLINE-KLIMNO (19 km)

We woke up at 5 am that day and set off from the Pušča campsite at 6 am. The route took us along a wide macadam water supply road to the Krk Bridge .

Adrijana was drying her socks on her backpack during the journey and when she was resting, she realized that she had lost one of them, and the one that didn't hurt her. The horror! But we didn't go back...

You only see how mighty the Krk Bridge is when you're under it. We arrived at Voz Bay , the former port where the ferry to Krk ran until 1980. The port is abandoned, the only visitors at that time were campers, for whom peace and contact with nature mean a lot.

A considerable climb awaited us to the historic site of Bačva with its beautifully decorated stone chapel. Here we rested for a while and continued our journey past a large immortelle plantation to the asphalt road that once connected the ferry port.

From here on, a four-kilometer stretch of pure wilderness awaited us, all stone and karst terrain and scorching sun. We finally waited for our refreshment stop in the shade of the only pine tree at the Biserujka cave . Here we met tourists who had come to see the cave.

We knew that the journey to Čižičevo, Solin and Klimno would be tiring, it was the time of the midday heat. Today's destination was the campsite in Klimno. Due to the extension of the previous day's stage, we finished this stage early, at 12:30. Happy, expecting a long afternoon and evening ahead of us. First we had lunch, then we pitched our tent, followed by swimming and lying on the beach, making plans for the next day. The Klimno campsite is nicely arranged. It is a smaller campsite with full shade and walled plots. We rested all afternoon, gave it our all , massaged our muscles... We made ourselves comfortable all over the plot, lay on the mats half in the shade, half in the sun, pulled up the awning , washed and dried our laundry. In the afternoon we went to stretch our legs at the nearby market in Klimno, where we bought food for the next day.

In the evening, we wrote and posted on social media, our phones were full, as they allowed us to charge them at the reception... and soon it was evening and time for bed.

7. STAGE: LIPICA-OBZOVA-PUNAT PASS (15 km)

We slept great, only the wind made us sound... it was like somewhere high in the hills.

We packed up in the morning and started the day happily, as this was our last leg. Yes, it all went by quickly… we've been on the road for seven days.

We had almost 200 meters of altitude to reach the highest peak of Krk, the 568 m high Obzova . That day we reached the top first, but soon a cyclist was coming towards us. It's not hard to guess what nationality he was... A few words with Wajdovac and he offered to take our picture.

To get to Punat, all that awaited us was a long, steep descent over the still sharp rocky terrain. We had to work our knees. We arrived in Punat when the townspeople, all dressed up, were going to Sunday mass. We arrived in town at 10:00. We treated ourselves to a rest with a coffee and a croissant in a friendly café on the waterfront. Here we told the waiter that we would come back, as we had paid half as much for a coffee as in Baška. We were in no hurry, as we had made the previous stage much longer and at the same time made the last one much shorter.

Along the new cycling path we reached the church of St. Dunat , which lies at the very beginning of Punat. Here we rested, immortalizing the memory of our joint venture with a diary and the Camino Krk stamps that we collected along the way. We didn't find all the stamps, but that wasn't that important to us, more important was the smile at the end with the recognition that we had succeeded in our venture.

Done!

And we were left with one last problem: How to get to Krk and our car?

I was thinking about walking further along the bike path to the town of Krk. Adrijana resisted and absolutely refused to accept that we would walk another 5 km on asphalt in this heat. So I decided that as a younger participant I would get transportation earlier than the older ones, I took my keys and wallet, crossed the road, went to the bus stop and started hitchhiking. I got a hitchhiker right away, and before the older woman from Kamina had even rested in the shade of the wall by the little church, I had already rushed there in my little Citroen. Oh great, we have a car, it had been resting for 7 days and was waiting for us, great, the logistical knot was complete.

We went to the beach, rested for a while, and had a very good final lunch in Kornič.

Points of interest along the way:

• We looked for electricity in every town to charge our phones, but unfortunately all the city's power outlets were out of power. I then found a solution in churches.
• We were constantly looking for a water source, especially in the villages. We even stole water from a house that had a hose running for watering. It also came in handy at the cemetery.
• At the Klimno campsite, our neighbor was a German. When we arrived, he first quietly watched and looked where we had left the car, maybe the bikes, the camper... He didn't care. Then he asked us where we had our bikes and we told him that we walked, 20 km a day, he was left speechless. Later, he showed all his friends on the beach these two weirdos .
• When we arrived at Kamp Pušča, the receptionist immediately noticed us and asked if we were Camino lovers . She also immediately boasted that she had walked the Camino 14 days ago. She gave us a discount on our overnight stay.
• Despite the cold sea, we swam in the sea as early as May, wherever we could.
• There were a lot of cobwebs on the path, so I walked the whole way with a twig in front of my face.
• When we were returning home, my mom kept insisting that we go look for her lost sock, so I complied and we found the sock! :) She waited for us all week.
• We only met two hikers on the way.
• The trail is very well marked, we only had problems in the towns. The signs got lost there. We didn't use the app, just the physical map.
• Tamara (who had already walked the route before us) very kindly delivered the stamp booklet and map to us, so we didn't have to look for an open TIC (you can get the stamp booklet at TICs in larger towns on Krk).

WHAT WERE WE WEARING?

Our backpack weighed over 13 kg with all the equipment.

We took hiking poles (Adrijana) and good low hiking shoes, a sleeping bag, a sleeping mat, a tent, a burner, a canister, cooking utensils, just a pot with a lid, a pot, a spoon, a fork, a knife, a tea strainer, and matches.

We didn't go overboard with our clothes, we only wore the bare essentials we used every day: just shorts, a T-shirt or sweatshirt , and of course the obligatory windbreaker and long pants.

We also had to have a supply of food for the first two days: honey, jam, butter, homemade tea, soup, pate, biscuits, tuna, cheese spread, bread, vitamin tablets for drinking water. A mini pharmacy and mini cosmetics.

We were wearing low-top hiking shoes, and we also had sandals in our backpacks for free afternoons and to air out our tired feet.

COSTS

We were very frugal. We only spent money on petrol, very small purchases at the city markets for everyday needs, a hot lunch every day at a restaurant with a drink priced between 30 and 45 EUR (for two people), two coffees, a few pharmacy pills, and three nights in campsites.

Total per person around 170 EUR.

You can find statistics on kilometers, altitude, and walking time below.

We are available for additional questions on social media and hope to inspire some of you to set off on the beautiful Camino Krk!

Adriana and Nika