Anyone been to Istria?

[SooticaTheWitchesCat]

We are going to Croatia for the first time this year, staying in Istria, near Pula.

Has anyone been here, if so what did you think?

Following as I have also booked to go to Pula in July

No use to you but I went there several times in the early 1980s when it was still communist Yugoslavia. I would be interested to go back now.
The thing I remember most was the beautiful coast, no beaches but clear blue sea and fantastic snorkelling, great food and surly waitresses.
My favourite place was Rovinj.

I am Croatian, and my sister used to Live there. Gorgeous city, loads to do over summer as there is plenty of music festivals/pula film festival/general things going on during the summer. The main beaches are not in pula, but mostly surrounding it so you'll need to go there by car - but they are beautiful and the clean

If there is anything specific you want to know feel free to ask.

Probably the best Croatia has to offer.

But yes, you can't do without a car and don't despair if customer service is not always up to par.

Depending on how long you stay, you could also go to Ljubljana and Trieste.

We stayed in Rovinj a few years ago and it was beautiful. The coastline is amazing and the sea so clear. We hired a car and visited some of the inland villages. As most of Croatia, the beaches are stoney and the best beach was actually on an island just off Rovinj. Eating out wasn't cheap and we were pleased to be staying half-board. It was fantastic seeing the yachts moored in the marina and you could also do a day trip to Venice. Would love to go back.

We are hiring a car for the 2 weeks we are there so we will try to see as much as we can.

We were there a couple of years ago. Fantastic food and wine! Beaches are stoney but you can buy little plastic shoes everywhere.

Rovinj is charming. theres bike trails around the coast if you fancy a change from the car.

Thanks. We already have rubber shoes for the beach so will make sure to take them with us.

My family spend every summer in Istria . Great that you've got a car, you will enjoy getting out and about and exploring as there are some lovely mountain villages , not just the lovely coastal towns on the west coast like Rovinj and Porec . It's very green and the local wine is great ,contrary to a previous post it's not expensive to eat out(not euro but local currrency is kuna )) and the food is very good, stick to simple things like grilled fish and local meat . Very influenced by Italy as it used to be Italian before the WW2. Most speak Istrians /Croatians speak English so very easy to get about . Have a great time !

we went last year it was amazing! we booked a villa woth a private pool in Pula close to the beach it was the best holiday we had!
we're going again next year, hopefully to the same villa as we really can't fault it.
perfect for kids, food is delicious (im serbian so im used to it) its so cheap to eat out and people are lovely.

We've just returned from a week in Porec and I loved it. Really didn't want to come home. There are so many fantastic places to swim. No (or few) sandy beaches but that suits us fine as sand is a pain. In contrast to Sorrento where all the 'beaches' are owned by the hotels and charged for, Istria has lots of little rocky bays often with a ladder to get into the sea.

Everyone spoke English (and German and Italian, putting us to shame). Croatian people were lovely. They don't have quite the same love of hospitality as the Italians but I liked it, they were polite but not pushy and it's probably the first time I've been to Europe without being beckoned into shops, restaurants etc. You're just left alone to do what you want and if you need help you'll get it. We also visited Rovinj (lovely, reminded me of Italy) and Vsar briefly (lots of pricey looking yachts).

If you get the chance go to Slovenia (it's not far), it's really beautiful, like the set of a fairytale, well lake Bled was.

I wish we could have had longer in Croatia and I'd like to go back, maybe visit Split or Dubrovnik.

Sounds lovely. We are off on Thursday and we are so looking forward to it :)