Hello all, if you've seen any of my earlier posts, we're re-vamping our Croatia trip a bit in order to include Plitvice Lakes, which is a spot I've really been wanting to visit. We're most likely going to take a private transfer from Italy vs. flights since it's about the same amount of time and money but we can get to Croatia much quicker. I'm trying to decide if we should make a detour to Pula to see the ampitheater on our way. This will be a detour of about 1.5-2 hours driving time, plus our time there, so maybe around 5 hours total. Money-wise, it would be a couple of hundred dollars more because our transfer cost would go up. The ampitheater looks really cool, but my husband and I have both seen the colosseum in Rome already. My kids (12 and 9) have not. This will also have us getting into Plitvice quite late (we plan to visit the next morning). Do you think it's worth the detour or is the ampitheater not that exciting and we should just skip it? We will be continuing on to Split, so my kids will still get to see some Roman ruins either way. Thanks!
Posted by
4323 posts
With the caveat I have not been to Pula (but have been to Croatia four times), I would not make that stop unless it breaks up your drive in a convenient way (for lunch and leg stretch). One day, you might do an Istria trip, and it would fit in nicely then.
Also, if you get to Plitvice early enough, you could do a little hiking in late afternoon/early evening, and then again the next morning. Many say that is the best way to see the park and miss some of the crowds.
Your kids will love Diocletian's palace--the way the modern town is incorporated into the ancient is really special. There is also Salona, but I have never managed to make it there.
Posted by
OP
97 posts
Ok, thanks for the feedback again @valadelphia! :) It would be sort of out of the way a bit - otherwise I could have the private transfer drop us off in Rijeka which is right on the way to Plitvice, and it would be cheaper to get dropped off there. Wherever the transfer drops us off, we would pick up a car rental. Would love to be able to just pick up a rental in Italy and drop it off in Croatia but that doesn't seem to be an option. Plus my husband would be able to sit back and enjoy the scenery more if he's not driving! Yeah we wouldn't really be stopping to see anything else in Istria - would LOVE to, but we just don't have the time for it on this trip! I'm not sure if/when we would be back to that area, it would probably be quite a while since my bucket list is long! Lol. I really wanted to squeeze in Plitvice in case we aren't able to get back to Croatia anytime soon (hence the re-vamping of things). Just trying to decide if the ampitheater is one of those must-see things if we're reasonably close, or if we're going to see enough other amazing things that we don't need to squeeze even more things into our already tight schedule!
Posted by
4323 posts
I didn't realize you might be stopping to get a rental car--I would certainly look at your options. Pula probably has plenty of car rental. From Rijeka you'd have to backtrack, but from Porec, Rovnij, or Pula, it would make perfect sense to stop if you get your car in one of those towns.
Hopefully someone will come along and share if they think it's worth it for the wow factor.
Posted by
OP
97 posts
The other rental car location I was looking at was in Umag - simply because it would be cheaper to get dropped off there than it would be in Pula. So looking for the cheapest drop-off point once we've crossed the border into Croatia! Car rental prices seem to be the same no matter which of those cities we pick up in.
Posted by
Brooklyn, NY
3816 posts
You can skip it. It is a mini version of the colosseum in Rome. Save your money and time. Your children will have plenty of time in the future to visit. Enjoy.
Posted by
Massachusetts
847 posts
I really enjoyed Pula - mostly the ampitheater but there were other things as well. But I'm not sure it's worth that much extra expense and time. We did it as a day trip from Rovinj. It did add one day to our trip overall but it was worth it for us.
Posted by
OP
97 posts
Thanks for the feedback. I think we're leaning towards just skipping it.
Posted by
1219 posts
We are planning on going to Pula from Rovinj with bus transport and are excited about it but it's not out of the way and are planning on doing all the Roman/medieval stuff of Pula, not just the amphitheater. I don't know that I'd go that far out of my way for it. For us it will just be a 45 minute bus ride one way and I'm guessing not an unreasonable fee.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5370 posts
Of all the places to visit in Istria, the amphitheater is very low in my list. Pula is my least favorite Istrian town. Been to Austria more times than I can remember. Now the Safari Bar on Kamenjak would be a worthy detour…your kids would love that place. Mine do.
Posted by
OP
97 posts
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Sounds like the ampitheater is "worth it" if you have the time and you're nearby, but probably not for us to go out of our way and spend extra money to stop and see. That makes me feel ok about missing out on it then! And will make our day a bit less hectic as we can just focus on driving to Plitvice.