Croatia | Istria | Adriatic Sea, Green Hills, Vineyards, Olive Groves & Truffles | ebike cycling Tour

At the airport arrival our team will transfer you to a beautiful traditional villa which will be our base for the following week in Central Istria. After welcome drinks, a tour overview and briefing await, where your tour leaders will fill you in with all the details. It’s best to get to know each other over a welcome dinner of local cuisine and wine produced localy. Your taste buds will be on high alert for the following week!

Meals: dinner
Accommodation: Traditional Istrian villa with a pool
Distance: 0 km (0 mi)

Start of your Istra Cycling Tour!

The northwest part of Istria is most famous for its wines, so let’s take it easy on the warm-up day and visit a couple of winemakers and their surrounding medieval towns. Wine tastings of local sorts teran (red) and malvazija (white) will get you acquainted with one-third of Istrian gastronomic gems. Highlight towns of the day might be wine-centric Momjan or arty Grožnjan, which features a spectacular view of the Adriatic.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Traditional Istrian villa with a pool
Distance: 36 km (22 mi) / elevation 750 m (2200 ft)

First part of today’s route will be the very popular Parenzana cycling route. It was an Italian nickname for a pre-WW2 narrow-gauge railway. It connected Trieste in Italy and Poreč in Istria (then the Austro-Hungarian Empire). The route will take us along Mirna Valley, which is world-famous for its mythical white truffle. After a truffle tasting, traversing a few green hills with splendid views of Central Istria, we’ll arrive to the fairytale town of Hum. Known as the smallest town in the world and according to legends, built by giants. Our day will be concluded in the Istrian truffle capital, the town of Buzet.

Meals: breakfast, tastings / lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Traditional Istrian villa with a pool
Distance: 68 km (42 mi) / elevation 1400 m (4600 ft)

Continuing along the peaceful Mirna Valley, we’ll reach the top of the hill where Motovun town is nested. Valley climate often shrouds Motovun in dense fog which, when viewed from afar, makes Motovun and surrounding hills seem like green islands above the clouds. Traversing those hill islands will take us across hidden ruins and picturesque villages to the bottom half of Istria, a mostly flat and historically agricultural region. Our destination is the charming town of Svetvinčenat, known for its centrally located medieval Grimani Castle and local craft beer brewery Kampanjola.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Traditional Istrian villa with a pool
Distance: 65 km (40 mi) / elevation 1100 m (3600 ft)

An easier day, exactly what is needed after an exciting and long ride the previous day. Taking it through green forest tunnels on easy gravel routes, the ride will be mostly flat, relaxing, listening to chirping birds and crickets hiding in the bushes. Town of Bale is on the route, a settelment occupied by humans since 2nd century BC. But before there were humans, in the area were found fossil remains of Histriasaurus dinosaur, so we could easily conclude this area has a certain attraction for millions of years. Besides fossils, there is something else hiding in the dense forest of the area, a tiny St. Peter Church perched on a natural boulder.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Traditional Istrian villa with a pool
Distance: 32 km (20 mi) / elevation 300 m (1000 ft)

An easy flat route will guide us to the pearl of Istrian seaside towns, Rovinj. The magnificent view of Rovinj Old Town, situated on an island protruding into the Adriatic Sea, is truly unforgettable. Continuing to the very south of Istria the road is still flat, but the scenery is still captivating. South’s red soil and Mediterranean climate are perfect for olive growing which will be obvious by many olive groves we’ll pass by today.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Traditional Istrian villa with a pool
Distance: 50 km (31 mi) / elevation 400 m (1300 ft)

Olive groves are abundant in the South, especially in the town of Vodnjan, which is home to several world-renowned premium olive oil producers. A brief ride along the most southern and biggest town in Istria, Pula, will reveal its rich history. Venetian fortress, ancient Roman temples, and Austrian military forts and tunnels, but Pula’s highlight is a 2000-year-old Roman oval amphitheater, one of just the world’s six largest surviving ones. Last day of cycling on your Istria Cycling Tour.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Traditional Istrian villa with a pool
Distance: 55 km (34 mi) / elevation 400 m (1300 ft)

Departure day from Pula Airport. We suggest extending your visit for a few days to give yourself a few days of well-earned rest and to explore Brioni Island near Pula or the spectacular Kvarner islands of Lošinj and Cres at your own pace.

Meals: breakfast