25 Reasons You Should NEVER Visit Istria

It is a region which has a population of just 200,000 people but is the most important for Croatian tourism. A region often compared to Tuscany, famous for its olive oil, wine, and truffles.

A region which has a long tradition of tourism on its coast, but whose inland was largely ignored or abandoned until recently.

Being a Dalmatian island boy, my knowledge of Istria was perhaps not as strong as it should be after so long living in Croatia, although I had made many short trips over the last 10 years. But a trip organised by the Istria Tourist Board in May 2023 opened up a new world of Istria to me, including some VERY off-the-beaten-path places.

So fasten your gourmet seatbelts, and join me on a tour of the Istrian Peninsula and discover 25 reasons why you should NEVER visit Istria.

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Video produced by Igor Vuk of Wolf Media.

MATERIALS USED:

[multivisnjica]

Super prezentacija za našu prelijepu Istru .Rijetko da sam čuo ovako kvalitetnu prezentaciju i saznao opet nešto novo .Hvala na svemu.

[antonio-egre]

born and raised in Istria, and yet this man knows more about my home region than I do. great video!

[noelwos]

Bravo, I am a dark-skinned Croat my father was from Africa and is the only Croatian Award winning black composer. And as such I learned a lot about my country maybe I know more than pure Croats but this man knows Croatia so well that I learn new things from him.

[refe]

My grandfather told my dad that the Paranzana train was so slow that on a small hill from Strunjan to the Šalet tunnel, people used to jump down from the train, ate some grapes from a local vineyard and returned back on the train.

[warwickhowland]

Hi Paul. A very timely video. Tomorrow we fly from the other side of the world to start our new lives in Croatia. There will be bumps along the way but it will be an adventure! Your book has been invaluable.

[_RMA_]

You said at the beginning of the video that Istria used to be Italian, but technically it used to be Venetian. It was the great Venetian Republic that ruled the Istria for around 500 years, and Italy ruled for only 25 years (1918.-1943.). It's a big difference because the Venetian Republic is not Italy and vice versa. I watched the whole video and it was a splendid experience from the beginning to the end, even though I'm from Istria. You forgot to mention some minor places of interest, like small, but beautiful waterfalls like Cingarela, Butori, 7 slapova kod Buzeta and many more. Istria is actually riddled with them, but even some locals don't know about them. There is also a infamous ''Istrian desert'' near the village of Šterna, the only desert in Istria and a very special and unique place to visit. Greetings from Umag!

[Hsbgg]

We don’t speak a weird language we speak a dialect of Croatian chakavian

[TrazomGV]

I would like to add one interesting place in Istria and that is Dvigrad, ruins of a medieval town completely abandoned centuries ago due to a plague, and it is remaining so empty in the forest since. Lately it is cleared from vegetation and archeologically explored and now available for tourists, not far from Pula. It is worth of seeing, and next to its entrance there is a small restaurant where the owner can tell you a lot of history of the city and its urbanistic importance, as he is descendant of former inhabitants.

[rowenapaddon]

Great video! You've transported me back to my first introduction I had with Croatia 5 years ago. Only got to spend a month there, and so many places I never got to explore. It's so hard not to fall in love with the country. And so it's definitely on my hit list to return ... and hopefully for much longer than a month! Thanks for the inspiration 😊

[pessimusdux]

You amaze me every time with the respect, knowledge and love about my country... Thank you

[helenr]

Love Biska! Wish I could somehow get some of that here in Florida but haven't had any luck yet. Loved your Istrian youtube. Thank you. It brought back wonderful memories of our 5 days there when we were in Croatia two years ago. Rovinj was gorgeous. Also loved the countryside. So wishing to go back soon. We could see ourselves living there, even part-time. Keep your videos coming. Love your Brit sense of humour.

[АнтониноГатузо]

Spot on, Paul! Would love to have a pint together once you come around Poreč🍺 I’m sure you made a lot of us feel prouder to be Istrian after watching this 😊

[GLbetaMax]

I hope Croatian tourism agency will recognise the passion and work you do to promote our country

[renatohervatin]

It used to be German empire too. Istria is not only Croatian today, but also Slovenian and Italian in the extreme north (Muggia - Milje)

[Someguy]

Thank you Paul for another information rich video of Croatia. Hope the national tourist board is being nicer to you these days! Cheers friend 😅

[malcr]

Thanks for the informative video. I can't wait to visit it shortly.

[RedAngel]

Incredible region; incredible presentation!

[carstenpw]

Fantastic video 😎 sooo much to see and do

[Myusernameaintyourbusiness]

As a Croat Istra is my favourite region. Glad you expressed your opinions ♥️

[robertkysler]

Based on this video, we visited Gračišče and went home along the east coast. Good job