Rijeka

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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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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.

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.

Note: it is a dangerous spot, I do not recommend walking along the motorway.

Direction Zagreb, Zadar and Split

If you want to go to Dalmatia (Zadar, Split etc.), you can try it directly from Rijeka, but it is easier to first get to Zagreb (to the Lučko ramp) and continue to Dalmatia from there.

Option 1 From the on-ramp near Soboli and the Grobnik airport and racetrack (Automotodrom), or the tollbooth which is next to it. There are two ways to get there:

Option 1/A Going there with a local bus. This is a bit tricky, it is difficult to see which bus goes where. Your purpose is to get as close to the "Main statue" as possible. This is a huge monument next to the highway, 2 km before the on-ramp and the tollbooth. Go to the Delta bus terminal, which is in the centre of Rijeka, 500m away from the theatre HNK Ivana pl. Zajca. Take bus #12, #14 or #16. It is a good idea to check timetables before (see below at the section about public transport). Ask the driver to leave you near the main statue or the tollbooth. With bus #16, he can leave you directly at the statue. With bus #12, it is not sure - ask the driver to bring you as close to to the statue and the highway as possible. User:Onmyown says it takes 3 km from the stop of bus #12 to the hitching spot. With bus #14, get off in Cavle, and change to bus #15, which also passes by the statue. You can also get off in Cavle and change to bus #15 with buses #12 and #16.

The main statue close to the option 1 hitching spot

From the statue, you have to walk 2 km along the local road, but you can already start hitchhiking here, sometimes locals help and pick you up. At the on-ramp, you can choose to hitchhike directly, or walk 200m forward on the highway to get to the toll gate. On the ramp waiting time will be max. 20 min. but in general you wait there for a few minutes.

Option 1/B Go to the main bus station in Rijeka and catch a bus going to Zagreb. Just tell the driver to drop you off at the tollbooth (about 20km from Rijeka). Offer him about 15 or 20 Kuna.

Option 2 Go to new road near a port. There you can stay after lights, which are on the crossroad of Brajdica street and Šetalište Andrije Kačića Miošića. There is a lane from where cars have to go out, so there is good place to catch a car.

Direction Pula and Istria 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. The parking lot makes it easy for drivers to pull over. DON'T put a sign, because Istria is in the 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.

User:Viniciuscastro (July 2015): I used the the first option and had to wait no more than 20 minutes (which is really a record in my case) for a ride! The drivers was going to Porec and left in Pazin (in the town) which was also fast to take another ride! When i was volunteering in Pula also meet another 2 hitch hickers that used the same spot and also recommend.

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.

Eating, drinking

One of the best options to get some cheap food is to go to student mensa (Index) and ask some student if you can borrow X-ica (student card). Probably best option is to arrange it in front by [Couchsurfing, since lot of couchsurfers in Rijeka are also students. There you can get the whole meal for as little as 5 kunas (around 0.60 eur). If you want to make your own food, market offers some cheap vegetables and fruits, as well as some good choice of fish in nearby fishmarket. Best option for buying there is to come around 11am. Most of the shops close after noon, so then is tendency for prices to go down.

For drinking, very good option is Klub Mladih, near Serbian embassy. You can get some very cheap drinks there and fast free internet. Keep in mind that you need to be member there (membership is free) so take your document to make your membership card. If you want just cheap coffee, check caffe bar Pin in the centre.