G%26#39;day all,
Have had quite a browse through this forum and there%26#39;s heaps of great advice. But a lot of the stuff that is relevant to my travelling party is at least a year old, so I figured it was worth asking for help anyway.
My name%26#39;s Jess, I%26#39;m 28, an Australian living in London, and eagerly awaiting my holiday to Croatia (arriving on the 8th of October). I%26#39;m travelling with my 26 year old sister and our 26 year old girlfriend.
We%26#39;re all making our Croatia debut, and to be honest, a little overwhelmed by what to do during our five and a half day (5 night) stay. Most people I know who have visited Croatia have done one of those sailing tours, and it%26#39;s just not our thing. We%26#39;re all a bit over that hugely boozy phase of our life, and enjoy doing things that are a little of the tourist beaten track.
I%26#39;m hoping some fantastic Pula local is going to be reading this with some grand plans of things we could do during our stay?
We%26#39;re not sure whether we base ourselves in Pula or do a couple of nights in different places? We%26#39;re very much open to suggestions. We like authentic cultural experiences, pretty village towns, eating, drinking nice wine, a bit of relaxing on the beach and love snorkelling (if that%26#39;s still an option at this time of year? is there somewhere to hire equipment from?).
How easy is it to hire a car? Would we need one for day trips? Or is it easier/more cost effective to use buses/trains?
We probably prefer B%26amp;Bs or cheap self-catering apartments if you have any suggestions? Budget wise, we don%26#39;t need anything fancy. Just something safe and secure.
We%26#39;re all foodies and would be interested in doing a cooking class if there is one, or even if anyone has a friend who%26#39;s a great cook who would like to share their knowledge with a journalist, a doctor and a human resources officer! We are happy to pay/buy the ingredients/get some nice wine or all of the above if you know of someone who would like a bit of a cultural exchange experience?
Well I know that%26#39;s a bit of an information overdose, but I appreciate any tips you have. Some of my most memorable holiday moments have come from the suggestions of locals, and I would love if that was the case in Croatia as well.
Hope to hear from you soon...
All the best,
Jess
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I will just start by saying that you should spend at least a night or two in Rovinj. If you can afford it I think it is best to rent a car as it will give you the option to go where you want, when you want. You should look into going to some of the Hilltop towns of Istria such as Hum, Motovun, Buzet and Grozjnan.
You might also want to look into going to the Postojna caves in nearby Slovenia and while there you could also take in Predjamski, a castle a few km away from Postojna.
www.flickr.com/photos/jumpinjack/283738266/
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Thanks so much for your prompt reply!
I did a quick Google search and noticed Rovinj is very close - only 45 minutes drive, so we will certainly take up your suggestion. Can you recommend any accomodation in Rovinj, or any parts of the town that would be best for us?
And as for car rental companies - is it just the regular ones or is there a tourist information site that lists the companies that cover Pula?
The hill top towns you mention also look beautiful - are they each day trips in themselves or do you think we could do a couple in a day? And would it be best to do this from Pula or Rovinj?
That cave castle looks simply magnificent - something different to the usual European castles as well, which is a nice change.
Do you know if there%26#39;s any difficulty or visa required to cross the Croatian border into Slovenia?
Again, sorry to bombard with all the questions.
Please know your advice is greatly appreciated!
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I don%26#39;t think you will need a visa to get across the border to Slovenia. All that is needed will be your passport. The castle is a neat place to visit though. I think you can look into many car rental companies so maybe just start searching and see what you can find for a deal. I have heard that there was quite the shortage of cars this past summer, but I would doubt that you will have a hard time finding one at this time of year. I think my father used Hertz this past summer. I think the hilltop towns are close enough together that you will be able to do a couple of them in a day at least. Thats why it would be better to have a car and not have to rely on public transport. I think Rovinj would be a great base for you to explore from. I do think that Pula would be good to wander around for awhile, but I would suggest that you stay in Rovinj though.
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Hi again! More advice needed please!
I%26#39;m not sure whether to do:
A) pula %26gt; rovinj (stay 2 nights) %26gt; somewhere near buzet (stay 2 nights) and do day trip into caves at slovenia %26gt; SOMEWHERE on the way back to pula (stay 1 night) %26gt; fly out of pula around midday.
or
B) pula %26gt; buzet (would love a suggestion of a good town to stay that would be accessible to slovenia but also some of the pretty hilltop villages) to stay two nights %26gt; down to rovinj with a visit through some more villages to stay in rovinj for three nights %26gt; drive to pula the morning of the day we fly out.
I figured it was better to go inland first then end up on the coast as it%26#39;s a closer drive to pula on the morning we leave.
I also don%26#39;t know what is a good half-way point between pula and postojna to base ourselves for two nights?
Or can we do day trips to all of the above from a base in Rovinj for the whole five nights? Seemed more practical to stay somewhere up near the border for a couple of nights?
Help please!!
Much appreciated,
Jess
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Istria is not that big, one base only is OK, but you must have a car for at least one day, some villages are reachable easily by local buses and some not. You will plan it once there, no crowds, really no neeed for planning in advance, one day you will go east the next day north etc. Beaches, not sure if you will dare to swim, but maybe the sea will be warm enough for you. Truffle season started today, the main events taking place in Livade.
FYI Slovenia is a part of EU no visas needed.
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Thanks again for the reply.
I think the plan is to just get an apartment in Rovinj for the entire five days and do day trips from there...
However, people are recommending we visit Plitvice and the national park does look spectacular. Would it be too far to do a day trip to Plitvice? Should we plan to spend a night there?
Similarly are the caves in Slovenia too far for a day trip?
Also, I just realised, there are two areas called Livade in Croatia! I thought the one further south meant it would be too far for us to visit for the Truffle festival, but if we only need to go to Motovun, that makes things much simpler! Might be a good place to see if we can find a truffle hunter who we can pay to take us hunting?
This is the accommodation we were thinking of in Rovinj - is this in a good area? We are likely to just hire a car for the entire trip, do you have to pay for parking in Rovinj?
holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/rovinj/30190
Thank you a million times over
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Plitivice you can do in one day . Distance from Rovinj is about 250km, so get up earlier to get there sooner. Postojna Caves is about 2 hours from Rovinj by car. If you go remember to buy vignette (weekly vignette price is 15EUR). No need to spent nights there.
Motovun, Grožnjan, Livade, Hum you can do in one day.
The apartment is in a good area. 3 minutes from the main square in old town. Also it is in the pedestrian zone so you can%26#39;t go with the car inside, but the parking is less than 5 minutes away (price is 2 kn for hour, or 1 kn during the night).
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