Tour Start
Poreč
Type
Self-Guided
Duration
8 D
Level
Level 3 - Moderate
Discover Istrian peninsula, its west and east coast and the most interesting part - magical inland of Istria.
Cycle through beautiful landscapes dotted with old villages and picturesque towns. Explore medieval towns located on hilltops such as Grožnjan and Motovun. Cycle along vineyards and olive groves, trademarks of green Istria. Visit ancient Roman colonies of Poreč and Pula, located on the shores of so-called blue Istria. Among the charms of culture and the beauty of nature, enjoy the richness of flavors of local Istrian cuisine, excellent Istrian wines and olive oil.
HIGHLIGHTS:
GENERAL TOUR INFO:
Arrival to Poreč. Welcome meeting with our representative will be at 7 PM at the hotel reception area where we will provide the package including hotel vouchers, bicycle with all equipment, maps and a road book.
Meals: -
Distance biked: 0 km
Overnight: Poreč
Highlights: Poreč town, Euphrasian Basilica
Our cycling tour of Istria will start with a ride from Poreč, the town where you can find material and spiritual evidences of great cultures at every step. Walk along the old city center and you will find there the Roman Forum, magnificent palaces from different historical periods, and to top it all, the famous Euphrasian Basilica (Euphrasiana). You will be riding along the coastline with beautiful bays where you can enjoy the breathtaking Mediterranean landscape with green vineyards and olive groves and taste home-made food, wine, brandy and honey produced in this area. Continuing along the trail, you will reach Višnjan, a little place that vaunts an astronomical observatory ranked among the 5 most important observatories in the world. Passing by Mirna river delta and Novigrad you will arrive to Umag, a town that, apart for its incandescent Riviera, vaunts a rich historical heritage and a unique event - the festival of the traditional organ (Organum Histriae). Umag is situated on a peninsula, founded in the transitional period from late antiquity into the early middle age, with the historic center that loudly speaks with the spirit of the old Venetian Republic. Continuing to northern most point of Istria (Savudrija) and finishing first day in Buje area.
Meals: Breakfast
Distance biked: 70 km
Overnight: Guesthouse in Kaldanija
Highlights: Poreč, Višnjan (wine cellars), Mirna river delta, City of Novigrad, City of Umag, Savudrija
On the way to Buzet we will ride across Grožnjan - a typical Istrian medieval town sprout high on top of the hill along the right coast of the river Mirna, vaunting its centenary walls, its renaissance loggia dating from 1585 and the beautiful St. Vitus and Modesto’s baroque church. If you just occasionally ride along its streets in which almost every door leads to art studios or galleries, and which windows from every direction echoes the sounds of different music genres, from classical to jazz, you’ll understand why Grožnjan is known as "The town of artists".
Discover Šterna - a village named after a big local cistern, situated on the large plateau intersected by water flows. Explore Oprtalj, with unchanged urban medieval disposition, the narrow streets, the shops, the beautiful Venetian palaces, portals and covered passages, and particularly the unique view to the Istrian peninsula from the town loggia, according to many the most beautiful of Istria. Finally you arrive to Buzet, known as long as in the Roman times as Pinquentium, today is named as ’’the City of truffles’’, considering that the surrounding forests along the valley of the river Mirna cover some of the best areas of the entire Istria for the hunting of this divine tuberous.
Meals: Breakfast
Distance biked: 51 km
Overnight: Buzet
Highlights: City of Buje, Grožnjan the city of artists, Livade the truffle center of the world, Istrian spa center, City of Buzet
After a climb to Prodani the road leads to one of the most attractive and picturesque Istrian medieval towns - Draguć, the place which, until some hundred years ago lived from the cultivation of the silk-worm, today is almost completely abandoned. However, its unforgettable natural position and the exceptional beauty of the stone architecture, the modest palaces, the walls and the old churches, perhaps could seem somehow known. We are proud to say that right here have been recorded numerous national and foreign production movies and TV series, like the movies "The 3 musketeers".
Pazin - a true heart of Istria! Pazin is known as a commercial, cultural and educational center of entire central Istria. Unique for its spectacular position above the carst abyssal cave, Pazin holds the medieval Castle - Kaštel (today, the Ethnographic Museum of Istria and the Municipal Museum are both in the castle) located on the verge of a 130 meters deep abyss. From Pazin you pass through Gračišće, an absolute pearl of the Istrian hinterland. The entrance into this town can be really enchanting: a magnificent Salomon Mansion made in the combination of gothic and renaissance styles, it makes you think for a moment as if you were lost in some distant corner of Venice. Continue further through Kršan, feudal land property, having obtained its name for the rockiness of the spot and at the same time, was erected on the foundations of an ancient early medieval burg, we arrive in Rabac, the pearl of the Kvarner bay. Overnight in Labin or Rabac.
Meals: Breakfast
Distance biked: 67 km
Overnight: Labin or Rabac
Highlights: City of Draguć, Pazin the capital of central Istria, Gračišde, City of Labin, Rabac the pearl of east Istria.
Today you will ride across Raša, the first modern mining town in Istria and Barban to Pula. On the way you will find "Liburna", a nature reserve of autochthon animals. Apart from these charming animals, in particular sociable donkeys, you will find here a unique ethnological collection of antique tools. Which city is situated on seven hills, has a magnificent Amphitheater and is not Rome? The answer is - Pula. No, it is not a mistake - you are, indeed, in front of Pula, the largest city in Istria. Pula is an enchantress with thousand appearances which has been casting spell on its visitors for centuries. This day we finish visiting the old city with the Sergius' Triumphal Arch (from the end of the 1st century B.C. and the beginning of the 1st century A.D.) and famous Arena, a Roman amphitheater (from the 1st century B.C.).
Meals: Breakfast
Distance biked: Labin - Pula 51 km, Rabac - Pula 58 km
Overnight: Pula
Highlights: Raša river valley, Barban city, Istrian villages, City of Vodnjan, Roman amphitheater in Pula, Old part of Pula
Cycle along the coastline towards Rovinj. You will head for the mysterious world of Bale region, proud for its glorious Soardo - Bembo Castle of the Gothic and Renaissance period and the parish church of St. Julian. Bale had been developed from the ancient Roman castrum (military fortification) along Via Flava, the ancient Roman road that used to connect Trieste and Pula. Discover Sv. Vinčenat, with its grandiose Morosini-Grimani citadel with towers, parish church, municipal loggia and a line of 16th century houses of the Renaissance and a town cistern - šterna in the middle. Sv. Vičenat really belongs to a range of the most attractive Venetian creations of that period effected in this region, and withheld one of the rare witchcraft trials in Istria during 17th century. This day finishes in Rovinj.
Meals: Breakfast
Distance biked: 60 km
Overnight: Rovinj
Highlights: Restaurants in Fažana, Castle in St. Vincent, Palaces in Bale, City of Rovinj
A marsh, rare birds, a cursed city, buried pirates treasure, a fjord, a cave with a primitive man and a hermit, an ancient solar observatory - all this you will find during today biking. Our bike ride will take us across Kanfanar to the ruins of the medieval town of Dvigrad. Just to stir your imagination - you are now in an area where many legends and mysteries based on historical events still live on: that of Dvigrad devastated by the plague because of an ancient curse, of the buried treasure of Captain Morgan's pirates near the village named after him (Mrgani), of the cave where the remains of the primitive man were found and where, as legend has it, St Romuald used to live as a hermit in the Middle Ages. After riding along the coastline you will reach Vrsar, a romantic fishermen village where the famous Casanova came back even two times. This one week bike tour finishes in Poreč where where you will spend the last night.
Meals: Breakfast
Distance biked: 60 km
Overnight: Poreč
Highlights: Old city of Rovinj, Ruins of Dvigrad, Lim Bay, City of Vrsar, Poreč
| CLASSIC (3* accommodation) | 2024 | |||
| Period | 01.03.-19.04. | 20.04.-19.06. | 20.06.-19.09. | 20.09.-30.11. |
| Price per person | 1.240,00 € | 1.430,00 € | 1.510,00 € | 1.430,00 € |
| Single supplement | 340,00 € | 380,00 € | 380,00 € | 380,00 € |
The price includes:
The price does not include:
| PREMIERE (4* accommodation) | 2024 | |||
| Period | 01.03.-19.04. | 20.04.-19.06. | 20.06.-19.09. | 20.09.-30.11. |
| Price per person | 1.530,00 € | 1.760,00 € | 1.950,00 € | 1.760,00 € |
| Single supplement | 550,00 € | 660,00 € | 750,00 € | 660,00 € |
The price includes:
The price does not include:
