{"id":78651,"date":"2023-03-23T11:55:09","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelthefourcorners.com\/?p=78651"},"modified":"2025-07-02T15:35:52","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T22:35:52","slug":"istria-a-romantic-getaway-in-rovinj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelthefourcorners.com\/istria-a-romantic-getaway-in-rovinj\/","title":{"rendered":"Rovinj: A Romantic Getaway in Istria"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Our discovery of Rovinj, the seaside town known as “Little Venice” in Croatia’s Istria region, began with a stay at Villa Dobravac, a bucolic family-run B&B and winery. Later we walked through the Old Town’s Venetian streets, little changed in 700 years.<\/p>

Our visit ended with a fungus-sprinkled, grappa-fueled meal at Scuba, a most tolerant restaurant.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Date of Visit: September 20-22, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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<\/i><\/i><\/i><\/i><\/i><\/div>Our Destination Rating 4.8<\/span><\/cite>\t\t\t\t\t
Read More<\/span><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Forty-five minutes had passed since our record-breaking one-hour dash around the medieval hilltop town of Motovun<\/a>. As the sun set, we arrived at Villa Dobravac<\/a>, a family-run B&B with a winery on the outskirts of Rovinj\u2019s Old Town.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Villa Dobravac is a B&B with a winery on the outskirts of Rovinj\u2019s Old Town. JAG Image.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Its cheerful saffron-colored facade was a welcome sight; its architecture, a blend of Farmhouse, meets Art Deco with a nod to Ancient Rome. Yet somehow, it seemed distinctly Istrian.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Where We Stayed<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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In the surrounding hills of the Dobravac wine estate, the family’s vineyards<\/a> produce Malvasia, Teran, and Muscat wines. Conveniently, off the inn’s foyer, there’s a tasting room to sample these crisp and flavorful Istrian red and white wines.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The location, a 15-minute walk from the Old Town, was a pleasant surprise. Behind a rangy pine tree, there\u2019s a bird\u2019s eye view of the old Venetian town of Rovinj jutting out into the deep blue Adriatic Sea. In the distance, a prominent bell tower next to the Church of St. Euphemia rises nearly 200 ft over the red-roofed town.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The old Venetian town of Rovinj on the Adriatic Sea. JAG Image.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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It\u2019s easy to become lost in time gazing at history in real-time. I imagined Venetian fishing boats in the harbor and laborers hard at work building ships.<\/p>

But then, a large ad painted on the side of a distant building reminded me that I was standing here several hundred years after the Republic of Venice\u2019s 500-year rule.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Before checking into the inn, Chris and I discussed dinner plans with our hired driver. Frane was a fun traveling companion, and we wanted to treat him to dinner. After four days on the road together, we enjoyed his stories about Croatia and dry sense of humor.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Elusive Truffle\u2014Not! <\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Earlier in the day, I had expressed disappointment about not having time to go truffle hunting in the Istrian forest.<\/p>

\u201cDo you think you can find the truffle in one hour?\u201d Frane asked.<\/p>

\u201cIt takes five days to find the truffle, and you go there, and the dogs find the truffle in one hour. It is not real.\u201d<\/p>

We laughed at the absurdity of it all and decided to hunt for a truffle restaurant in Motovun instead (see Istria: Racing Through Motovun<\/a>).<\/p>

Since none of us had researched restaurants in Rovinj, we made plans to meet for dinner in the Old Town the following evening. We\u2019d check out the best restaurants in the meantime.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Americans in Rovinj<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Behind the reception desk, Natalina Dobravac was talking to a 30-something German guest dressed in business attire. They both looked up when we walked in with our luggage.<\/p>

“You are from the U.S.? The German asked incredulously.<\/p>

“How did you find this place?”<\/p>

I was taken aback. We’re not often made to feel exotic when we travel to Europe; at least, we weren’t before the pandemic. I assumed Croatia would be overrun with my countrymen and women, and we wouldn’t so much as raise an eyebrow unless, of course, we did something gauche. I hoped it was just our accents that gave us away this time.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The German peppered us with questions as we checked in. I wondered if this “scarcity of Americans” was because fewer foreign cruise ships stopped in Rovinj (compared to Dubrovnik, Split, and Hvar) or if it was simply the pandemic that had made us scarce in Europe until recently.<\/p>

Natalina grabbed our heavy suitcases and headed up the stairs to the Romeo and Juliet room (#103) that would be ours for two nights. She firmly refused Chris’ protests for us to carry our bags.<\/p>

I smiled to myself because I had noticed the words “Women-Power” emblazoned on the t-shirt under her jean jacket.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Romeo and Juliet room at Villa Dobravac is the one with the Roman arches and balcony.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Restaurant Tips From a Local<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Natalina recommended seven restaurants in the Old Town for the following evening. One was the top-rated Puntulina Restaurant & Wine Bar<\/a> (\u201cLa Puntulina\u201d), where diners sip cocktails and dine on rocky outcrops at the water\u2019s edge.<\/p>

She warned us that La Puntulina was always booked weeks out and doubted we could get into these popular restaurants on such short notice. As it turned out, she was right.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tNatalina's 7 Restaurants\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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