Istrija is shared between Slovenia & Croatia and just a quick whizz down the motorway from the Lodge will get you into the far corner of Croatian Istrija with lots of choices to jump off the speedy Croatian motorway and go have an Istrijan adventure!

It is incredible to see how empty the Croatian motorways become in the off season and this is especially when we might go down to explore & sample a bit of Adriatic coastline, Croatian style! 

Any of these lovely Istrijan places we will tell you about here, are easily reachable from the Lodge in a daytrip adventure, any time of year, especially now the Slovenian/Croatian borders are "open" without control..

Beautiful Venetian Church tower in Novigrad..

Ok, so we are gonna tell you a bit about Visnjan hill top village and the seaside towns of Novigrad and Porec, or "Porridge" as we call it!

All you need to do is jump on the motorway from the Lodge direction Koper and whizz straight past Portoroz to enter Croatia, rejoining a fresh motorway and then just decide where to pop off..

Novigrad old town castle walls..

Visnjan, (1hr from the Lodge)..

This is one of our favourite little hill top villages to go for a meal in our fave Istrijan restaurant called Borgonja.

Just a few minutes off the motorway will bring you into this sleepy village on top of a hill and the restaurant is in the middle of the high street.

Istrijan cooking at the restaurant in Visnjan..

There is a nice little bakery here too and a lovely high street to stroll up & down before or after your meal and we love it!

It is difficult to explain, cos Slovenian cuisine is just so amazing, but Istrijan food has a different taste to it and if you order a meat dish there is a strong chance it will be cooked on the open fire!

We sometimes have to pinch ourselves when we land here as it has such a different feel to Green Slovenia, with different wines and a slightly different language too, but don't worry, everyone speaks English here too!

Visnjan high st..

Novigrad, (1hr from the Lodge)..

Novigrad would be a fantastic combination for a day out with Visnjan, maybe eating first in Visnjan and then going after to the seaside for a stroll and even a swim, depending on the time of year.

Pebble beach at Novigrad..

All our photos on this page are taken in December by the way, so you trade the chance to swim then for an empty old town and quiet sea front stroll.. just perfect!

Novigrad is an old Venetian harbour village with beautiful little old town and long sea front promenade, with endless Sunset horizon..

Exploring the Novigrad side streets..

The Venetian church tower dominates the skyline and the bells sure do make a ding dong when they are rung, which seems to be more often than every 15 mins!

You can see a mix here of harbour, pebble beach, rocky promenade and delicious old town with narrow little coloured streets, souvenir shops and there will always be at least one cafe and restaurant open.

Typical Adriatic rock beach with lake like Medieterranean sea at Novigrad..

You can just imagine how busy this place gets in the summer, but the Mediterranean horizon goes on for ever, so you should be able to find your parking & beach spot on a carefully selected hot summer's day out too!

For us it is very interesting to see how essentially the same Mediterranean coast is "done" so differently by Italy, Slovenia & Croatia and Novigrad could well be your nearby little seaside spot to see how the Croatians "do" the seaside!

Porec, (1hr 20 mins from the Lodge)..

Just a bit further down the coast is the much larger town of Porec, well known to the droves of holiday makers who make this place home in the summer..

the Harbour side at Porec..

We have never been here in the summer.. but when we have gone outside the main holiday times, we always get a parking spot in the big car park outside the old town and this place can seem wierdly empty, considering how nice the weather can be here by the Med in the winter, spring and autumn months.

Porec has a bigger old town to walk around and you can sense the sheer volume of people it looks after in the summer by the number of restaurants and bars around this place when you stroll the pretty side streets..

way through by the old castle in Porec to the sea..

Expect a pointy Venetian church, more beautiful seaside vistas with concrete and rock beaches and just a bit more going on here, due to it's size..

The stunning hill top villages of Motovun, Buje and Groznjan are also similar distances from the Lodge, so you can either mix an inland adventure with a seaside stroll or swim or just concentrate on one place, depending on how much time you have and what time of year it is..

But whatever you decide to enjoy, we are just so grateful to have all these different & amazing choices on our doorstep..

Porec old town..

Visitors to Green Slovenia are often surprised how small the distances are around here and if you factor in these nippy Istrijan motorways, then a whole world of extra possibilities come into the equation to add a taste of Croatia to your Green Slovenian adventures!