Day trips to Venice
Most popular target for day tour from Istria is Venice. The best experience of travelling towards and around Venice is by boat. From the west coast, boats are going from Pula, Rovinj, Poreč and Umag. For the area of Rabac, Opatija or Krk, is required longer bus transfer. More about day trips to Venice and ferries between Venice, Italy and Istria, Croatia, you can find on our pages.
Boat trips in Istria
Rovinj and Lim Fjord are a favorite target of day trips (type fish picnic) by boats, which depart from all the cities on the west coast of Istria. From Pula there are also fish picnics to the Brijuni islands and Cape Kamenjak too. Rabac has the close target in island Cres. From Opatija the best trip is to islands Krk and Cres. The fish picnic from Krk can reach islands Rab and Pag.
Dolphin trips can be found in almost all ports.
Rovinj
Without a doubt, this is the most beautiful town in Istria. It is located on a peninsula and surrounded by islands. The town is rich with cultural monuments, excellent restaurants and taverns. There is also the possibility of shopping and the ability to swim and refreshments. Rovinj is the goal of boat trips from Novigrad, Poreč, Vrsar and Pula.
Lim Fjord, Istria
This (Lim Fjord, Lim Bay, Lim Channel) is a beautiful bay on the western coast of Istria between Vrsar and Rovinj. The bay was created as a ria (flooded river mouth). After the last ice age, sea has penetrated in the old bed of the river. Due to the unique beauty and the ability to swim at Pirate cave, is a common target of the boat tours, especially fish picnics. The Lim channel is the goal of all mentioned boat trips that go to Rovinj. There is also a boat trip that departs from Rovinj.
Brijuni islands
Brijuni National Park is also a favourite target of boat excursions. Visiting is possible by ferry from Fažana, or fish picnic tours from Pula and Fažana. A beautiful archipelago of 14 islands is located between Rovinj and Pula. On the islands that surround the national park, it is possible to swim in the crystal clear water. There are also excursions around the archipelago without entering the national park, such as a panoramic drive from Fažana or a fish picnic from Pula or Fažana.
Cape Kamenjak
Cape is located in the extreme south of the Istrian peninsula halfway between the cities of Pula and Medulin. It can be visited from the port of Pula or from the port of Medulin. This area has been protected as a nature reserve (category IUCN: V) since 1996. Cape Kamenjak is 3400 meters long and up to 1600 meters wide. It also contains 11 uninhabited islands with diverse flora and fauna. It ends with the island of Porer, which houses a lighthouse.
The islands of Kvarner bay: Cres, Krk, Rab and Pag
On the east side of the Istrian peninsula is Kvarner Bay. Destinations of the boat trips here, are his islands. On the island Cres, there are: the town of Cres, Beli, Blue Cave, Valun and Dragozetici. Cres can be reached from Rabac or Opatija both. Tours from the island Krk to the islands of Rab are including a guided tour to the town of Rab. On the island Krk there are opportunity to swimming on the Golden Beach near Stara Baska and in Njivice.
Even further south
A trip that would show the beautiful coast south of the islands of Rab and Pag can be organized as a multi-day round trip from Istria, or with departure from Istria and ending in Dalmatia.
Plitvice
Plitvice Lakes National Park is the most beautiful in Croatia. It consists of 16 lakes and numerous waterfalls. The journey by bus takes a long time, the trip is not cheap, but still many tourists choose it. While interest in this (long lasting) bus tour temporarily declined after the corona epidemic, we anticipate a resurgence of interest in 2024.
