The final port on my short Explora Journeys mini-cruise up the Adriatic was somewhere I have wanted to go for a while. The Croatian port of Rovinj in Istria, the most northern region of Croatia, close to the Italian and Slovenian border. (It’s pronounced Rovine, it’s a silent J when at the end of a word)
You know by now that we love to unearth some more undiscovered places around the world, and especially in the Mediterranean, when many of the well-known hotspots, like Split or Dubrovnik are extremely busy in the summer. Rovinj really is stunning, having compact nature of a fishing port, with the gorgeous Venetian architecture, but at a fraction of the price you’ll pay to be on the Grand Canal in Venice. The views are just as spectacular though!
The focal point of the town is the St Euphemia’s Basilica, instantly recognisable as we approached from the sea, towering over the town. Having climbed up there (figuratively speaking) through the narrow cobbled streets, you get a wonderful view looking out to see, over the town, and of course towards the island – and my stopping off place (more on that later). The tower of the Basilica you can climb up as well for even better views.
On the way back down, the narrow streets are very atmospheric, even with a busy bustling port-day town. It was also a public holiday in Croatia, so the town was busy and being a warm day, so were the beaches. Certainly you could be fooled that you were in Italy, rather than Croatia. At street level, Grisia Street is known for its artists’ studios and open-air galleries.
By the lovely harbour, you’ll find a wide array of different cafes, restaurants and bars, almost like you would find in St Marks Square in Venice – each with a view over the harbour and beyond. There are some tucked away on the side streets as well – and not absurdly priced either. Of course, seafood plays a bit part of Croatian cuisine on the coast, and there are a number of seafood restaurants as well.
Around the back is a small market, a number of different vendors selling everything from the usual fruit and vegetables to jewellery and honey. Being close to the tender for both our ship on Explora and Royal Clipper which was also in that day, there was a lot of custom from the cruisers as well as those who were staying locally.
I took a walk all the way along to the Golden Cape Forest Park, at the other side of the bay. Although there is a beach of sorts here, it’s really a pine forest, with rocks for sunbathing and some nice park land. With paths working their way along the coast, and lots of people around I saw many people taking a bike ride along the coast, and many families taking advantage of the nice weather.
This was all connected to where I went next…
