The best time to visit Losinj? Try spring or autumn
Long before it became a summer escape, this Croatian island was prized for its restorative climate. Visit outside peak season to experience Losinj at its quietest.
Framed by pine trees and the waters of Cikat Bay, Boutique Hotel Alhambra reflects the quieter side of Losinj that emerges in spring and autumn. (Photo: Boutique Hotel Alhambra)
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Crystalline waters, abundant sunshine and exceptionally clean air make Losinj a coveted European summer destination. But if you ask this Southeast Asian traveller, the Croatian island’s true magic is best experienced in the shoulder seasons, just before Easter or in early fall, when the place feels blissfully untouched by mass tourism. At these quieter times, the chatter of the summer crowds and hum of motorboats abate. In their place, the prevailing soundtrack is birdsong and the gentle lapping of waves. That’s when it feels as if the towering pine trees that flank the island exhale and Losinj breathes easily again.
Breathing, as it turns out, is rather the point here. Losinj’s reputation as “the island of vitality” can be traced to the late 19th century, when Croatian botanist and meteorologist Ambroz Haracic established the island’s first weather station and began documenting what he believed to be conditions uniquely suited to the treatment of respiratory illnesses. Understanding that mineral-rich sea aerosols could be amplified in the presence of pine trees and terpenes (the aromatic hydrocarbons produced by plants and insects), he founded the Association for the Afforestation of Losinj in 1887, planting over 80,000 Aleppo and Scots pines across the island to boost the therapeutic atmosphere.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire got wind of it and flocked to Losinj by steamship. They declared the island a climatic health resort and built lavish villas along Cikat Bay where they could relax and mainline the rejuvenating air.
Today, more than 1,200 plant species grow on Losinj, around 230 of them considered medicinal. The island remains a recognised health resort for treating respiratory conditions and allergies, and is considered especially restorative during winter, spring and late fall. In other words, the shoulder months.
On an early-April morning, I found myself savouring a quiet breakfast at Boutique Hotel Alhambra, tucked away on the secluded curve of Cikat Bay. Designed in 1912, the hotel’s Viennese architect Alfred Keller drew on Spanish influences to create a terracotta-roofed villa whose arched windows and balconies frame breathtaking views of the Bay.
The 36 capacious rooms and 15 suites named after Losinj’s sea captains are decidedly elegant yet eclectic, appointed with Sartori carpets, restored antiques, brocade linens and Acqua di Parma amenities. Almost all the hotel’s rooms come with a generous balcony where you can soak up the sun while taking in the incredible views and fresh air. We spent much of our days lounging on ours, savouring the delicious whisper of pine trees swishing in the breeze and the lingering scent of the island’s herbs and flowers.
This encapsulates Boutique Hotel Alhambra’s appeal: While you could take a leisurely hike or rent a boat to see the neighbouring islands, the reason to come here is, ultimately, to slip into a slower pace of life in naturally beautiful surrounds. It’s a place where you ought to lie back on a deck chair with a good book, put your phone away and rely only on your belly’s gentle growl to tell you when it is time to refuel.
That said, you should save an evening for the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Alfred Keller. Awarded the top prize as Europe’s best fine-dining hotel restaurant at the World Culinary Awards 2022, the restaurant tips its hat to the bounty of its immediate surroundings. That means some of the best seafood in the world, thanks to the island’s pristine waters that are certified with a Blue Flag, the international award for sea cleanliness and sustainable environmental management.
The Cube Alhambra Spa – named among the world’s best by the Luxury Lifestyle Awards in 2024 – is rather extraordinary and connects most directly to the island’s long therapeutic tradition. Every spa experience begins at the Kurhaus Inhalation Bar, where, in a nod to a tradition that dates to 1892, guests are invited to lean over Victorian inhalation jugs and breathe in Losinj’s medicinal plant mists. It’s like hitting a fancy bong filled with hot wisps of herb-infused seawater.
The broader spa menu draws on the same philosophy, with treatments built around the pine forests and sea air. In peak season, spa bookings require planning weeks in advance. Which brings me to yet another perk of the shoulder season: more readily available spa reservations.
On those cool spring days, the bay was deserted. The hotel is far enough from the main town to feel like its own world, yet only a 30-minute stroll from attractions such as the Garden of Fine Scents, where more than 250 species of wild aromatic herbs are grown.
In her booming voice, Sandra Nicolich proffers fennel seeds for easing gastric reflux and lavender for better sleep, before getting into what seems like a shouting match with her donkey, whose startling bray matches his owner’s brassy tenor. She assures us that it’s all very affectionate, and we retreat into the shade of her cafe for a spot of calming herbal tea.
Losinj has more than 155 miles of walking and biking trails, which one should take at every chance. In the cool shoulder months, even a short morning walk around the bay offers the quality of a spa treatment, with air so fragrant and fresh, it feels like walking aromatherapy.
I pull my AirPods out of my ears. It seems a shame to waste the natural soundtrack in this idyllic 14-degree weather. Soon, the sky begins to brighten overhead, an improbable blue matched only by the shallow turquoise waters patchworked by its sapphire depths around me. I read somewhere that Losinj receives more than 2,600 hours of sunshine per year. My head is so clear that I feel capable of doing a bit of math. My on-vacation brain computes that many of those hours fall outside the months when summer tourists throng the place… as it does now. In this moment, the island feels like it’s all mine.
To live as the Austro-Hungarian aristocracy did, spring for one of the five historic villas associated with the hotel: Villa Hortensia, Villa Mirasol, Captain’s Villa Rouge, Villa Hygeia and Villa Sea Princess Nika. Guests can request the services of a private chef and a butler trained by the International Butler Academy.
Without a private chef or butler, your meals could include hearty grilled steaks at Diana Steakhouse or sushi at Matsunoki Restaurant, where chef Orhan Cakiroglu applies Japanese techniques to the local catch. Both restaurants and a sprinkling of others are a bucolic stroll away along the bay, which is particularly lovely at twilight when the sun sinks into the horizon in a mesmerising blaze of pinks and purples.
Source: CNA/bt
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