3 Istrian Day Trips in Croatia and Slovenia: Poreč, Grožnjan, and Buzet (Truffles!)

We spent a full week in Portoroz, Slovenia and as great as that little town is, we needed to get out and see the surrounding area. We already spent time in Lake Bled so we stayed south, in the area called the Istrian Peninsula, the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. We stayed in Portoroz at the #kempinski Palace hotel, which is a great home base to explore the area. Piran, #slovenia was the closest historic town and one of the only ports in Slovenia. We wandered it's adorable streets and sampled plenty of seafood fresh from the ocean. After dinner we climbed down the stone steps and swam in the sea.
Next we traveled over the border to #croatia where we hopped on a boat with Tuna Tail Fishing (tunatailfishing.com) for a half day exploration of the Croatian coast. We snorkeled, viewed the beautiful town of #rovinj from the sea, communicated with dolphins, and finally did some cliff jumping from cliffs as tall as 40 feet high with the locals! Of course, like most days in Istria, we ended the day with ice cream.
Finally we traveled to Buzet, high in the hills of #istria to meed Lela and Velma, truffle hunting dogs at Karlic Tartufi. We followed them into the woods where we dug up 3 large truffles with the dogs! After returning to the main truffle grounds, we were treated to the most amazing truffle-filled lunch! Cured meats, cheese, spreads, truffled eggs (our favorite-made right in front of us), and even truffle dessert! And of course, lots of wine to wash it all down! This was probably our favorite experience in the area.
On the way home we stopped at the little artist village of Grožnjan. Here the streets are lined with shops selling art and souvenirs, and there are plenty of restaurants to choose from. We didn't have enough time to truly explore this charming place, but we can definitely recommend as stop here if you're in the area.
Overall, we found Slovenian and Croatian Istria to be completely charming and a beautiful (and affordable) place for a wonderful family vacation. Enjoy!
#cliffjumping

[@eprohoda]

inasne edition~ciao~ 📢