Cres 2009

Day 1 (Hanover – Denkendorf)
We set off from Hanover at 3 p.m., via Magdeburg onto the A14 heading south, to avoid all the traffic jams on the A2 and the Kassel Hills – which worked. We started in Lower Saxony in brilliant sunshine, and the further south we went, the worse the weather got. Near Bayreuth there was such a violent thunderstorm that we could only drive at 30 km/h. Some drivers didn't care, though, and one car spun several times on the wet road and hit the central crash barrier. Fortunately no one was hurt. The driver simply put it in first gear and drove on as if nothing had happened – probably in shock and not realising that the front of his car was completely wrecked. By now it had got dark, and we were forced to make an unplanned stop in Denkendorf, as the lights on our trailer had stopped working and a repair in the dark wasn't possible. The pitch in Denkendorf is very nicely situated in the back yard of an inn. Electricity is available, and the price of 4 euros is reasonable.

Day 2 (Denkendorf – Mali Lošinj/Cres)
At first light (5 a.m.) we set off towards Austria. As you have to drive with lights on during the day in the countries ahead, I repaired the trailer (it was just a short circuit). The wonderful block clearance at the various tunnels cost us almost 4 hours and a lot of nerves. In Slovenia the drive was very pleasant.

Our route took us from Maribor via Ljubljana on to Croatia. We headed for the ferry to Cres from the Istrian side. The coast road before the ferry terminal is currently being widened and can only be driven at 10–20 km/h, as the surface is just loose gravel. The ferry from Istria to Cres cost 514 kuna for our rig – 2 vehicles of 5–7 metres and 2 people, so about 72 euros one way.

Once we finally arrived on Cres, it was only 80 km to Mali Lošinj, so we planned on 1.5–2 hours' driving.

Unfortunately we were wrong. The road from the north to the south of Cres is so bad in places that the maximum speed possible is 30 km/h, so the drive took over 3 hours. With all the delays, we reached the Kredo campsite at around 10 p.m.

Days 3–9
Exploring the Kredo campsite. This site is a little special. It opened 14 years ago with 54 pitches; 2 years later the Čikat campsite, with around 3,500 pitches, was built around Kredo. So Kredo can only be reached via the Čikat access road. But the best pitches in this bay are all on Kredo. With 54 pitches, the site itself is very family-like and manageable. The shower block is old but always clean. A special feature is the underwater lighting in the bay.

You can also simply use the new shower block on Čikat, which is no further away than Kredo's. There is also a grocery shop on the Čikat site, open 7–12 and 18–21. Daily newspapers and bread rolls are available at various stands.

Kredo is laid out in terraces, and most pitches have a direct view of the sea. Every pitch has electricity. Kredo has its own lovely restaurant right on the bay and a small hotel.

The bay for swimming is clean, but not suitable for children. There's no gravel or sand, only large stones (15–30 cm). Walking on them isn't exactly pleasant, and lying or playing on them is out of the question. After 2 metres the water drops to a good 4–5 metres deep, so it's not for children. There is a small jetty so passengers can get in and out of boats more easily. Boats you bring with you can be moored to a rented buoy in the bay; these can be rented from the Čikat campsite for 5.70 euros a day. Neither campsite has a slipway for boats.

There is a boat crane in Mali Lošinj: 175 kuna for a 4–5 metre boat. Mali Lošinj is a lovely little harbour town with everything you need on holiday: lots of restaurants and bars, shops, churches, souvenir shops and more. All sorts of excursions are offered on every corner. The weather was mostly lovely the whole time, apart from two bouts of hail and rain.

As it's fairly difficult to sunbathe and swim in the bay without a boat, and we didn't always want to go out by boat, on day 9 we decided to leave the Kredo campsite and drive to the Murter peninsula. The Kredo campsite is a lovely, clean site, but unfortunately not suitable for swimming and sunbathing.

Day 10: Mali Lošinj – Betina on Murter, 410 km
At 10 a.m., once the boat was out of the water and safely on the trailer, we set off for the ferry to the island of Krk. As on the way there, the drive across the island was long and bumpy. The ferry to Krk costs the same as the route to Istria – again 72 euros for the rig. When we arrived on Krk, we felt as if we were in a different world: decent roads, signposts and no more bumping around. Krk and Cres are two completely different islands and can't be compared in any way; Cres's infrastructure lags far behind Krk's. But Cres wasn't our destination anyway – the Murter peninsula was. We continued across Krk to the bridge to the mainland. The bridge costs about 4 euros from the mainland, but nothing from the island. Our route first followed the coast road to Senj, and from there over a small mountain pass to the motorway. The motorway is a dream: brand new, hardly any traffic, very pleasant and relaxed driving. At around 5.50 p.m. we finally reached our destination, the Autocamp in Betina.

Day 11: Autocamp in Betina
I don't think anyone really knows how big the site is or how many motorhomes and caravans it can hold. There are no fixed divisions or plots; everyone can park wherever there's space. But we quickly noticed that many spaces were being kept free by other holidaymakers for guests yet to arrive. There are lots of campers on the site who have been coming here for years, so a few cliques have formed. But we were lucky and managed to get a great spot right by the beach and the harbour basin.

Autocamp in Betina
The site itself is very simply equipped. There are 2 washrooms with showers, toilets, waste disposal, sinks and washbasins. The newer shower block always has hot water, the second one not always. But in the heat, sometimes over 40 degrees, I preferred cold showers anyway. There is a restaurant right on the water with a view of the sea, and a shop. Goods in the shop are cheaper than in the supermarkets in town. The restaurant is highly recommendable: the food tastes very good and is also very cheap. A plate of ćevapčići with chips, rice, salad and bread costs 40 kuna, just over 5 euros. Our summer drink was "Mischmasch" (red wine with Fanta), plus pancakes. The swimming bay has a small sand and gravel beach and is ideal for children. It's very shallow and there were no sea urchins. The site is a dream for campers with boats: there's a very shallow slipway that's free of charge.

There are also several mooring spots on the jetty and plenty of space in the harbour basin – and the good thing is that there's no extra charge for them.

Overnight costs:
The prices are very reasonable. For our motorhome with electricity and trailer for 2 adults (incl. tourist tax), we paid 172 kuna a day – just 24 euros.

Murter / Betina
Betina merges directly into Murter, and you can't see where one ends and the other begins. Both villages are very picturesque and have lots of little lanes for strolling and walking. The Murter peninsula itself is unaffected by mass tourism, and we had lots of positive experiences with the island's residents.

Vodice
We made a little trip to Vodice, a larger town further south of Murter. It's about 20 kilometres across the sea, and you're sheltered between the islands the whole way, so even smaller boats can make the trip. Vodice itself is more geared towards tourism, with lots of markets selling the things every tourist simply has to buy, lots of amusements for children and so on.

But the town also has lots of little cafés and restaurants in the lanes, and at the harbour you can admire lots of beautiful big boats.

Departure
3 weeks of holiday go far too quickly, and we enjoyed this beautiful view on the evening before we left. On day 23 we set off at 6 a.m. and took one last look at the restaurant where we had celebrated the evening before.

Journey home
Our route took us straight onto the motorway towards Zagreb and then on towards Maribor (Slovenia).

The motorway was completely clear and we didn't have a single traffic jam. In Slovenia we left the motorway, as at the time of our return journey the roundabout in Maribor was still under construction, and a week earlier another holidaymaker had been stuck in a 6-hour jam. The drive through Slovenia was very beautiful and easy. We crossed the border into Austria at Spielfeld.
In Austria we got back on the motorway and continued to Passau. In Austria too we didn't have a single traffic jam and really enjoyed the drive – just set the cruise control and let it roll.
As we didn't want to drive straight through, we looked for a pitch near Hof and chose the one in Störnstein: according to the guide, 2 free spaces at an inn. OK, the car park was a bit sloping, but it was fine. The food at the inn was simply superb and also very cheap. The elderly landlord likes to tell a little story and also enjoys listening to holidaymakers' tales.