Dolomites and Istria- Family Holiday

[CosmopolitanCocktail]

Next summer (August)we have decided we will fly into Venice airport and hire a car. We will skip Venice as it will be heaving and then drive to the Dolomites for a week and then to Istria for a week.
I think I have found a hotel in the Dolomites which isn’t too eye watering but would welcome recommendations- we have two older teenage boys so somewhere close to activities but a nice pool spa for me when I want to take a break from a day of adrenaline. Ideally half board.
My main reason for posting here is to ask for Istrian recommendations- I think somewhere around Porec or Rovinj would be best. All the camping sites (Eurocamp et al) look very busy so thinking more of self catering (especially as first week more expensive)- a pool is important and extra marks if you can walk to a restaurant some evenings. 30mins for on the coast would be fine.
Also would be great to hear if anyone has done something similar
thanks!!

Highly recommend hotel grones in Ortisei in the dolomites, ortisei is a great base. The food was gorgeous in the hotel and price wise reasonable compared to a lot in the area. It’s such a stunning spot, we’ll definitely go back in the next few years. Still my 13 year olds favourite holiday.

Not camping but Valamar Isabella Island in Porec is fabulous.

I've kind of done this- flew into Venice, then caught a bus to Istria. I stayed inland in Buzet. There are loads of hill towns in the heart of Istria that are effectively Italian- my AirBnB hosts took me on a bar crawl to their village of birth where everyone was speaking Italian. I went on a beautiful walk up a river valley to a place with a watermill and falls- can't remember the name now. Halfway to Hum, anyway.

But I did spend a day in Venice, too. Hot it was, but if you stick to the back streets it's not too crowded. I also bought a day ticket for the vaporetti and cruised the furthest reaches of the lagoon, stopping a couple of times for a swim.

There are also ferries direct from Venice to Istria. I think I didn't take them because they run in the evening, taking day trippers from Croatia back.

I was coming on to recommend this hotel. Its on a small island in the bay, with a shuttle boat to and fron the hsrbour. We were there on the day of its official opeing after refirbushment, with a huge party for the VIPs attending. We were kept away from the party, but they had a fab furework and light show. It is really good for something a bit different.

I love Rovinj, if fact I love Croatia full stop I have been a few times, admittedly we went to Istria in October half-term in 2017 so it was off season and feels like many years ago. However Rovinj is beautiful, loads of great restaurants and there is loads of sightseeing to do in surrounding area. There is the UNESCO basilica in Porec, the amphitheatre in Pula, some lovely hill towns. We flew into Split and visited Trogir, Plitvice Lakes national park and then Istria over 8 nights. We stayed in apartments Corte dei Merli which still exist, it is central and has parking but no swimming pool. Grand Park hotel is well located with a nice pool but presumably priced accordingly.