rjslatt

Hello, We're arriving in Trieste at about 1 PM on September 25th and depart October 2nd late afternoon. We would like to stay in one or two towns in Istria and do day trips from those towns. We will be on a business trip the week preceding and will be staying in too many hotels and want to take it somewhat easy while visiting Croatia. Rovinj looks interesting so we would like to stay there. Any help with an itinerary would be appreciated.

Geonev

Rovinj is far and away the prize of Istria. Do make it your primary destination while there. It is very, very pretty and Venetian-looking. Porec is also nice but fairly close to Rovinj and easily do-able on a day trip. There are also small towns inland (Bale and Gronjan are nice) but these don't warrant staying over. Pula was OK but bigger than Rovinj and, except for the Roman monuments, not so special. I personally would not bother with Rijeka or Opatjia (the first is way too big, the second too resorty).

Just north of the Croatian portion of Istria is a slice of Slovenia, and Piran there is quite pretty and worth seeing.

The problem in Rovinj is accommodation. We stayed in the Hotel Adriatic, which is ideally located in the old town, but I don't know if there are any other hotels around (possibly one, which was closed when we were there five years ago). There are lots of B&Bs, however, and some modern hotels facing the old town without actually being in it – not ideal, in my opinion.

The Adriatic, by the way, is a fine place, though access is difficult (pedestrian streets). No elevator, if I remember, but adequate in all respects.

rjslatt

Thank you. Very helpful. Sounds like we could just stay in Rovinj and do day trips from there. It's less than 2 hours to Trieste so that may work.

KayF

My husband and I did a very similar trip a couple of years ago. We had about 10 days in total and flew into Trieste and drove to Piran, on the coast in Slovenia for a few nights, then on to Rovinj to stay in a wonderful apartment with seaviews, then across to the other side of Croatia to Opatija which was completely different. Rovinj looked and felt very Venetian as it was once part of Italy but Opatija once belonged to Austria and was full of grand wedding-cake style hotels in pastel colours and coffee shops with fabulous cakes.

We drove back to Trieste from Opatija, via Slovenia and no wonder we were momentarily flummoxed when immigration in London asked where we had come from. Was it Croatia, Slovenia or Italy?

We had a wonderful trip and would recommend all the places we stayed, the B&B in Piran was fairly basic but fine, it's right near the church so don't expect a sleep in, the bells are very loud.
http://www.maxpiran.com/

The apartment in Rovinj was one we found hard to leave, it was comfortable and had wonderful views and was right in the middle of town. The managers were friendly and helpful.
http://www.portaantica.com/

The hotel in Opatija was different from our usual style but was nice, a bit bland but with an indoor pool and seaviews. The walk along the Lungomare was great.
http://www.hotel-savoy.hr/hr/hotel/

Have a great time.
Kay

rjslatt

Thank you. More great ideas!

kja

Rovinj is a logical base in Istria for most purposes. For what it's worth, the Istrian towns other than Rovinj that I visited and I most enjoyed were Porec, Gracisce, Bale, Motovun, and Beram; I also thought the Limski Canal quite lovely. (I didn't stop in Pula, which sounds interesting.)

As others have noted, the coast around Opatija is quite different and provides an interesting contrast. Instead of staying in resort-dominated Opatija, I spent one night in Lovran, which was (as I understand it) developed at about the same time, but left behind. Lovran has a set of small sea-side hotels that are somewhat faded and dated (translation: their charm is old-world and a bit - or more than a bit - worn, but the sea views remain lovely and are available at a more affordable rate). Lovran also has a very tiny (few block) medieval core. Opatija, by contrast, has much more modern resort hotels that have more or less taken over quite a stretch of the coast. it also has a more active night life. The extensive lungamare that extends between the two (and actually a bit further) is lovely, and one can take a bus from either end to either stop (or to a few other towns/villages along the way). I spent a night in Lovran, but think you can visit this area on a day trip from other parts of Istria, such as Rovinj. (But if that idea appeals to you, do a bit of checking to make sure it would work for you.)

Vttraveler

We are thinking of visiting Slovenia and Istria this fall and have pretty much settled on Rovinj. Usually I am not a great Rick Steves fan, but we did watch his shows on Istria and Slovenia and found these helpful in visualizing different options.

dove

We were in Rovinj at the end of May as part of 2 weeks in Croatia. Our favorite stop. Be sure to stay in the old town. Great restaurants, lovely and lively market, easy to walk everywhere. Beaches are very rocky but the water is clear and lovely.

We had a car and drove up into the hill towns. A highlight and a must if you like good wine and lots of truffles.

We stayed at the Villa Tuttorotto and really liked it. You won't go wrong in Istria.