Istria

Istria is Croatia's largest peninsula and a very special region. Besides its splendid coastline, it can boast of having a green inland with hilltop medieval towns.

Istria borders Slovenia and has a maritime border with Italy. This peninsula is the most popular destination for foreign visitors to Croatia. Umag and Porec continually top the annual poll of best holiday resorts in Croatia, as organised by the Croatian National Tourist Board and Croatian TV. As we've said before, most visitors arrive by car, but you can fly in to Pula Airport. Istria is also easily reachable from Trieste or Venice-Treviso airports

The influence of the Mediterranean ensures that there is no snow in winter, and summers are long and warm. Istria is one of Europe's oases with the most sun hours, while at the same time it seduces with its cosmopolitan charm, picturesque landscapes, the small medieval towns perched atop hills and mounts, and with its wonderful beach.

Touristically speaking, this is the best developed region in the whole of Croatia: last year it played host to more than 2 million tourists. To put it in a nutshell - Istria lives for and from tourism.

The most important tourist centres are situated on the west coast, following one after the other all the way to the largest Croatian port, Rijeka, which sits at the head of the Bay of Kvarner.

Strung along the shorelines of Istria are eleven modern marinas. This is not to say, by any means, that the interior has nothing to offer. In fact quite the reverse applies. Here there is the medicinal Istrian spa, as well as numerous hunting grounds, incredibly charming little towns - among them Hum, the smallest town in the world.

These links are clearly apparent, as in the appearance of the towns, so in the style of folk costumes and in the gastronomy of the area. Of the mainland towns those with the largest number of inhabitants are Buzet, Pazin, Motovun and Buje.

Motovun is undoubtedly one of the most amazing, most picturesque towns in Istria. Perched atop a mount overlooking the valley of the River Mirna, the town is encircled by medieval walls, today a promenade from which there are truly breathtaking vistas, in whichever direction you look.

www.istra.com

Some major cities and resorts with short facts and links

Pula
Situated near the base of the Istrian peninsula, the population of Pula is just over 62,000, making it the largest city in Istria. One of the most famous sights in the whole of Croatia is the Roman amphitheatre in Pula, which has been well preserved. Built during the 1st century AD, the three-story amphitheatre is sixth largest in the world. It hosts the Pula Opera Festival in the summer and is also used for other events during the year. Pula is also the economic center of Istria.

An international airport is located not far from the town. Spread out in the sea not far from Pula, in front of the small town of Fazana, is the Brijuni National Park, a place with a quite special character, also since the times of Antiquity. The beauty of Brijuni has long been a magnet for people in search of peace and natural beauty - as the remains of Roman villa rustica bear witness to.
www.pula.hr

Brioni (Brijuni islands)
Only up until a few years ago the islands were closed to the general public as they were the summer residence of President Tito and the top officials of former Yugoslavia. This group of islands are located NW of Pula. The largest island is Veli Brijun, at 1,700 acres (5.6 square km), and is 2km from the coast. The first Golf Course in Europe was built here with 9 holes. See more information under the link "The islands of Croatia".

There more interesting areas in Istria, we suggest you to look some links: www.istra.com

Rovinj
This is a charmingly picturesque town with yet narrower, cobbled streets! It is famous for its St. Euphemia Cathedral with the highest church tower in Istria, at 60 metres high. Rovinj was originally an island, but 250 years ago the narrow channel, which separated it from the mainland, was filled in. It is one of our favourite destinations on the Croatian Adriatic, particularly as it is very lively with numerous cafes and restaurants, galleries and an active fishing port, so in the morning you can watch the fishermen come in as you have your breakfast.
www.rovinj.hr/rovinj

Porec
This is the largest resort in Istria and has frequently been nominated as the top resort in Croatia by the Croatian National Tourist Office. There are over 100,000 beds available in the area, but hotels and other facilities are widely spread so the place never feels too crowded. The main tourist areas are two bays south of the town, called "Zelena" (Green) and "Plava" (Blue) Laguna (lagoon). They are like small towns, with several hotels in each, as well as camping, marina, shopping and entertainment areas. Most of the visitors stay there.
www.istra.com/porec

Novigrad
Novigrad is a tourist centre of the riviera expanding from Dajla in the north to the estuary of the river Mirna in the south. Novigrad is a town and port at the western coast of Istria; 15 km southwest of Buje; population 2,552. Situated on a small limestone peninsula comprising the south-western top of the Bujstina region and, in the north, the entrance into the vast bay of the harbour of Mirna. The position provides favourable shelter due to which the location was inhabited in the early times. The port is protected from all winds, except the westerly and north-westerly winds which raise waves.
Novigrad Marina has 86 berths in the sea and 30 places on the land; length of vessels 6-12 m; maximum sea depth 2.2 m.
www.istra.com/novigrad

Umag
Umag, a town and a port in the northwest coast of Istria, is a kind of exit and entrance of Croatia to Europe. This famous business and tourist centre is at only 40 km from Trieste, 150 km from Ljubljana, and 50 NM from Venice.

Development of Umag is best evidenced by the world famous ATP tour Croatian Open a tennis tournament taking place right here every year. Umag has become the favourite destination of many tourists, as it is the largest summer resort and the largest Croatian ACI marina in this part of the west coast of Istria offering its guests the best in terms of accommodation, sports, entertainment and leisure activities. The towns in the surrounding area have not been neglected either thanks to the fact that they are only six to seven kilometres away.

The old town in Umag has attractive and narrow, cobbled streets. The coast is full of pretty little bays and there are some 60,000 hotel beds and those in private accommodation here. Umag is also well known for its marina and the international tennis centre which hosts the every July.
www.istra.com/umag