Rovinj & Pula

General information about Rovinj & Pula

For our most recent visit To Croatia we visited the Northern Coastal area called Istria and stayed in Rovinj and Pula. There are flights to Pula from the UK and we arranged a transfer with the owner of the apartment in Rovinj. We then used either buses or ferries for the rest of our travels onward to Pula, Zadar and finally Split.

Rovinj

Rovinj is coastal Istria’s star attraction town, a picture postcard setting of the old town with the tall church and the harbour setting is lovely. There are lots of places to sit and take in the views and less busy areas to explore away from the old town.

Pula

Pula is much more a working commercial port town but has an amazing amount of Roman Architecture the star of which is the Amphitheatre. There are beaches a short bus ride away and nature parks are also accessible.

Hotels & Accommodation in Rovinj & Pula

The majority of the accommodation in the historic parts Croatian cities is in apartments which are easily booked through the usual sites, there are larger hotels outside the towns in beach resort areas and some small boutique hotels in the towns.

Rovinj

Check out the usual booking sites such as www.booking.com or www.hotels.com. If you are booking an apartment be aware the old town part of Rovinj is very hilly and not easily accessible by car.

Pula

Check out the usual booking sites such as www.booking.com or www.hotels.com. We stayed close to the Forum which was great for cafes, bars and restaurants and easy access to the main sites.

Restaurants & Bars

Restaurants

Rovinj

There are lots of places to eat and drink around the harbour some very good some not so good, worth checking reviews.

Konoba Kantinon, Alda Rismonda 18, is a great waterside restaurant, thoroughly enjoyed the food and the service and the setting is lovely.

San Tommaso Vinoteka, Alda Rismonda, another excellent waterside setting, good food and service.

Pizzeria Sergio, Grisia 11, on the main street leading up the hill to the church this is reputed to have the best pizzas in town and they were excellent, a simple place very reasonably priced.

Konoba Neptun, Joaquima Rakovca 11, found by chance in a street behind the waterfront and enjoyed a lunch with decent food and friendly service.

Pula.

Bistro Alighieri, Danteov Trg 3, lovely restaurant in a pretty square with two outdoor terrace areas, worth booking in advance. Good service and very enjoyable food, excellent value and good house wine.

Pizzeria Amore, Kapitolinski Trg, great setting close to The Forum and so good we went twice, good service, food and wine and reasonably priced.

Old City Bar, Danteov Trg 1, a pub and restaurant, good for a drink in a pleasant square food decent not outstanding.

Fabricca Pizza & BBQ, Kandlerova, we only stopped for a drink but this bar and restaurant had an interesting menu and also a wide selection of craft beers.

Little Red Rooster, Sergijevaca 24, on one of the main streets from the Forum this small restaurant and bar does breakfast then meals and drinks, Only stopped for a drink but very friendly service and good comments.

Bars & Cafes

Bars & cafes in Croatia sell drinks, coffee and alcoholic but in 90% of cases no food, not even crisps or nuts but in most places if you are going for a coffee places are quite happy for you to take in your own pastry from one of the many bakers.

Rovinj

Grota Bar, Valdibora, at the Green Market is a great place to stop for a glass of wine and a sandwich, it is not open late so an ideal lunchtime stop.

Circolo Aperitiv, Trg Campitelli, is a very cool bar with a great outdoor terrace, excellent wines and cocktails.

Limbo, Casale, on a street parallel to Grisia leading to the Church this is a small cool bar with outside seating a good place to stop while climbing the hill.

Harats, Alda Rismonda, is it has to be confessed an Irish Bar, part of a small Croatian chain but with a setting on the harbour, loads of outdoor space and very cheap wine and beer it is an ideal place to stop.

Pula

Enoteca Istria, Forum 11, was our favourite bar out of the six or so in the Forum. Great cocktails, wines and beers, friendly service and all reasonably priced.

Cvanjer, Forum, the coolest bar in the Forum with great décor inside and also a terrace. Very popular and cocktails looked excellent but prices slightly higher than the other bars nearby.

Sirena, The Forum, decent option for the Forum if the two above are full.

Boca Wine Bar, Kandlerova 34, upmarket wine bar, only open at night despite what various web sites say. Excellent wine choice as you would expect choice of meats, cheese, pate etc. Good service and very popular.

Drink

Croatian wines are very good but they haven’t yet made it into the UK market as yet unlike Greek wines therefore the varieties can be obscure so worth checking out before you go. Wine comes by the glass in much smaller measure than we are used to at home. Simpler restaurants usually have house wine by the glass of half litre at very reasonably prices and usually good.

Beer is popular, lager types vary by where you are and there is also quite a lot of craft beers in bars.

Spritz is popular and they do some interesting varieties including with a Rose Vermouth, also cocktails and these are usually reasonably priced.

Culture

Rovinj

Wandering the narrow streets of the old town, climbing up to the church and sitting at the harbour was the full extent of our cultural activities but there are loads of boat excursions that can be taken.

Pula

The Roman remains particularly the Amphitheatre and all worth seeing, the Market is worth a visit and also the Zerostrasse the maze of underground tunnels. Verudela peninsula is the area to go for beaches and outdoor activities.