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Rijeka

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Earth > Europe > Southern Europe > Balkans > Croatia > Rijeka

Rijeka (Italian/Hungarian: Fiume; German: Sankt Veit am Flaum also known as Rika or Reka by locals) is a city in the west of Croatia.

Rijeka
<map lat='45.32801318215748' lng='14.430885314941406' zoom='11' view='3' float='right' />
Information
Country:
Flag of Croatia
Croatia
State: Primorje-Gorski Kotar
Population: 144,000
Licence plate: RI
Major roads: A6, A7
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Hitchhiking out

Direction Trieste and Italy

You have to take bus #2 and travel to the stop Diračje near motorway junction 5 on the west side of the city. Then go straight along the main road. On the left you'll recognize a sing for Pula, Trieste, Ljubljana. You can hitchhike there by the signs (ignore no autostop signs, it's very hard to have problems with police) on the beginning of the motorway or you can walk along the shoulder of the motorway towards the OMV petrol station for around 1 km where you can ask people. It is a good road to Italy, Ljubljana and also to Austria.

Direction Zagreb Zadar Split

Hitchhiking to Zagreb is very easy and a really good experience. The main spot is the on-ramp at Grobnik, from there you can easily get a ride. Hitching from Rijeka to Zagreb is very short. It will take you approx. 1,5 hours. But first, to get to the on-ramp near Grobnik you have to take bus #16 at the Delta bus terminal, which is 500m away from the theatre HNK Ivana pl. Zajca in the centre of Rijeka. On the bus ask the bus driver to leave you near the main statue which is 2 km before the ramp. To get to the on-ramp you have to walk along the local road, but you can already start hitchhiking here. Sometimes locals help and pick you up. On the ramp waiting time will be max. 20 min. but in general you wait there for a few minutes. From there you can hitchhike to Dalmacija (Zadar, Split etc.) but its easier to get to Zagreb (Lučko ramp) and from there continue to Dalmacija...

Another idea is to go to the main tollgates 20km from Rijeka on the A6 highway. You should go to the main bus station in Rijeka and catch a bus going to Zagreb. Just tell the driver to drop you off on the tollgates (about 20km from Rijeka). Offer him about 15 or 20 Kuna. Once there, just stand after the gates and try your luck.

Direction Pula and Istra in general

So, you have to take a bus again but on another bus terminal which is across the HNK Ivana pl. Zajca theatre. You have to catch bus #22 or #23 (direction Matulji). Of course ask the bus driver to leave you on a bus stop near the petrol station Euro Petrol in Matulji. On the left side of petrol station you will see the road which guides you to the main spot. Name of the spot is Dina restaurant and there you have a really good place for hitchhiking. In case of rain or something like that you can always refresh yourself in the restaurant. From the petrol station to the spot you have to walk for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Second option is to take the bus #32 to Opatija. You can find the schedule here. Ask a driver to drop you off the nearest possible to the BILLA supermarket in Opatija. When you see the supermarket, walk 3-4 minutes to the East. It seems illogical, but don't worry. Map is here. Point A is the supermarket, point B is the parking lot. There is a parking place by the road which makes it easy for drivers to pull over. DON'T put a sign, because Istria is in opposite direction. When someone pulls over, you have to ask if they are going towards the tunnel. (Croatian: prema tunelu.) That gets you on the way to the Istrian highway, famous Istrian Y. (Check the map of Istria and you'll see the Y. ;)) When you get dropped off, you can start using a sign.

Direction Ljubljana and Slovenia

One of the best options to get to the border and in general towards Ljubljana is to take a train from the main train station in Rijeka. You have to pay max. 3 Euro for a ticket to Ilirska Bistrica (Slovenia) and after an one hour train ride you can walk from the train station to the main spot. Ask local people there and they will show you how to get there. It's a 5 to 10 minute walk from the train station. When you reach the spot you can easily get a ride to Postojna and then Ljubljana.

Second option: see the "Direction Trieste and Italy". But the first one is much more better and easier.

Direction islands Krk, Cres and Losinj

If you are going to islands Krk, Cres or Losinj, the best option is to take a bus #29 to Kraljevica and then take a walk for about 2 kilometers until the Krk bridge. There is very easy to catch a hike to the island Krk , as most of the people on the island are hichhiker friendly because of expensive bus ticket and bad connections within the cities. If you are going to the islands Cres or Losinj, you can start your hichhike on the same position near the bridge, and ask for a hichhike until the Valbiska, small port on the island from which ferries are going to Cres. Losinj is connected with the bridge with the island Cres so the procedure is the same for going there.

Keep in mind that you can also take a cheap catamaran boat from Rijeka to islands Cres and Losinj.

Public transport

Public transport in Rijeka is organised with Autotrolej, and is based on bus services. Single ticket for 90 minutes of riding is around 10 kunas. Blackriding is possible, just enter the bus on back doors. It is usual that ticket is shown to the driver, so sometimes he could call you to show him ticket or validate it. In this case, you will have to buy a ticket, or you can pretend you dont understand him and sometimes he will leave you alone. Controls are not frequent, but happends. In this case, most probably they will force you to buy a ticket, and you will avoid penalty. Lot of people are using blackriding because Rijeka has one of the most expensive public transport in middle Europe, altough has one of the smallest bus network in same region. For timeable of buses and other informations go here.