Nature

The island of Rab has the so-called “Adriatic type” of Mediterranean climate with pleasant warm summers and mild winters. It has such a climate thanks to the mountain range Kamenjak that protects it from the cold Northeastern wind-Bura in winter and spring months.

Except for that wind, there is a warm and moist wind blowing from the Southeast in autumn (“jugo”), which always brings along rain. During summer months there is a landward breeze blowing during the day, called “maestral”, which is pleasant and renders summer heat milder. Other winds and storms are rare phenomena.The number of sunny hours is 2417 on the average, while the number of cloudy days is very small. The temperature of the sea is convenient for bathing, and amounts to 20°C, from May to October. The middle year’s temperature of the sea is 16.7°C.

This island is one of the greenest Adriatic islands as 40% of its surface is covered with woods.

One of the nicest holm-oak areas and the greenest area of the island is the area of Kalifront – Suha Punta.
Northeastern part of the island of Rab is rocky.

The forest in the middle of Kalifront goes under the name Dundo and is under special protection as a natural habitat where, apart from the previously mentioned, cork oak tree grows, a real unusual scene on the Adriatic.

Most floral variety grows in the islands middle part. Greatest part of that area was turned into fertile soil, gardens, vineyards and fields for growing olives and fruit. The uncultivated area grows Holm oak, myrtle, fern, blackberries, juniper berries, and blossoming broom bushes setting a beautiful image for the area.

The Sea – it is sometimes dark blue, sometimes green-blue. It iridizes in thousands of shades uninterruptedly depending on the time of the day and on the angle in which the sunrays fall on it. But it is always beautiful and unrepeatable.

Owing to its ecological cleanness, the sea of the island is the habitat of numerous species of fish, shrimp, shells and corals – a real discovery for every well-meaning visitor of the sea world.

When it comes to animal life, the most populated are birds and insects.

Bird species you will most probably come across on Rab are the haggard, the owl, the pheasant, the dove, the raven, and the griffon vulture. Followed by the passerines: blackbird greenhorn, the goldfinch, the little and big titmouse, the skylark, and the sparrow.
While some migrating birds spend their summers on our Island like the cuckoo, the turtle dove, the swallow and the nightingale, others, like some species of the finch, the woodcock, the quail and some types of waders and swimming birds (like, for instance the sea gull and the grebe), love spending winters on Rab.

There are numerous species of insects on Rab, most of them being all kinds of butterflies in diverse colors and, during summer, the sound of crickets is heard everywhere.

The biggest mammal, apart from the domesticated animals, is the rabbit and the European rabbit, accompanied by the stone marten, mice and bats.

The most common of all reptiles is the lizard and the green lizard much rarer. Out of snakes, the island is the habitat for the ring snake and the Aesculapian snake and there are no poisonous snakes on the island.