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Ancient Istria Tour from Rovinj including Pula and Lunch
Excursions & day trips
Istria, Croatia
4.6/5
Free Cancellation
Language:
English
,
Italian
Mobile voucher accepted
Duration:2 hours
Do this because
Visit the imposing Roman amphitheatre of Pula
Savour an Istrian lunch in the rustic hamlet of Gržini
Enjoy free time to explore the coastal town of Poreč
See the UNESCO-listed Byzantine Euphrasian Basilica
Expert local guide with unrivalled knowledge of Istria
What to expect
At the crossroads between Latin and Slavic Europe, Istria offers up the best of both worlds. It packs a lot into its small territory, so this tour shows off the best bits – rustic villages, Roman ruins, Byzantine basilicas and a taste of its world-class food scene. You'll visit Pula, Gržini and Poreč, enjoying scenic landscapes between stops. Karla, one of our expert local guides, says, ‘You'll get to see a side of Istria that most visitors miss when you visit Gržini village for a homemade lunch. You'll taste maneštra – a traditional Istrian country dish – and drink malvazija, the ‘queen' of Istrian wines, in a farm-to-table restaurant.'Kick off the day in Pula, spread around a bay in the south of the peninsula. This storied town is home to a well-preserved Roman amphitheatre, where you'll get shown around by centurions. But that's just the tip of the iceberg – Pula boasts a wealth of ancient relics. Must-sees include the Temple of Augustus and the triumphal arch, while there are also Byzantine and baroque churches as well as a Habsburg fortress.Next, we'll head inland to the hamlet of Gržini for a traditional Istrian lunch, washed down with local wine, before returning to the coast to explore Poreč. Set on a compact headland, we'll walk the old Roman streets of Decumanus and Cardo Maximus up to the most important monument in town – the Euphrasian basilica, one of the most beautifully preserved monuments of early Byzantine art in the Mediterranean, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What's included
Transport
Guide
Lunch
Admission fees
What to remember
Bring suitable footwear
Provider
GULLIVER TRAVEL
Booking Fee
Good news! No extra fees are applied to this booking.
Cancellation Fee
Receive a 100% refund if you cancel up to 1 day before the experience begins
Reviews
Excellent
4.6/5
Based on
49 reviews from verified customers
G
Gill Th
October 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 49 years old
Excellent
Excellent tour. Picked up promptly from hotel. Our guide (Filipe?) was great. It rained absolutely non stop all day but it didn’t dampen his enthusiasm. His energy made the day memorable. Great info given in both towns. Lovely lunch included as well. Worth the money. Thank you.
J
John & Margaret
September 2024
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 49 years old
Excellent
Guide was knowledgable and informative. Treated the group with respect and was clear with all instructions
J
Julie
September 2024
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 42 years old
Excellent
A fantastic day out. Good to see other places in Istria and the lunch was delicious. Sylvia, the guide was very good too. Knowledgeable and friendly.
D
David
September 2024
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 44 years old
Great
B
Beverley Saddington
September 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 49 years old
Excellent
Great tour with excellent guide. Just wish we’d had a bit more time in certain places
S
Shropshire lad
September 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 46 years old
Excellent
Our guide Filipe was extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable in all aspects of the istrian coast. He had a really good knowledge of the history, politics, and lives of the istrian people throughout the years.
G
Gill Birch
September 2024
From United States of America
Traveled as
Alone
- 54 years old
Great
A
Alex Jenkins
September 2024
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 43 years old
Excellent
Overall we had a lovely day - the only improvement would be to have had more time in Porec. It’s an absolutely beautiful little town, and we would have enjoyed having an extra hour to spend browsing the shops and sitting down looking out to sea.
P
Pete
September 2024
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 52 years old
Excellent
Excellent tour. The pickup and drop off was seamless. Very knowledgeable and friendly tour guide. The lunch at grizini was lovely., With tasty local food . Recommended tour.
P
Pauline
August 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
With family
- 32 years old
Excellent
Busy day from start to finish. The lunch was really lovely, in beautiful surroundings. The tour guide was knowledgeable, enthusiastic and he was obviously very proud of his wonderful country and it's heritage. I was travelling with teenage son so having something well organised was a necessity. The 38 degree heatwave did make it hard going at some points but this was only to be expected and our guide made sure we kept in the shade as much as possible. Many thanks.
J
Judy
July 2024
From United States of America
Traveled as
With family
- 37 years old
Great
The guide was informative and kept the day interesting. Lunch was good. Only downside was the lack of free time in Pula. We spent more time in Porec and lunch, but would have preferred more time in Pula. Maybe not have 3 separate destinations as there was a lot of time spent on the bus between destinations
S
Susan
July 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 50 years old
Excellent
The guide Boban was outstanding and the day was informative and enjoyable
S
Sonia & Arlo
July 2024
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 30 years old
Excellent
The whole day was lovely. Lovely stop offs and was given time to enjoy the places on our own aswell . Would highly recommend
L
lynda
June 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 61 years old
Excellent
M
Mark
June 2024
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 40 years old
Great
Porec was beautiful could have spent more time there. Guide was very friendly and helpful
G
Gibbon
May 2024
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 42 years old
Excellent
A
Andy
May 2024
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 37 years old
Excellent
Lunch was great
K
Kev and Debs
September 2023
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 36 years old
Excellent
The guide Val was welcoming, friendly and extremely knowledgable which made the whole experience so much more enjoyable. The whole day flew by, we felt safe and in good hands between Val and the coach driver (aplologies foegotten his name) , The Traditional Croatian lunch was a delicious experience, all homemade on the premises by the family run business. So glad we went on this excursion a definite highlight of our holiday.
G
Gary
September 2023
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 46 years old
Excellent
Second time on this trip and enjoyed it as much this time as last. Val our guide was brilliant, very knowledgeable and gave great commentary. You could tell that she loved her job and also the place were she lives
H
Hla
August 2023
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
With family
- 40 years old
Excellent
Vladana our guide was very enthusiastic and informative. We covered a lot of ground and saw the difference between the sites which was good. Lunch was nice and a chance to relax.
S
Sharon D
August 2023
From United States of America
Traveled as
With friends
- 33 years old
Excellent
Val the tour guide was fantastic and very very knowledgeable. Val made the trip fun and The meal that came as parts of the deal was absolutely fantastic. A great day have by all!
R
Rob (worcester)
July 2023
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
Great
S
Shaun
July 2023
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 45 years old
Great
Would have preferred more time in pula and porec, thought the lunch was not good and unnecessary
A
Alison
June 2023
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 32 years old
Excellent
The tour took in the towns of Porec and Pula and a beautiful lunch made by a local lady. The tour gave the right amount of time at each location. The guide was very friendly approachable. She was very enthusiastic & proud of her local area which is lovely to see.
C
Carolyn
June 2023
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 41 years old
Excellent
Guide made the day very interesting. Lunch was very good . Nice being in a small group
S
Simon Webster
June 2023
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 48 years old
Excellent
Varied agenda from the Roman amphitheatre in Pula to the pretty town of Porec, with an excellent lunch in between. The star of the show was our guide Vladana, who was very engaging, knowledgeable and always interesting.
I
Ian
May 2023
From United States of America
Traveled as
As a couple
- 38 years old
Excellent
The trip from start to finish was brilliant. The tour guide (Vladana) was very knowledgeable and obviously very patioante about her country and its past, credit tobthe TUI team. The home cooked lunch was lovely and to be able to visit numerous towns in one day was great.
J
Judith Wilkin
May 2023
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 55 years old
Excellent
Good balance of activities.
J
Joy
October 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 54 years old
Excellent
Excellent trip Vladana was a brilliant guide. She was passionate about Istria. It was great to the the amphitheatre in Pula. Lunch was also very good
M
MandyRPR
September 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 37 years old
Great
Our Guide Vladana made the day! Her knowledge was amazing and with the support of the fantastic driver, whose name escapes me, together they made it an enjoyable day. Our only critique would be that we personally felt we had too much time in Pula but could have enjoyed more time Porec just due to the type of towns they are and what you can do. Overall it was great to explore other areas of the Isterian Coast and to learn about its history.
M
Mbc
September 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
With friends
- 52 years old
Average
We knew this trip was a full day but it proved to be very very tiring and we wouldn't book another full day trip. Lunch was included for which we were encouraged to tip but really it was ok but not great. 2 half day trips with no lunch would be better. The guide was very good but we were all so tired pm and free time wasn't much at all.
T
Tessa
September 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 48 years old
Great
Very enjoyable if long day. Vladana is an excellent guide, we appreciated learning about Croatia’s modern history as well as its past whilst on the minibus. The one disappointment was that visiting the 6th century Euphrasian Basilica in Porec is not included. The tour itinerary gives the impression that it is, when in fact you are only taken to the entrance. You have 45 mins free time which isn’t long enough to visit it and get back to the bus. It was fun meeting our fellow travellers at lunch.
H
Happy Traveller
September 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 58 years old
Excellent
Very good trip. Guide very knowledgeable
K
Kings Group
September 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
With friends
- 53 years old
Excellent
Excellent trip, very full day, but very enjoyable. Guide was very good and very informative.
J
James C
September 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
Excellent
Vladana was such an awesome guide. Her knowledge and personality made our experience unforgettable.
R
Rushy's
August 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 34 years old
Excellent
Our guide Carla was very informative throughout the day, and I liked that we had free time in Pula and Porec to explore a little ourselves
G
G&D
July 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 51 years old
Great
Guide was rather quiet on the coach. Insufficient free time in both towns. Lunch went in a bit too long & would have preferred time in the towns & not have lunch included.
J
Jayne and Dave
July 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 44 years old
Excellent
The whole day was fantastic, friendly warm welcoming bringing all members of our party together we started as strangers left as friends, the tour was very interesting and informative from start to finish our guide was the best
C
Claire, Notts
June 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 42 years old
Great
Lovely hotel, located on island. Mattress not great, could have done with a topper. Room very clean, food plentiful. It would have been helpful to have had a Tui rep at the ferry port as it was quite confusing first time. Ferries have a rather haphazard timetable and we had to rely on the help of another guest who had visited before. We did the Istrian history day trip which was good but we didn't get enough time to look around Pula and Porec on our own. But overall a very enjoyable holiday.
A
Annie
June 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
Average
Exellent guide but far too much ‘talking’ and not enough free time. Considering it was a 9 hour trip we only had 45 mins free time in Pula and 45 mins free time in Porec Too long spent at lunch stop also
T
Tom H
June 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
With family
- 30 years old
Excellent
We thoroughly enjoyed our tour! Vladana, our guide, was incredibly knowledge and engaging. Lunch, in a remote taverna, was delicious and gave us time to chat will others in the tour. There was a good mix of being guided and free time.
M
Mike R
June 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 38 years old
Excellent
Really good way to consume some of the history & culture of the area. The bus elements were relatively short, so you don't feel like you're spending the day looking out of the window. Our guide was really friendly & helpful. Lunch is great value, and way out into the countryside - and somewhere you're otherwise extremely unlikely to have visited. Well worth it.
P
Pauline
June 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 44 years old
Excellent
Guide was very good, professional, knowledgeable and highly personable. The meal at lunchtime was excellent and authentically Croatian in a beautiful setting. Good mix of guide-led time and personal time to explore.
C
Colinr
May 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 47 years old
Excellent
Vladina our guide was extremely knowledgeable about the history of Istria and the towns we visited. The lunch time meal was a traditional Croatian fair served with local wine which my wife and I enjoyed very much.
R
Richard
May 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
With friends
- 52 years old
Great
The guide was excellent. Lots of information about the historic sites, very clear instructions of meeting places, etc. Nothing we didn't like. The information advertising the trip could be improved, for example saying the trip was 4-8 hours needs to be more precise.
M
Mrs W
May 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 41 years old
Excellent
The guide was really knowledgeable and friendly. The tour was part guided with some free time.
G
Glyn
May 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as
As a couple
- 53 years old
Great
A
Anonymous
September 2021
From United Kingdom
Great
A
Anonymous
September 2021
From United Kingdom
Great
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