Croatia’s Cres named Europe’s best hidden gem by Guardian readers

Cres has been named the best hidden gem among lesser-known European islands in a selection based on recommendations from Guardian readers.

The Croatian island was praised for its wild character, olive groves, lavender, scrubland and small coastal towns and villages. The reader who recommended Cres recalled seeing griffon vultures flying alongside a bus as it approached the island’s highest area.

The recommendation also contrasted busier, more developed tourist centres with places where daily life remains quieter and more traditional. It ended with praise for Cres’s turquoise, crystal-clear sea, a feature associated with Croatia’s coast.

Cres is one of the last natural habitats of the griffon vulture. A visitor centre and rehabilitation facility for the birds operates in Beli, in the north of the island, where the vultures nest on cliffs directly above the sea. Lubenice, Beli and Valun are among the island’s best-known places, while walking and cycling trails cross landscapes ranging from the Tramuntana forests to rocky areas and secluded coves.

Other islands included in the readers’ recommendations were Valentia in Ireland, Karpathos in Greece, Île de Sein in France, Lipari in Italy, La Graciosa in the Canary Islands, Skomer in Wales, Gotland in Sweden and Saaremaa in Estonia.