Izola - an island no more

Advantages: Pretty Venetian town, a good base for exploring the Slovenian coast
Disadvantages: Hard to learn about historic sights, no sandy beaches

...marina and a handful of excellent seafood restaurants. The first thing you'll notice about Izola is that all the signs are in Italian - in fact the municipality has both Slovene and Italian as official languages. The customary greeting is "Ciao ciao" and we were regarded with some suspicion when we used "northern Slovene". Izola gets its name from the Italian word "Isola" meaning island and the town once was exactly that. Although Izola was trading with the Venetians in the ninth century, it officially fell under the Rule of Venice in 1267. In 1797 the peninsula of Istria , of which Izola is part, passed to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, then it became part of the Illyrian provinces of the Napoleonic Empire until 1813 when it fell under the control of the Austrian Empire. At the end of the Napoleonic period the city walls were...

fizzytom 13.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Izola, Slovenia

Istrian idyll

Advantages: Charming, stylish, small, friendly and comfortable
Disadvantages: Motorway in the distance

...feel like you become a part of one large family. The hotel has an indoor (only used in bad weather) and a partially covered outdoor restaurant. The restaurant won an award last year as the best restaurant in Istria-which says it all! It's not cheap but the food was very good, if a little salty for my taste. The outdoor restaurant overlooks the pool and the gardens below and on a balmy september evening it is idyllic. Just down the road and within easy walking distance, was the taverna that won last years award for the best taverna in Istria, and the hotel management also own the pizzaria in the village, so you have lots of choice of places to eat even if you don't want to drive. Breakfast at the hotel was the normal buffet you would expect with meats, cheeses, cereal, yoghurt, bread, pastries and cakes. Hot breakfast was also served...

suelr13 25.07.2007 (26.07.2007) · Read review
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Review of Hotel San Rocco, Croatia

PULA - GLADIATORS SACRIFICES

Advantages: many things to explore & very cultural and romantic place to see
Disadvantages: camps and youth hostel is the only place to stay cheaper & not cheapest place in the world

...You are in Croatia, one of the Glam romantic places to go. Well, beside beautiful Dubrovnik, there are other places to visit in Croatia. Istria, perhaps, can be place with all necessary potential. You are independent traveler, ready to explore. But where to start? Half-day routes, you might like to take from several starting points, listing features for visiting and worthy eating-places. So get a gear and go. Istria, in Croatia is most beautifully developed coastal region of Croatia It can have about 225 000 visitors per day, in about 100 hotels, 40 campsites, 28 private accommodation. Tourist development of coastal area and solid stone farm cottages especially in the interior are, recently, becoming increasingly popular. Along 445 km of the Istrian Coast, from the heart shaped peninsula in natural harbors, there are eleven marinas...

barefoot777 10.02.2004 (13.05.2004) · Read review
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Review of Pula (Croatia)

pula a mini rome!!

Advantages: beautiful monuments, sea and food
Disadvantages: check bill in restaurants as they usually overcharge you!!!

...This is the third time Ive been to pula so Im becoming a bit of an expert! Its in Istria which is part of croatia, its in the south of croatia. we drove ther from italy and crossed a bit of slovenia to get there. Major traffic. If you are going from england, you can fly with ryanair from london stanstead. Im not sure if you can fly from other airports. I was surprised I didnt meet any english people there in 2 weeks!! Predominantly tourists are Italian, followed by french and german in equal measure. The first time we went stayed in pula. Now pula is like a mini rome it has its own ampitheatre and arena and the square is similar to piazza navona in rome. Its ancient with very beautiful buildings. Its not very big so you can walk around it easily in a couple of hours. My main advice is to be careful when eating there. Lots...

starcuregirl 09.09.2007 · Read review
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Review of Pula (Croatia)

A fine place to visit

Advantages: Cheap... very nice icecream, beautiful country
Disadvantages: errr...... well... nope nothing here

.... All the people in the town really want to see more tourists - they are the main source of income, so they are really freindly and most of them speak English :) With cruises along the coast and coach tours through Istria, you will not be bored here! SO go and visit!...

owenberg 09.03.2001 (08.03.2001) · Read review
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Review of Porec (Croatia)

  The capital of the Istrian peninsula

Advantages: lots to do, culturally interesting place to visit
Disadvantages: didn't spend enough time there!

...amphitheatres in existence today, although less well preserved than its counterpart in Rome. The structure is well worth a visit: its size is incredibly impressive, and it is amazing to see an amphitheatre with the whole circumference still at its original height. However, you can only walk around the centre of the arena, and a few underground sections which contain Roman archaelogical finds, and which sometimes house exhibitions of local art. Well worth seeing, and the best part is that admission is only around a pound! Another Roman attraction is the castle, which doubles up as the Historical Museum of Istria. Built by the Venetians in the 14th century on the ruins of the Roman Capitol, the museum mainly houses objects of maritime importance, as there is not enough room to catalogue the whole of Istria's history! The museum features such...

emmorticia 17.12.2003 (18.12.2003) · Read review
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Review of Pula (Croatia)

A perfect romantic break

Advantages: Beautiful small Venetian-built fishing town, stunning scenery, delicious food, friendly and totally unspoilt. Also incredibly cheap (icecream 20p, luxury 3 course meal £10) and an hour from Venice by boat! Wonderful place.
Disadvantages: Istrian peninsula very Italian influenced, sheltered from the war so perhaps not the "real Croatia." No theme parks, rowdiness, big clubs or burger bars so not a teenage holiday. No sandy beaches, all rocky- sand is further down the coast.

...a bonus. The seas were beautiful and large flat rocks easy to swim from but the lack of sandy beaches mean families will depend upon the pools. The hotels are comfortable and the service is excellent everywhere you go. Istria is trying to attract tourists after the war, and the British are extremely popular as they are seen as warm, well behaved and educated. (We didn't have the heart to say that people in parts of Spain might disagree....) We can thoroughly recommend this provided you aren't looking for Aiya Napa or Ibiza- its not that kind of place....

alee 08.11.2002 · Read review
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Review of Rovinj (Croatia)

The ups and downs of Zagreb

Advantages: Elegant architecture, plenty of green spaces, lots of museums, good food
Disadvantages: Not so good for people with mobility problems

...A couple of weeks ago, to celebrate the auspicious occasion of my mother's birthday, we took my parents to Zagreb for the day. Of course, we set out from Slovenia so it wasn't the enormous undertaking that sounds. The Croatian capital is well worth a stay of at least a couple of days, but it also makes an excellent day trip and is a viable destination from the holiday resorts of Croatian Istria, the coastal towns and other places in Slovenia, Venice and Trieste in northern Italy and the Plitvice Lakes in northern Croatia. I wouldn't recommend it as a day trip for people staying further south in Croatia as distances take longer to cover in this part of Europe. The train to Split (as far south as you can travel by train in Croatia) is an overnight one and you may have a few hours to kill before it departs, fortunately the station is...

fizzytom 22.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Zagreb (Croatia)

  HAND IN HAND WITH DANTE, VERNE AND JAMES JOYCE

Advantages: most beautiful little towns in the world
Disadvantages: tourism is not on the topest level

...*** Istria is the largest peninsula on the Adriatic Coast, it belongs to Croatia, ex Yugoslavia. It is the westernmost region of Croatia. Istria was that* gorgeous place that James Joyce wrote from, to his brother Stanislaus in Dublin. The average annual hours of sunshine on the Istrian Peninsula are 2,380. When it rains everywhere, some part of Istria remains dry and untouched. The largest town is Pula (82,000 inhabitants). Istria is the place with smallest towns in the world. The smallest Istrian town is called Hum and is the smallest town in the world. The best-protected Istrian harbor is Pula, the narrow bay cuts 4-km inland. That is the largest lighthouse in Istria, 36 m high, built in 1818. Jules Verne in his novel "Mathias Sandorf", glorifies the Roman monuments of Istria, Pula and its nature. There is Roman Empire all over...

barefoot777 12.08.2004 (21.08.2004) · Read review
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Review of General: Croatia

Paradise revisited

Advantages: Sun sea and peace and quiet
Disadvantages: none

...For a holiday of a lifetime go to croatia.We have gone to Croatia for the last ten years,and believe me it is unspoilt and second only to paradise. To start with if you want a family type hotel you must stay at the Kristal hotel.This is one of the riviera hotel chain.The manager is Davor,a true gentleman and he willmake sure your stay is one to remember.The catering manager is Mustafa,he has a warm aire about him.With his staff he also makes everyone welcome. All of the food is from Croatia,but mostly from the local area, this is called Istria.While in Porec,you must take the all day boat trip to Rovinj.This is a old town with a large church at the top of the hill in the town.There is a market where to buy local produce, aswell as leather and wood carved goods.On your return trip to Porec,you will call into Linfjord,the only...

freightliner 02.02.2006 · Read review
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Review of Porec (Croatia)