Boljun
it's neither a village nor a town, but rather a very small remains of a town with a castle. Boljun is located in the middle of Istria located only 15km from the coast...
The settlement is inhabited by approximately 30 people, it has a restaurant: Boljunska Konoba (open on Wed-Mon 15:00 - 23:00) church (Sun 12:00) and remains of a castle, which is a party destination for a local festival, which happens on third weekend of July. Moreover, each Friday there is a mobile store, which is simply a car with the most important fresh products like fruits, vegetables and fish. It hangs, when it comes so it's hard too miss it. Boljun offers many hiking trails and a fresh water spring located on the west slope of the hill, on which the settlement is located. In spring (April-May) it offers great areas for finding wild asparagus, which you can later cook at home.
Boljun is a great starting point for all your excursions, within ~30min you can reach following
local attractions:
Vela Draga
Perfect destination for climbing as well as for hiking. Only 10 min away from Boljun, free parking 10 minutes walk from parking to the main view point. For more advanced climbing down to the canyon can be a great attraction.
Kotli
Final station of the seven waterfalls trail, which starts in Buzet. Many small waterfall-basins, where you can cool yourself, leading to picturesque waterfall with an old mill on a side.
Brseč Beach
A small but beautiful beach below the cliff, on which the old town of Brseč is located. Well-known place, which tends to be very crowded in high season. In Brseč there is also a Driving Range, where you can practice golf.
Pijana Pruga
A destroyed part of the old railway, which due to its current shape reminds more a roller coaster than a railway. Great pictures guaranteed! Careful on snakes, which likes to sunbath on a stones next to the railway, but they are usually more scared than you and slide away.
Učka
National Park Učka with its tallest summit Vojak (reaching 1400m above the sea level) offers amazing and unforgettable views over entire Istria up to Pula and neighboring islands: Krk, Cres and Lošinj. Be prepared, there is easily 10°C colder than on the lowland!
Zarečki Krov
A 7m high waterfall with a lake beneath it. Great place for those ones who need some adrenaline and like to jump into the water from height. Lake is also reachable by foot. If you dare to swim behind the waterfall you'll discover a cave where the water is shallow or even disappeared.
Plomin
A very old Venetian town, as known as settlement of pirates. It's located on a slope of the cliff with beautiful sea-views. The beach is reachable in 15min walk or a lot faster by car. Beach below Plomin in Plomin Luka is very easily accessible with many and easy parking possibilities.
Buzet
One of the most popular typical Istrian castle-settlements located on the top of the hill. It's also called the town of truffles. Among must-eat dishes are pasta with fresh truffles, steak with truffle sauce and warm truffle cake with honey. The brewery located in this town produces even the truffle beer. Cheers!
Hum
It's called the smallest town of the world. Within its walls it used to have all necessary institutions to create a town. Due to this fact it's a very popular tourist destination. Enjoy liquor tasting in the local distillery Aura, which has its shop and museum there.
...and if you fancy for a longer trip, you may also like
top further destinations:
Pula
The capital of Istria with well known Roman Colosseum. You can reach it in 55min vie toll highway or 1h 10min via toll-free coast way. We recommend to visit it in low-mid season April-May or September-October.
Motovun
In our opinion, Motovun is the most popular Istrian castle-town located on the top of the hill. Magnificent views over Mirna river's valley can be enjoyed while eating fresh truffles, which are the specialty of the region. Reachable within 45min drive.
Venice
The most known town of the entire region, if you haven't bee hurry up, because Venice is slowly sinking, each year there are seasons, where most of the pedestrian zones are under water. Don't worry, they are prepared for that and special higher construction is used then, to allow the passage.