Istria Hotels

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Top Istria hotels

Porec Hotels: 276 Reviews - 639 Photos
Pula Hotels: 528 Reviews - 1230 Photos
Opatija Hotels: 182 Reviews - 432 Photos
Rabac Hotels: 23 Reviews - 46 Photos
Rovinj Hotels: 324 Reviews - 863 Photos
Umag Hotels: 24 Reviews - 66 Photos
Vrsar Hotels: 77 Reviews - 131 Photos
Savudrija Hotels: 6 Hotels
Motovun Hotels: 88 Reviews - 159 Photos
Otocic Sveti Nikola Hotels: See nearby hotels
Beram Hotels: 39 Reviews - 47 Photos
Tar Hotels: 1 Review - 1 Photo
Zminj Hotels: 1 Review - 10 Photos
Vizinada Hotels: See nearby hotels
Visnjan Hotels: See nearby hotels

Istria Things to Do

Mosaics above church roofline

by BruceDunning

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Mosaics above church roofline
by BruceDunning
Grisa is a street inthe middle
by BruceDunning
Euphrasian Basilica (Porec, Croatia)
by Redang
Roman Temple (Porec, Croatia)
by Redang
Facade and bell tower
by Orchid

Most Viewed Things to Do in Istria

Roman Amphitheater Pula

15 Reviews In a park near amphitheater and by the sea, there's sculpture that calls for attention of passer-by: on its top, a partisan stands with raised fist, on the ground level, there are men facing death in...

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Augustus Temple Pula

16 Reviews This temple is from around 2nd century BC to before the death of Augustus in 14AD, for which the temple is dedicated. Besides that dedication, it also is a commemoration for Goddess Roma, a deity from...

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Arena Pula

11 Reviews The Pula Arena is the name of the amphitheatre located in Pula, Croatia. The Arena is the only remaining Roman amphitheatre to have four side towers and with all three Roman architectural orders...

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Arch of the Sergeius Family Pula

14 Reviews Salvia Postuma Sergia used her own money to build the arch to honour her three brothers who fought and died at the battle of Actium. The arch was erected in the last two decades of the 1st century BC.

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Cathedral of Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary Pula

9 Reviews Until going there I only knew one cathedral with the tower separated from the main building - in Leiria. Now, I knew a second one. And that was my most remarkable note about this monument, as...

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Forum Pula

7 Reviews The whole area in front of the Communal Palace and Temple of Augustus was being excavated, in search of the Roman Forum. One day (if no more war comes to change things) it will be presented and...

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Dvojna Vrata - Double Gate Pula

5 Reviews In the past, the whole city was surrounded by walls and was entered through about ten gates. The Twin Gates (there are two arches), were built between the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and they lead to the...

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Brioni National Park Pula

2 Reviews Brioni…again! Since I used up all my travelogues and I was going to add a bunch of pictures, here is more of Brioni. This is the gorgeous beach I am talking about! There are 4 hotels in which you can...

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Franciscan Monastery Pula

4 Reviews Franciscan monastery in the upper parts of town. We had to search for a while before we arrived there, it's a bit off the beaten path. Here you will also find the altar for the Blessed Oton of Pula...

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Chapel of Santa Maria Formosa Pula

5 Reviews Originally from the 6th century, escaping from demolitions and bombs, this small chapel, standing beside a small garden that replaced a quarter erased in WW2, was built in Ravenna's style. It seems...

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Town Hall Pula

5 Reviews Two eyecatching, historic buildings are neighbour to each other at Forum and compete for audience: Augustus temple and Communal palace or Town hall which was built on a site of former Diana's temple....

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Sveta Marija Katedrala Pula

5 Reviews This picture shows the Northern wall of Sveta Marija Katedrala, opposite to the main entrance. The little street leads to Obala Maršala Tita and the sea, 50 meters away. Pay attention to the small...

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Roman Theatre Pula

3 Reviews This theatre is much smaller than the arena and was probably used more for cultural activities and stage plays. It is dated back to around 2AD and was build into the hill on the backside. There is a...

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Walking Pula

4 Reviews The city`s earliest recorded permanent habitation dates back to the 10th century BC. It was founded by the illyrian tribe of the Histri, an ancient population that lived in Istria. Roman settlement...

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Mornaricka Crkva Pula

3 Reviews The Portal of the church of Our Lady of the Sea and the walls are built of alternating white Istrian stone and red marble, thus creating a vivid decorative composition with horizontal bands. The...

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Aquarium Pula

2 Reviews This is a history of being built during the Austrian era as a fort in 1886 called Fort Verudela. Today this started to become an aquarium in 2002, and has evolved into tow levels now and has 60 pools...

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Motovun: the truffle centre of Istria

by MikeBird

In the middle of the Istrian peninsula is the small hill top town of Motovun. It was very quiet, being the end of December but there were a couple of shops open including one that specialised in Truffles. Apparently the woodland around Motovun is particularly good for hunting this precious fungus. We didn't try any truffle hunting nor could we afford to buy any of them but the friendly shop keeper gave us a little free gift - a box of chocolate coated prunes. I guess they look a bit a like truffles? It was a very unexpected gesture because all we had bought were a few postcards.You can walk around the edge of the hill top town and get a 360 degree view over the countryside. I think all it lacked was a castle though the church on top was second best.We enjoyed our hot chocolate drinks in the cavern-like coffee bar by the ancient gate.Continuing inland we moved onto a spa located at the...

Visit the Roman Amphitheatre in Pula

by MikeBird

Possibly the most interesting feature of Pula is the impressive amphitheatre near to the harbour in Pula at the southern tip of Istria. Built by Emporer Vespasian it was enlarged later in the 1st century to entertain around 20,000 spectators on the demise of a few gladiators and wild beasts.You can wander round freely and imagine the events that took place there back in first century AD. Included in the entrance fee ( In December 2006 20Kuna Adults, 10Kuna students) is access to some underground passages that feature displays about the site. Visit the website below for some photos of the amphitheatre and other Roman/historical features of the city.

obvious choice - Rovinj

by picek

Rovinj is glamourous. Some say it's the jewel in crown of Istria. You can visit it at any time of year, even on gloomy misty cold day in winter and it will keep shining. One can easily get lost in side streets of the old part which was island in past, separated from continent with a canal. Plenty of well preserved historic architecture to see, many bars, trendy cafes and restaurants to try local food and wines, pleasant tiny squares adorned with ancient and contemporary works. Iconic is the image of settlement clustered above the sea, below the church of Saint Eufemia, whose bell tower dominates panorama. As you approach towards the town's heart from the side, it will reflect within thousands lights on the surface of the sea - the views are enchanting.If you need more history and interesting stories, take a book or ten of them, hundreds were written on Rovinj. Or briefly glance in the...

Dvigrad

by Nykaenen

Dvigrad is nowadays just a little bit more than a pile of stones. Hardly anything remained intact. Would you believe that five centuries ago it was actually two towns and hence name Dvigrad = Two Towns? The two towns used to stand on opposite sides of the valley, but the other one has completely collapsed and is now nothing more than a plateau with a few stones.Typically, ruined old castles and towns interest us because they were destroyed either in battles or devoured by fire. Dvigrad was simply abandoned by its inhabitants and left to decay. But don't expect great mystery surrounding its abandonment. The reason is very plain -the town which successfully fought enemies was helpless before plague and malaria. It was abandoned it in the 17th century. The little that has remained of Dvigrad seems to be under preservation project. Hopefully it will be preserved from further deterioration...

Day trip to the Interior---Draguc

by dustmon

Draguc (drag-ooch) was one of the towns we visited on our excursion into the middle of Istria and one of the best of the day! Our guide told us that there were only about 5 families still living here, and it was mainly used for movie production! He thought that parts of "Red Cliffs"was filmed here just the previous year. There is a small church with some incredible 14th century frescoes on the wall, just open to the air. A real find for photographers, because we normally cannot take pictures of these fragile paintings. Try to get here if at all possible--it is really worth it! There is a small bar if you get thirsty....

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Climb the Campanile in Rovinj

by MikeBird

In the old town of Rovinj you can't miss the splendid Cathedral of St Euphemia perched on the highest point overlooking the narrow, cobbled streets and harbour of the town. It's well worth the small fee to climb up the rather old and battered wooden steps to get to the top where the view makes the effort all worth while. Apparently the bell tower is 60m tall so you might need a short break to get your breath back on the way up. But as you stand still try not to look down - the gaps in the stairs and the drop below might make you wish you'd never started!The Rovinj tourist office website have a terrific photo on their homepage that gives you an aerial view of the town. On the top of the tower is a statue of St Euphemia, loaded on bearings, she spins in the wind!Our trip to Rovinj was certainly one of the highlights of our Croatian winter holiday.

THINGS TO DO IN ISTRIA IN A WEEK

by mediterrane0

Day 4go to exlore the Baredine cave close to Porec, visit the wine producers (Poletti in San Marco village), visit the town of Motovun and buy the truffles from the Motovun forest in many local stores. close to Motovun is Livade where the biggest truffle of the world was found. try to organize with Zigante restaurant truffle hunting demonstration.Go to Groznjan/Grisignana (italian name) and discover the most beautiful town in Istria and it's modern art galleries!Do a hike from Groznjan to Monticello/Montizel or go by bike (10km) on the former Parenzana train track.Day5Go to Pazin and visit the castle from the 11cent with its Ethnographic museum. Do a cave tour in the area under the castle.do the tour of the little towns with gothic frescos (Beram, Draguc are the most beautiful).Go to Labin, visit the museum and the old town. Swimm in Rabac, 5km south.Day 6Go to Opatija on the east coast....

Istria in 7 days

by mediterrane0

hi there and welcome to our region Istria.Day 1 you can visit the town of Porec starting to walk from some of the bays where normaly are the hotels and reach the downtown. Visit the Basilica Euphrasiana (UNESCO) with the Museum of the sacral art. The old town is little so u will do that in 2 hours.The afternoon u can go south of the town and visit the town of Vrsar (Orsera in italian), and if u have more time go and to Lim fjord (about 30min south, close to Vrsar).From there try to catch the boat to bring u back to Porec.Day 2Visit the national park Brioni islands. Call day before to see what time they have tours (included in the entrance fee) in your language (English,Italian, German, French or Croatian). you need to come to Fazana and from there there is 15min ride by boat. This is also included in the price of the entrance fee.The visit is 4h but u can stay longer. You will visit the...

Hum / Colmo

by diocletianvs

Hum has all the attributes of a small town: a church, walls, town gates, campanile, loggia.... It doesn't matter it only has 17 inhabitants, it is still considered a town - in fact, it proudly claims it is The Smallest Town in the World. The town is dominated by huge neo-Baroque Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Town streets have mostly rural feel, but just as you start wandering if this is really a town or a village you will find a museum around the corner and some real graffiti art nowhere else but inside the cemetery chapel! The Glagolitic graffiti inside the Chapel of St. Hieronymous date back to 12th century when frescoes were made. Hum was one of important Glagolitic centres (Glagoljica was a script used in Croatia during the Middle Ages), and on the road between Hum and Roc there is a series of modern sculptures that make the Glagolitic Alley.

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Buzet / Pinguente

by diocletianvs

Buzet is one of largest settlements of inland Istria, and most of its population lives and works in a valley under the hill that is occupied by old Buzet. Like other hilltop towns of Istria, it takes some effort (and lots of stairs) to reach it. Two town gates from the 16th century are still there, and the central place on its main square belongs to the local church. On one of the squares there is a well preserved Baroque public well, that tells the story of communal organization and public services that were offered to local residents in ancient towns. The view from the hill opens towards the valley of river Mirna, but nowadays it is mostly obstructed by modern developments. The lower town, on the other hand, has some good restaurants that offer dishes with truffles - a local specialty found in the surrounding forests. Every September an enormous omelette with truffles is prepared here...