Across the Istrian Peninsula

We really loved Croatia and all the places we visited and stayed in. We have done a lot of walking holidays with yourselves, but wouldn't rate this one as one of the best due to the number of road walks, overgrown paths and alot of down hill. We can recommend Konoba Astorea in Brtoniglia if you are staying at Hotel San Rocco. it has a great atmoshpere with a huge charcoal grill. Equally recommend Konoba Modo in Montovun.  We were treated royally at Benvenuti winery, maybe being the end of the season. For something more casual and cosy at Lovran, recommend Lovranski Pub. As well as Istrian wine, the beer was excellent everywhere, from local pilsner to many craft beers. not to mention coffee to equal Portuguese.

Inntravel far exceeded our expectations as a travel provider. Every hotel was expecting us, was informed about our picnic lunches and vegan food request, our meal inclusion amounts and transfer arrangements. It was very impressive service. The walking routes were described with good detail but it's essential to use GPX files as a verification tool at some points every day. We found the hotels to all be charming, comfortable, clean and in great locations to enjoy the area. Thank you Inntravel for the wonderful experience.

It's just a fabulously varied walk, from ancient hard wood forests to meadows alive with butterflies and insects that must have been like England of old, to olives and vines. Through the wonderful mountains and down to spend time on the Coast. Great walking and fabulous food and wine.

A well curated holiday which delivered what it promised. A proper experience of the Istrian peninsula, covering the gulf of venice to the adriatic experiencing the National Park and mediaeval towns in between. The hotels were excellent and the transfers seamless. Thank you for a wonderful holiday.

We thoroughly enjoyed the holiday, there were highlights each day as the scenery and places were beautiful. Thank you, we will probably be back for more next year

Our highlights were the numerous meadows full of flowers, the nightingales singing and the wonderful weather. We are regular Inntravel users and this comes very high up in our favourite list.

Another great Inntravel holiday through beautiful unspoilt countryside. Hilltop towns and villas reminiscent of Italy. The walking is varied and the hotels comfortable and welcoming.

At Buzet please recommend a visit to the Aura Family Distillery below the hill top in the new town . We had a tour and then as many tastings as we could manage plus a large platter of meats and cheeses and it was free ! We did of course buy some of their beautiful fruit and herbal brandies ! 

Our 9th Inntravel holiday and definitely one of our best.  Admittably we were at the start of the season, but we were blown away by the lack of people on the paths. On some days we only saw only one or two other walkers. The paths were generally far from traffic noise through beautiful woodland from hill-top village to hill-top village. There were so many ruined, abandoned old houses that anywhere else would have been developed. We loved our cookery lesson after dinner from Antonela at Al Merlo Olivio and Diablo their minature dog joined us for the first mile of our walk to Buje on Day 1. We were lucky with the weather; pretty much all week - it was sunny, but not too hot and there was only rain on Day 6 when we walked the Lungomare to Volosko which was not a problem. The walk on Day 2 to Motovun was magical - we were glad we did not have to climb up to the hotel at the end of it though - a nice touch to arrange a pick up from Livade. We also really enjoyed the wine tasting on Day 3- who knew Istrian wines were so good! Best breakfast was Vela Vrata (and the bar only 20 metres away serves craft beer too). On Day 6, the walk down from Poklon is unmissable through a beautiful beech forest with glimpses of the Adriatic throughout the descent. We would recommend you take the detour to the waterfall at Lovranska Draga, however do not bother with the rest of descent from there - take the bus. The path winds between houses with difficult slippery steps in places and many dogs. It could not be more of a contrast from the first part of the walk. We had an amazing room (well a suite in fact) at Villa Vera with views of the sea. Ate at Kvarner both nights - it was quiet being the start of the season, so there were spare tables and it was so good we went back the following night. Genuinely we loved this holiday so much that there is a chance we may repeat it in years to come. We are huge fans of Inntravel and expect to have many more holidays with them in the future.

Our third Inntravel Holiday. The walks in Istria are varied and interesting and not too challenging. For anyone interested in wildlife the holiday provides excellent birding, abundant butterflies and wild flowers. Our favourite walk was the suggested route whilst staying at Lovran starting on the coast at Moscenicka Draga. Fantastic views and a lovely restaurant stop for lunch. The Hotel Vela Vrata in Buzet was our favourite and warrants an extra nights stay.

An enjoyable holiday with interesting walks, particularly on the day going to Buzet and the walk up the limestone gorge during our time in that town. We particularly enjoyed our upgraded stay at San Rocco. Even in mid-October the weather was warm and ideal for walking. 

Loved the peace and tranquillity and unspoilt nature of the walks

Konobo Astorea in Brtonglia was excellent as was tasting menu with wine at San Rocco. Meal at Kastel was spolied by an extremely rude waiter who was all about getting you to upspend. Probably the rudest someone has been to us in a very long time. Konoba Fakin food and service was excellent. Benvenuti winery was very busy. Staff naturally focused on selling to visitors who have driven there not passing walkers. They were very nice, kind, helpful and accommodating but just too busy. Hotel Vela Vrata was our favourite hotel. Suggest you remove the included meal, which was very good, and allow selection from the A la carte menu. The picnic from here was easily the best. Vera Hotel on Lovran was very good. Lady on reception was lovely. Massive room in a great location.

We love Inntravel. The quality of the trips, lodgings and service is excellent. The people are extremely helpful, responsive and knowledgeable. We have 100% confidence that everything will happen as planned, and it does. We had to postpone our Istrian Peninsula trip twice due to Covid and Inntravel was extraordinarily easy and fair to accommodate. We are already planning our next Inntravel "slow vacation", which will be our third. I'm sure there will be others and we gladly recommend Inntravel to all of our friends. 

Our highlights? San Rocco as a destination "resort and restaurant" Villa Vera in Buzet. We should have taken the extra day. This trip makes you feel local, we saw  almost zero tour groups. (One location, Motuvan a few.) We are already planning our next Inntravel holiday.

Highlights and recommendations previously referenced, especially walk near Lopar and restaurants. Food was generally very good. Driving tour and walking tour worked together well, especially as first two weeks were very hot and third week was cooler.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: THis customer combined Isria, Kvarner & Zadar with Plitvice Lakes and Across the Istrian Peninsula.

Countryside is pretty, towns cute, and coast is beautiful, food generally good, especially in truffle season!  Wine tasting was a definite highlight.

I was in Istria at the time of the heatwave i.e. temperatures approaching 40C. However the land had yet to dry out and it seems it rained heavily a week or so prior to my visit. Consequently - I saw Istria as a lovely, verdant part of the world. Green and wooded with rolling hills - quite reminiscent of northern/central Italy, without the crowds. I saw no-one when walking - which pleased me greatly. The flora and fauna are rich ... it took me back to my childhood - butterflies everywhere and birds singing. The food was good, the local wines excellent and the people very nice. I heartily recommend this holiday.

On the first walking day we called into a cafe for a drink, we were quizzed around if we had seen poisonous snakes as these were common around the area we had been walking in.  We hadn't so this could be croation humour at work - hopefully.  There is a very good medical centre in Buzet next to the chemist in the bottom part of town.  We needed to use this for some minor medical treatment after walking through some vegetation which seemed to trigger a nasty allergic reaction.  The chemist in Buzet took one look and directed us next door - on production of our GHIC cards the treatment was free.  The medical people spoke excellent English, treatment was very professional and friendly.    Villa Vera was a calm, airy and relaxing end to the holiday, recommend a couple of extra days here. 

Well it is hard to identify the best bits of this holiday as all were amazing. 

Al Merlo, a small quirky bed and breakfast, food home cooked by Antonellas wife. As we were a day late arriving, and we arrived mid day, hosts left us a welcoming wine/water pack on arrival which was so well received, and picked us up in Buje after 3.5 hours walking.

Hotel Kastel, just a fantasic mountain top location, room with a view and food amazing , we ate there both evenings. Tomas, the restarant manager and his staff made us feel exceptional welcome and were very knowledgeable. A swim at the end of a days walk refreshing.

Benvenuti winery, decilious wine which we then brought for the rest of our holiday and have resourced a UK distributor.

Vela Vratahotel, Buzet another hill top hotel, with lovely terrace for food, and we enjoyed outside music from a Inn nearby.

Hotel Villa, Lovran, Domja the hotel owners daughter was just was exceptional . We had the most amazing room on floor 4, the penthouse suite!

This was a wonderful holiday. Istria is beautiful. The hotels were all good, the food was very good and everyone was helpful. The walks were marvellous. I would not hesitate to recommend this holiday to anyone who enjoys  walking and good food - particularly truffles!

The hotels were all very hospitable. In particular we liked the first guest house Al Merlo Olivo and Anton, Ella and Franz were really very helpful. Also the last hotel the hostess (whose name escapes me now) were fantastic. It's a family run business and again she was very accommodating and in fact we ate dinner in the hotel for 2 out of the 3 nights we stayed, even though there are plenty of restaurants in the town of Lovran.

The walk had fabulous scenery, varied different terrains and an ability to change the length of a walk if required when for instance it was too hot, which it was on one occasion! 

HIGHLIGHTS: Trieste was delightful, particularly in the area around the cathedral and castle. In Istria, we enjoyed the occasions we used La Parenzana. We enjoyed wandering around the less commercialized hill towns: Buje, Oprtalj and Buzet, rather than Groznjan and Motovun. On the last full day, seeing Opatija, and walking back to Lovran on the Lungomare. Most of our dinners we ate outside, and usually from terraces with lovely views and sunsets - a real bonus in May. 

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combines our walk Across the Istrian Peninsula with our Trieste City add-on

We thoroughly enjoyed the holiday for its varied walking through green and lush landscapes. The people that we met, and the places where we stayed were always welcoming. We also enjoyed the inclusion of the wine tasting experience; always good fun and a chance to make friends with fellow Inntravel walkers. While the notes were very comprehensive, we would recommend the use of the downloaded navigation data [GPX files] as the area maps were so poor and some parts of the routes not well waymarked. Another highlight for us was the ability to add on a few nights in Venice in a very easy and straightforward way. The opportunity to add some cultural experiences to our walking created a wonderful holiday. 

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our walk Across the Istrian Peninsula with our Venice City add-on

This was just the best way to see the highlights of Istria, off the beaten track but really accessible, well directed routes. The chosen walks were fantastic, and allowed for variety each day, the hotels/staff and welcome we had was rich and warm. Definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to see Croatia, away from the busy coastal hotspots!

Both trips (Across the Istrian Peninsula and A Stroll through History upgrade option) were just great, especially the scenery and food.  This was one of my first hiking trips where I didn't lose any weight.  The pasta was so good.

[INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers did both our Lakes and Julian Alps and Across the Istrian Peninsula holidays.]
Thank you again Inntravel. With the pandemic it was a challenge to organize trips with changes from year to year and sometimes week to week. We appreciate your efforts and look forward to booking more adventures in the future.

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