Croatia
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
405km²
Area
286km
Coastline
617m
Highest point
3,079
People
24°C
Warmest sea
August
3km
To the mainland
When to go to Cres
Best for the beach from July to August.
The sea is warmest in August (24 °C) and coolest in February (11 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from June to September.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island of Croatia
Cres is an island in Croatia. It belongs to Dalmatian Archipelago. It covers 405 km², with 286 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 617 m. About 3,079 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 3 km away.
Getting there
- Rijeka Airport (RJK)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 31 km in a straight lineCar hire at RJK airport (Rijeka)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesBrestova-Porozina (Cres), Rijeka-Cres-Martinšćica(Cres)-Unije-Susak-Ilovik-Mali Lošinj, Mali Lošinj - Ilovik - Susak - Unije - Martinšćica - Cres - Rijeka, Valbiska (Krk) - Merag (Cres)
- 3 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Cres.
- 168beachesStara Gavza, Menula beach, FKK beach Kamp Slatina and 165 more
- 18viewpointsKrižić, Carpe diem, Vidikovac and 15 more
- 2lighthousesSvjetionik Rt Prestenice
- 4ferry terminalsCres, Martinšćica, Merag and 1 more
- 6marinasPort Cres, Luka Koromačna, Camp Slatina and 3 more
- 68named peaksGorice, Sis, Mukova and 65 more
- 35ruins and archaeological sitesRoman bridge, St. Simon Chapel, Tunera and 32 more
- 1dive centresdiving Cres
- 31waymarked walking routes304 Fairy Trail, 303 Elf Trail, 302 Pepi’s Trail and 28 more
- 8campsitesCamping Bijar, Autokamp Slatina, Autokamp Preko Mosta and 5 more
- 20hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 84restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Cres in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Cres, each with its own numbers.
8beaches and covesCoastya
5mountainsPeakyas
1lakeLakeyas
Highest point
648m
Gorice
prominence 648 m · according to Peakyas
Largest lake
5.2km²
Lake Vrana
84 m deep · according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
25.4°C
Lake Vrana
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
24.4°C
Uvala Meli
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
8 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Uvala Melicove24.4°C
- Uvala Lukovaccove24.0°C
- Uvala Ercićcove24.0°C
- Uvala Prigrajenacove23.6°C
- Uvala Porozinacove23.6°C
- Uvala Lučicacove23.6°C
- Uvala Banjacove23.6°C
- Uvala Mali Bokcove23.6°C
5 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Goriceprominence 648 m648m
- Maslovnik
- Perskra
- Hlm
- Bojnak
1 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Lake Vrana84 m deep5.2km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 168 m above the sea. 64 % of it is below 200 m.
- 20 %0–50 m
- 45 %50–200 m
- 34 %200–500 m
- 1 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Cres2,185 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 8 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 23 | 18 | 14 | 10 |
| Night low (°C) | 4 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 6 |
| Sea (°C) | 12 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 19 | 17 | 14 |
| Rain (mm) | 86 | 93 | 77 | 72 | 88 | 66 | 52 | 72 | 122 | 114 | 140 | 108 |
| Wet days | 10 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 11 |
| Sun h/day | 2.4 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 6.1 | 7.4 | 8.9 | 9.6 | 8.5 | 5.8 | 4.1 | 2.2 | 2.1 |
| Wind (km/h) | 20 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 20 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +2.1 | +1.8 | +0.4 | −0.4 | −0.7 | −0.9 | ±0.0 | +1.8 | +2.1 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.9 |
| 2021 | +1.1 | +1.4 | +1.0 | −0.7 | −1.4 | +0.5 | +1.4 | +1.6 | +1.7 | +1.3 | +0.3 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +1.2 | +1.0 | −0.1 | −1.0 | ±0.0 | +0.8 | +1.2 | −0.1 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +2.1 | +1.4 |
| 2023 | +1.6 | +1.2 | +0.5 | −0.6 | −1.6 | −0.3 | +1.6 | +1.4 | +1.8 | +2.6 | +1.6 | +2.0 |
| 2024 | +2.3 | +2.3 | +1.9 | +1.9 | +0.6 | +1.5 | +2.1 | +2.7 | +1.8 | +1.0 | +2.0 | +1.4 |
| 2025 | +1.6 | +1.2 | +1.1 | −0.2 | −0.7 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +0.2 | +2.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +1.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q13280) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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