Rovinj or Pula?

Rovinj is a tiny, charming old Venetian fishing village that is also quite touristy now. I loved it. But it's tiny. Doesn't take much time to see.

Pula is a sprawling old port town that has some old Roman ruins and some charm here and there, but it's nothing like Rovinj.

How about best of both worlds: stay in Rovinj, day trip to Pula one day? (easy by bus).

Where do you from here? Home? What are the logistics of getting home? Maybe it doesn't matter that much - or maybe it does.

It will be the last two days of our trip before driving back to Zagreb for an overnight near the airport and an early flight home.

These are the places I enjoyed seeing in Istria while staying in Rovinj:

Porec
Vrsar
Motovun
Groznjan

I skipped Pula because I have very little interest in Roman ruins and have always read that Pula doesn't have much else to recommend it. Obviously, I cannot speak from personal experience about Pula.

I remember the Roman ruins in Pula but not much more. I wish I had gotten to Rovinj too.

Definitely skip motovun, nothing to see. Porec is similar to Rovinj. Haven’t been to Groznjan or Vrsar.
Pula’s beaches aren’t the best.
There is a water park nearby called Istralandia
Aquapark. Might be a fun day trip.

It might be helpful if you told us where else on that side of the Adriatic you will definitely visit. Are you going to sleep one night in the choice, or daytrip? I've been to both, and liked both. I would say there is more to do in Pula, but Rovinj is really attractive. Because I'm kind of an encylopedic tourist, I don't find it too small for most of a day. It's a dumb comparison, but it's kind of like Cologne versus Monschau. (No, Pula is not as big as Cologne.)

Outside of the Roman ruins dotted around the city and the (mostly industrial) port we felt like Pula was pretty boring

Thank you all. Rovinj it is! I'll let you know the results at the end of June.