Destinations in Croatia

Want to know what to do in Novigrad? In this post, we share the best things to do in Novigrad including top attractions, activities, and day tours.

Want to know what to do in Istria, Croatia? In this post, we share the best things to do in Istria including top attractions, activities, and day tours.

Are you a foodie on a trip to Istria? Have you heard that Istria is the best place to visit in Croatia when it comes to food, wines, and olive oil?
Look no further! In this post, we share the best restaurants in Istria that locals love.

We’ve been invited by Share Istria team to join their two-day tour of inland Istria and help them promote the Share Istria project. 

We’ve decided to list top reasons to visit Istria in Croatia in hope to make Istria a part of your Croatia itinerary. After running this blog for awhile, interacting with our readers, and just by looking into our most read posts, we realized that overseas visitors, particularly those coming from US, Canada, and Australia, often overlook

I bet you’ve hardly heard of Vodnjan (if you’ve heard of it at all). A small town, located just 10 km north of Pula, is often overlooked by visitors to Istria. Yet, we think everybody should visit it, and here are the reasons to do so.

Vrh might be a barley pronounceable name, but it’s a great restaurant worth seeking out. Located in the village of the same name, this family-run restaurant is loved by locals and foodies for few things: for tartufo vero, or a real Istrian truffle (including praised white truffle); for boskarin peka (braised Istrian ox), laid-back atmosphere,

While entire Istria, due to its shape, is easily reachable by car and well connected, Rabac for some reason seems always too far from anywhere. But nothing can get us move better than the good food can. And Rabac region doesn’t lack in good restaurants.

Villa Meneghetti is a wonderful estate located between Bale and Barbariga, and reachable only via an unpaved, dirt road. Villa Meneghetti is stancija, which means homestead here in Istria, and it’s typical for the region. And Meneghetti was a family name of homestead’s first owners. Thus, the name!

Rabac is small but busy tourist town located on the east coast of Istria. With its perfect white pebble beaches, and high raising mountains, its setting is a bit different than the rolling hills, and rocky coast found in other parts of Istria.

We’ve waited long time for the first water park in Istria, and now not only that Istralandia water park open its door, but there is another water park Aquacolors opening next year. I wonder if there is really demand for two water parks in Istria, but Aquacolors will be very close to home, and hopefully it

Simona, an Italian blogger from BagniDalMondo, visited Rabac last summer. And we were delighted when she accepted to share her experience of Rabac with us and our readers. The best part of blogging is getting to know other great bloggers,

Wineries in Istria are awesome. If I remember them correctly. You know that a visit to the winery typically includes lots of wine-tasting. Wine-tasting could potentially affect my, otherwise good, judgement (you have been warned!). However from what I believe I have experienced on my visits to these wineries in Istria, I put them at

There are not too many restaurants in Istria we haven’t heard about. We certainly haven’t visited them all, but at least we thought that we’ve got them all on our bucket list. Well, it turned out not to be the case.

If I say that the tavern Stari podrum Momjan is maybe the best tavern in Istria, I’ll not be telling you anything new. Many blog posts have already been written on Stari podrum Momjan. And probably majority of foodies in Istria would agree with me.

Although I’ve actually never really planned to live in Istria, this is the place I call home for now. And man, I could have hardly chosen a better place to live (especially considering it was more of a gamble than a real plan).

Being an expat in a foreign country can be pretty challenging at times. And certainly not everything is roses and unicorns. I’ll not lie to you, there are days when I just want to pick up my things and head back home. However, today is not one of those days.

Tavern Toncic Zrenj is, well, the tavern I waited the longest to get in. Seriously, I heard about this place within my first month in Istria. Yet, I get to try it out almost nine years later. Another place it took me ages to try out is a tavern Batelina in Banjole.

Restaurant La Grisa Bale has been on my wish list for a while. I’ve known that the restaurant was run by Karin Perdec. Karin was an owner of a nice wine bar Tinja near Pula. I’ve eaten there and I loved it. Wine bar Tinja went out of business few years ago. Now Karin is

The most visited region in Croatia, Istria is a heart-shaped peninsula located in the northern Adriatic. Istria is rolling hills, medieval hilltop towns, historical coastal towns, rocky coast, breathtaking views, tasty food, excellent local wines, and olive groves. Many visitors compared it with Tuscany, and sometimes call it “Tuscany with colors”.

Restaurants in Novigrad are particularly good. I was kind of surprised, since Novigrad is one of the smallest resort towns in Istria. When it comes to food, Novigrad definitely beats Porec, Umag and even Rovinj. This is a mecca for the seafood lovers.

Restaurant Viking Lim Fjord is one of few restaurants in Lim Fjord, Istria. Located just few meters from the clear waters of Lim Fjord, restaurant Viking offers fresh seafood and fish, along with other regional specialities like wild asparagus, truffles, cured meats and alike.

Restaurant Marina Novigrad is definitely my new found gem. Vera and I were just blown away with a fabulous dining experience we had at the restaurant Marina Novigrad. Restaurant Marina is an intimate 30-seat establishment located across the street from the marina.

Tavern Cok Novigrad left us bewildered. Not that the food wasn’t good, because the produce they serve is clearly well sourced and fresh. Not that cooking was bad, because the meal was delicious, prepared respecting the taste of the ingredients. Not that service was bad, because the owner went out of his way to serve

Restaurant Trost Vrsar has been on my list of restaurants to visit for quiet a while. Regardless of the fact that some of my friends go there regularly, and that Trost is widely considered the best restaurant in Vrsar, I was always hesitant to eat there.

Istria off the beaten track – Istria has much more to offer than sea and sun. Tired of crowded beaches, cheap souvenirs, mediocre food and icecream parlors… discover different Istria. Discover Istria off the beaten track. Below you will find Frank’s ideas to help you discover Istria off the beaten track. These are 6 things

Restaurant Puli Pineta is one of the well kept secrets on Istrian food scene. I had some friends visiting from Zagreb, and they wanted to taste something authentic, yet different. Somebody suggested restaurant Puli Pineta, a small family-run restaurant near village of Zminj.

Istrian souvenirs, let’s be honest, are as much Istrian as they are Chinese. Just like anywhere else in the world very few products intended to tourists are actually made in the country. Frank got so screwed once over Istrian truffle that tasted like a shoe sole that it still hurts to think about it. Frank

Five Istrian dishes you ought to try when in Istria include cold cuts, bean soup, pasta, steaks and scrambled eggs. Don’t get me wrong, Istria has many more traditional dishes than these five. But I tried to think of ones you will find in majority, if not in every, traditional Istrian restaurants.

Last week we went camping to the island of Losinj. A plan was simple: go somewhere not to far, but where we’ve never been before, and spend a nice weekend outdoor, camping. We chose the Island of Losinj and Camping Cikat.  

Past weekend Frank spent camping over in Camping Cikat, on the island of Losinj, with his girlfriend. Frank realized that the summer is nearing end and they had not been camping yet. Frank and his girlfriend packed their car full of camping gear and headed up. On early Saturday morning, they took ferry Brestova –

Vinistra, an international wine exhibition, is the official start of May Wine Madness in Istria. It is followed by Open Wine Cellars Day. Throughout the May, Istria celebrates wine, with series of events dedicated to this drink of the gods. Vinistra 2012 will be held in Porec, in sports hall Zatika, on the second weekend

Restaurant Martin Pescador is located in a little village Trget, not far from Rabac. Trget is a typical fishing village in Istria. To reach the restaurant Martin Pescador, you need to take a road that looks like abolished a long time ago. It runs along river Rasa. You would pass by funny looking port Rasa

Yesterday we went to Rural House Montizel (itl. Monticello) in Zavrsje with some friends. I don’t know how familiar you can be with the term Rural House.

Frank is writing series of reviews on restaurants in Istria. Frank reviews are based solely on his own experience and all meals Frank has, Frank pays for, so all reviews on restaurants in Istria are completely unbiased.

If you are looking for cheap restaurants in Istria, my suggestion would be either local eateries – konoba, places serving daily lunch dishes (called: gablec or marenda) or pizzerias.

Konoba Morgan in Brtonigla was today on my schedule. Another weekend, another restaurant. I’m fighting winter blues in my own way. Konoba Morgan is set just few kilometers from Brtonigla on the road to Buje, with beautiful views over the Istrian vineyards.

Frank decided to give you an overview of big Istria hotel brands. Reason is simple: Frank knows a lot about them, and your chances of staying in property owned and/or managed by one of these Istria hotel brands during your visit to Istria are pretty high.

Located in a village Petrovija, just few kilometers from Umag (Istria), on the road to Buje, konoba Nono is not difficult to find. It is a big, orange house at the entrance of the village.

There is a wide variety of accommodation in Istria. Visitors can choose from 5-star luxury accommodation, resort-style accommodation to campsites and everything in between: small and family run hotels, big hotels, apartments and residence, cottages, caravan parks, campsites and holiday rentals.

Another weekend another restaurant – konoba Vodnjanka in Vodnjan near Pula. This post might appear confusing as the day itself was.