Rabac calls itself the pearl of the Kvarner, and the string of white-pebble coves below the town is why. But not every beach works with a four-year-old in tow. Here is where the water stays shallow, where the shade lasts, and where you can still park in July.
Where the water stays shallow
The coves around Rabac do not all shelve the same way. In some you are waist-deep after three steps; in others you can wade out a long way before the water reaches your knees. With small children that difference decides the whole afternoon, and it is not something you can read off a photograph.
Bring water shoes. The pebbles are smooth and round, but anyone standing on them barefoot is back on a towel within ten minutes.
Shade, and how long it lasts
On most of these beaches the pines come right down to the water, which is why you can stay longer here than on an open coast. In the morning there is shade to spare; around midday it pulls back from the waterline. With children, that argues for swimming early rather than late — and it is quieter then too.
Parking in July and August
This is where most days go wrong. In high season the car parks at the best-known coves are full by mid-morning. Arrive later and you will be parked along the road, carrying the cool box and the armbands down the hill — and back up at the end of the day.
The quieter coves north of Rabac need a walk in any case, and that is exactly why they are bearable in August.
What is there, and what is not
The larger beaches have a bar, toilets and sunbeds. The smaller coves have none of it: no shade sail, no ice cream, no tap. That is what makes them worth the walk, but it does mean bringing your own water and lunch.
Where to stay
Apartment Gordana
In short
If you want comfort — a terrace, a toilet, a sunbed — head for the big coves and get there early. If you want quiet, walk a stretch and carry everything in. With small children the first works in the morning and the second in the late afternoon, once the day-trippers have gone.
