Travelling to Istria

The title of the most popular holiday destination Istra keeps for many years and for several reasons. Istria is amazing place to spend your holidays in Croatia not just for its beautiful coastal towns of Pula, Rovinj, Poreč and Umag, but for visiting stunning hilltop towns and vineyards in inland as well. Its geographic position makes Istria a destination close to many European countries.

The roads towards Istria from Europe and elsewhere from Croatia are of high quality. Thats why getting to Istria by car or bus are great travelling options. Moreover, travelling to Istria by train shouldn’t be you first choice since railway network is poor and undeveloped.

Travelling to Pula in Istria

Travelling by Car to Istria is Easy

Istria is the car destination for numerous European citizens and almost all drivers from southern and western European countries are driving to Istria across Slovenia. Moreover, travelling to Istria via capital Zagreb is option for all coming from eastern European countries like Hungary, Chech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.

After your driving route gets you to the Croatian border, and when you get to Istria, you’ll be driving on the motorway roads A8 and A9 called Istrian Ipsylon – connecting Istrian towns on western coast all away from Savudrija in the north to Pula in the south of Istrian peninsula.

Istrian Ipsylon connects western coast to green Istrian inland and its beautiful hilltop towns as well.

Moreover, driving on this road you’ll get to town Rijeka when you’ll enter motorway A6 to Zagreb.

Read about useful information on driving in Croatia on our Getting around Croatia by car pages.

Getting to Istria by Bus

Getting to Istria by bus from European countries is pretty easy since numerous bus companies have direct connections to Pula and Rijeka, stopping by to many Istrian towns on their way.

However, if there’s no a good connection from your hometown to Istria you can travel to capital Zagreb first and than catch one of numerous daily bus lines to Istria.

Also you may consider some bus options of getting to Istria by bus from Trieste or Venice bus terminals, if you travel from this part of Italy.

Travelling to Istria by bus

Travelling to Istria by Train

When it comes to trains, direct connection with Istria is poor and if you consider travelling by train to Istria, you’ll need to put some time and effort – get to Zagreb first and then take the train to Rijeka, where the rail ends, and finally you need to continue to Istria by bus.

Moreover, you can travel by train from some European towns to Trieste (Italy) and than catch a bus to your Istrian destination. Finally, there’s one more option of travelling by train to Istria – directly to Pula from town of Ljubljana (Slovenia) but you’ll need to get there first.

Flying to Istria

Istria is very easy to get by plane thanks to Pula Airport and nearby airports in Italy (Trieste and Venice). Moreover, Istria is connected with flights from Zagreb year-round.

Flights to Pula From Europe

During the summer season, numerous airlines companies serve flights to Pula from Europe, making your journey fast and easy, and for a reasonable price.

If you choose one of the flights to Pula but your final destination is Poreč, Rovinj or Umag, look for your transfer options from Pula Airport.

Flights to Pula via Zagreb

If there’s no direct flight from your home town to Pula, you can get to Istria by flying via Zagreb with national company Croatia Airlines.

Getting to Istria But Flying to Italy First

Thanks to nearby Italian airports, Venice Airport and Trieste Airport, you have another easy way of reaching Istria – take one of Flights from Europe to Italy, especially considerable when season is off and the choice of direct flights to Pula is quite poor.

Flying to Pula Airport in Istria

Ferries From Italy to Istria – Exciting Way to Start Your Holidays

Venezia Lines operates fast catamaran service to Istria connecting Venice to main Istrian coastal towns – Pula, Poreč, Rovinj