Pula or Rovinj as a base on Istria.

My recollection is that Pula has the spectacular amphitheater (and it is awesome - though not as large as the one in Rome, I liked Pula's better, because we had it pretty much to ourselves, rather than the crowded circus in/around Rome's amphitheater; YMMV). But other than the amphitheater, I don't recall the town of Pula as particularly charming or appealing (it might be, but we didn't really explore it much, we could have missed something).

OTOH, Rovinj is definitely charming and appealing - though it lacks a single, stunning, "3-triangle" (don't miss it) site. I'd say the appeal of Rovinj is the town itself, rather than a specific monument. We used Rovinj as our base, and visited Pula specifically to see the amphitheater.

Thank you for your insight! Do you have a recommendation of a place or area to stay? We would love to be walking distance to Old Town and views of the Adriatic- with parking as well.

I recommend that you stay in Rovinj. Pula is a nice small city but Rovinj is magical.

Thank you! We will plan on Rovinj as a base and can do a day trip to Pula. Researching a place to stay. The city does look beautiful and serene...

Well, parking and a place in/near the old town of Rovinj will be a challenge...you may have to pick one or the other (stay in the old center, or easy parking). That said, we stayed at Casa Garzatto, deep in the old center (and parked on the edge of the old center in a paid lot, as I recall). I recall it was not particularly special itself, no sea views, but it was right smack in the old center where we wanted to be, not prohibitively expensive for us (depends on your budget), located on a cobblestone street (a challenge for the ankles and small wheels). It's listed (or was) in Rick's Croatia guidebook - look for options there. I doubt you will find many places in the old center with parking. There was a paid public lot we used a short walk (10 minutes?) away on the edge of the old town near the seaside. The "ye olde time charm" versus easy-parking is always a tradeoff, this is a perfect example.

We stayed Rooms Barbieri Rovinj. It was comfortable, close walking distance to the water and town and good parking. [email protected]. to contact them directly rather than using booking.com

Thanks for the tips- compromise is always a part of the planning but I have a better idea with the above info. Will check out both of those places along with Rick's Croatia Guidebook. Thank you David, Pat and Suki!

We go to Istria nearly every year. Great that you have a car. We never stay directly on the coast. We tend to rent a smaller house in the interior. We like to be near Vodnjan, Zminj or Buje. Perhaps look at some of these charming villages. As beautiful as Rovinj is, it is not a place we choose to base given how touristy it now is. Definitely don't stay in Pula. Other charming seaside villages we like include Vrsar, Fazana and Novigrad.

We stayed at Apartments Elita at Rovinj. We originally had booked a bigger and more central apartment but they cancelled on us 2 weeks before our stay. Our apartment was extremely tiny but had everything we needed. The best thing was it was easy to park there and to drive to other places from. We were less than 15 minutes walk from Rovinj and there were a few good restaurants very close by.

Emily,
Thank you for the recommendations. A hillside town was an area we had not considered- we will look into that along with your other seaside suggestions.
Do you have any suggestions for a local winery or truffle tour? Thank you!

Cindyeb,
Thank you. Seems Rovinj is very walkable. Do you have any restaurants that you particularly enjoyed? Thanks!