While Croatia is certainly one of the most popular destinations in Europe, that popularity is largely focused on Dubrovnik, Split and Hvar. Even with the rising popularity of Zadar and Zagreb, there is still very little focus on the northwest region of Istria in Croatia.
I lived in Croatia for 18 months, but Istria was actually the first region I visited as we drove from the UK and entered Croatia via its border shared with Slovenia.
I’ve since returned to Istria and just think it’s one of the most underrated and stunningly authentic areas of Croatia.
In this guide I’m going to share the best things to do in Istria Croatia, including the best towns in Istria, best places to stay in Istria and top places to visit in Istria on your trip.
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When is the best time to visit Istria?
This entirely depends on the type of trip you’re planning.
If you’re coming to Istria for a beach trip, June-September is going to be the best for warm weather and enjoying the beaches and water.
Istria is also a great destination for active holidays including hiking trips, cycling holidays or watersports such as kayaking and stand up paddleboarding. For these kinds of active trips I would probably suggest avoiding the peak heat of summer and aim for May-early July or September-October.
While Istria has very little mass tourism (compared to Split or Dubrovnik) this means the area is less seasonal, so you can still visit in the winter and places such as hotels, restaurants and cafes will be open year round, this is not often the case in places in Dalmatia which are more tourism focused.
Motovun,Croatia
Where is the best place to stay in Istria?
Again this will depend on the type of holiday you want.
For a beach holiday I recommend the areas around Rovinj or Pula.
For an active hiking or cycling holiday I would base yourself in the countryside around Pazin or some of the smaller towns and villages if you’re looking for somewhere more quaint and authentic.
For camping or motorhome trips I highly recommend Medulin and the Arena Medulin Camping Park at Kasteja Park - this is an epic peninsula to set up camp among the trees and have access to the water on 3 sides!
The best things to do and places to visit in Istria, Croatia
Rovinj
Rovinj, Croatia
Rovinj streets
Rovinj is one of the most famous places to visit in Istria thanks to its iconic colourful old town, packed onto the peninsula which is a network of winding cobbled streets and alleyways with a church perched on the top of the hill.
During summer, there are plenty of boat trips, beach areas and coastal excursions to enjoy, you can even take boat trips to Venice, Italy! The town also has a thriving cafe, bar and restaurant scene and there are several stunning hotels located along the coastline.
Things to do in Rovinj:
Explore the Old Town
Climb the tower at Church of St. Euphemia
Spend the day on the walking paths and beaches at Golden Cape
Sunset boat trip
Eat at Kantinon Tavern
Take a dip at Plaža Balota
Find some of the best beaches in Istria around Rovinj’s coastline
Read my full guide to the best things to do in Rovinj.
While there is plenty to see in and around Rovinj, the old town really is one of the best places to see in Istria on your trip.
Pula
Pula Amphitheatre
Pula is likely to be on your itinerary for Istria as it’s the only international airport in the region.
Pula itself is well worth visiting when you’re planning places to see in Istria, even if only for a day to see the spectacularly preserved Pula Arena.
Dating back to the 1st century AD, Pula Arena is the 6th largest Roman amphitheatre in the world and is often considered one of the best preserved. You can easily see it from the outside or pay a small fee to go inside.
Things to do in Pula:
Visit the Pula Amphitheatre
Visit the Roman Theatre and Pula Citadel
Istrian olive oil museum
Arch of the Sergii
Rent a kayak and explore the coastline (don’t miss Galebove stijene which is a stunning rocky bay)
Take a day trip to Brijuni National Park
Motovun
Motovun, Croatia
Once a hilltop fortress, this village looks fantastical, perched on a hill that dominates the centre of the Mirna Valley. In the spring and autumn, the valley is often shrouded in fog with the hilltop village emerging mysteriously from the foggy lake.
If you’re simply driving through, make sure to stop at one of the roadside Motovun viewpoints, but if you have time I recommend spending half a day here - it’s also a great stop if you’re on a cycling or biking trip through Istria.
Motovun things to do:
Walk around the Motovun fortress walls
Aura Distillery
Wall Street Pub
St Stephen’s Church
You can read my full guide on the best things to do in Motovun.
Hum
Hum, Croatia
If you’re researching what to visit in Istria, you’ve likely come across Hum, aka the smallest town in the world.
This big claim to fame makes this tiny town one of the best places to visit in Istria and it’s certainly charming, albeit small and possibly not worth driving out of your way for!
With just one street, the town is just 50m long and home to only 50 people as of the last census.
Read more about whether I think Hum is worth visiting here and what to do there
Active cycling or adventure trips
Istria Valley
One thing that I think makes Istria an incredible holiday destination is how great it is as an active holiday destination.
The countryside, hills, network of villages and country roads and its gorgeous coastline in a fairly compact area make it perfectly suited to hiking holidays, cycling holidays, active adventure holidays including water sports, off roading, cliff jumping and more.
If I was to come back I would love to do a cycling holiday here, there are so many gorgeous small towns and interesting country routes with plenty of local konobas, bars and cafes along the way that are so charming, you can just cycle and explore to your heart’s content!
There are also over 800km of hiking trails just in the Central Istria region alone - so if you’re more of an active holiday maker than a beach holiday maker, there’s no doubt that this region is for you!
Grožnjan
Groznjan Street
Groznjan, Croatia
One of the best places to go in Istria if you’re looking for an authentic, romantic, medieval town which feels like you’ve stepped back in time (or into a movie set!)
Park at the town car park for 3 euros and wander around the cobbled streets. We stopped for a drink and amazing views at Truba bar and the views from the city walls are stunning.
Pazin
Pazin, Croatia
The biggest town in Central Istria, it’s a great central base to stay in if you’re visiting the area for a while. Although we didn’t stay here, there are plenty of shops, cafes and bars and it’s where we came to stock up on supermarket food.
We also did the Pazin zip line which is a two-rope zip line above a gorge outside of Pazin Castle where you reach speeds up to 45km/h. If you’re looking for an adrenaline kick, I highly recommend this activity!
You can also visit Pazin Castle and go on several walks in the area which start in Pazin.
Brijuni National Park
This set of islands off the coast of Istria was once the official residence of Tito, the president of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
He brought many tropical animals to the island and you can now see those that remain on a safari ride around the zoo there. The price of this and everything else in the National Park is included in the ticket price.
To get to Brijuni, you take the boat from Fazana, which run regularly during peak season but only twice a day during November-March.
Besides the animals, the islands are famous for their natural flora and fauna, you can even see dinosaur footprints from thousands of years ago! There are Byzantine ruins, beautiful beaches and walking trails to enjoy so you can easily spend a whole day trip to Brijuni.
Oprtalj
Orpatj Streets
Orpatj, Croatia
Visiting Oprtalj felt like we’d stepped straight into Italy with pastel coloured houses, cobbled streets and sweeping views over vineyards.
While I wouldn’t say there’s anything specific to do here, if you have a car and you’re like me and love exploring areas and just driving around, we did exactly that and included Oprtalj and Grožnjan on the same drive.
Oprtalj is a cute town within a beautiful setting that’s perfect for driving or walking. We stopped at a cafe in the town for coffee and explored the town for half an hour before carrying on our road trip.
Istria Wineries
Domaine Koquelicot
There is no shortage of wineries in Istria, everywhere you look are rolling green hills often dotted with vineyards!
We visited two wineries on our trip: Domaine Koquelicot and Radanovic winery, you need to make an appointment to visit both.
While they’re in different locations, both are family-run wineries with incredible views at their winery location. You can try a selection of locally produced Istrian wines.
We also visited a distillery: Destilerija Krulcic. Here I tried the famous Istrian liquor - Terranino and absolutely loved it - I even bought a bottle to bring home with me! This is also a family-run distillery and they make incredible cocktails with their spirits too.
Kamenjak Peninsula
Residence Del Mar Emotion
This is another area we stayed on our most recent trip to Istria, at the Residence Del Mar Emotion
This is a great area for watersports like windsurfing or kitesurfing as the winds get quite high here.
We also drove over to Medulin which is a cute town on the coast with lots of boat trips available. There’s also a huge camping and caravan park on the peninsula with the beach on three sides and it’s a gorgeous walking area but it would be so much fun to do a camping trip there! Everyone had their kayaks or stand up paddleboards with their dogs playing, music on and surrounded by water and beaches - it looked so fun!
Summary: where to visit in Istria, Croatia
Istria is such an underrated region of Croatia and while some of these are the best places to visit in Istria, there are so many hidden gems and places to go in Istria that I really recommend having your own vehicle or bike and discovering more of the region for yourself.
I hope this guide gives you plenty of inspiration for places to see in Istria on your trip!
