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Rovinj

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Looking to book a last minute trip to Europe (August 15th). We are thinking of flying to Venice and heading over to Rovinj. We have 7 full days and 7 nights. How much time is suggested in Rovinj. 3,4,7??? What is too little and what is too much? What else nearby is recommended to visit? We like seeing quaint villages and being active. We also like adventure. Any place that you recommend staying at (reasonably priced). We love relaxing dinners with good food and wine. We also love hot weather.

To keep the costs down we are thinking of taking the bus (instead of the ferry) from Venice to Rovinj. What do you think about this?

FYI: We were in Venice 2 years ago, so don't necessarily need to visit. Flights from where we are are too expensive to go right to Croatia with it being so close to the departure date. Venice flights are very reasonably priced.

We have also looked at revisiting Tuscany, Cinque Terre or Amalfi Coast but something new may be nice. We are looking for a quaint holiday, like the above places mentioned, which we adored all three. If you are familiar with any of these places we were lucky enough to have stayed at agriturismo marciano in sienna, maria capellini's in vernazza, and hotel elios in sorrento.

We are also looking at Spain….Barcelona and another area that is quaint and near the coast?

Please help…we don't have much time left to plan this adventure.

Posted by
5687 posts

I loved Rovinj, but I'd never spend a week there. It's a small town. August is high season - expect expensive accommodations (have you checked prices?). I'd be much more worried about that than the cost of the ferry vs. the bus.

You could rent a car in Rovinj and explore the Istrian hill towns, drive to the incredible Plitvice Lakes National Park (maybe my favorite spot in Croatia), or even explore tiny Slovenia, which is lovely. All of the coastal stuff should be super busy at the peak of the season, though.

Pick up Rick Steves's Croatia/Slovenia book if you want details about how to get to/from all the places you might want to see with the short planning time you have.

Posted by
4637 posts

Bus ride would be too long and I doubt it would be direct. Look at the map. Rovinj is a nice little town with Italian look. One night would be enough. August is high season with high prices and traffic jams and very hot weather. If you are prepared for that you can rent a car and drive on the coast all the way to Dubrovnik and then by ferry to Korcula. Expect crowds. If it was me I would go in September. Weather still good but crowds substantially thinned.

Posted by
172 posts

In case you haven't left, a few tips: starting with the fast ferry from Venice...
Venezialines website will tell you the current schedule. I have taken it several times, always paying the extra VIP fare for the lounge upstairs which gives you great views. It gets into Rovinj later in the evening depending on the day. A good way to go.
Rovinj is/will be very hot and has record numbers of visitors this year. Try AirBnB which is taking off in Croatia. Join it now.
Hill towns like Motovun, Buzet, Grozhnan, Grascisce and so on all need a car to visit, but are worth the effort. Good for lunches too.
Check the TZRovinj website for active vacation ideas like biking, kayaking, etc which are popular now. Swimming is good at Rovinj.
Do not take the bus to Rovinj from Venice, it is not a direct route, and traffic can be atrocious in summer. You can take a bus inside Croatia to anywhere else. A day in Pula among the Roman Ruins? There are cheap catamarans from Pula across to Mali Losinj and even on to Zadar in the summer. You might be able to manage a day trip and see some islands on way there and back.
But you can spend a week just in Istria. Look up 'agroturizam' for farm hotels, some of which are amazing. Istria Tourism website has a Gastronomija section for food and drink and restaurant and winery ideas. North of Rovinj, the villages are full of wineries and some tasting spots. Istria is Tuscany with rough edges and lower prices, and people rebuilding a country. Go before the Euro lifts prices.

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