Istria and Krk Road Trip from Rijeka: Hilltop Towns, Rovinj and Pula in 3 Days

Istria is the triangle-shaped peninsula at the top of the Adriatic, and Krk is the island just south of Rijeka. This route starts at Rijeka Airport, which is not in Rijeka at all but on Krk, next to Omišalj, and car rental companies such as Sixt and Enterprise have desks in the terminal. You see the island first — Vrbnik, Baška and the town of Krk — then cross the Krk Bridge to Opatija, go through the Učka tunnel to the hill towns of inland Istria, and finish on the west coast in Poreč, Rovinj and Pula. It makes about 353 km in three days.

The route ends in Pula, so book a one-way rental and drop the car in Pula, or drive back to Rijeka on the Istrian Y motorway. Croatia has no vignette, and the euro has been its currency since 2023. The only toll on this route is the Učka tunnel.

Day 1 — Rijeka Airport, Vrbnik, Baška and Krk to Opatija (133 km)

Pick up the car at Rijeka Airport and drive south across the island to Vrbnik, a village on a cliff about 50 m above the sea on Krk’s east coast. Walk its narrow stone lanes and try Žlahtina, the white wine made from the vineyards around the village.

Continue south to Jurandvor, just before Baška. In the little church of St Lucy you see a copy of the Baška tablet, a stone slab carved in Glagolitic script around 1100 and one of the most important early records of written Croatian. It was found here in 1851; the original is in Zagreb. Then drive down to Baška, where the pebble beach Vela plaža curves for about 1.8 km around the bay.

On the way back north, stop in the town of Krk, inside its old walls. On Kamplin square stand the Frankopan castle and the cathedral. Then cross the Krk Bridge to the mainland. It opened in 1980, is 1,430 m long and crosses the sea in two concrete arches, resting in the middle on the small islet of St Mark. The bridge has been free since 15 June 2020. Drive round Rijeka on the bypass to Opatija for the night.

Day 2 — The Učka tunnel, Hum, Motovun and Grožnjan to Poreč (117 km)

Opatija grew into a seaside resort in the 19th century, and the story began with Villa Angiolina, built in 1844 by the Rijeka merchant Iginio Scarpa and now a museum in its park. In the morning walk part of the Lungomare, a promenade of about 12 km that follows the shore from Volosko to Lovran, and see the statue Maiden with the Seagull (1956) on its rock by the sea.

Then take the A8 motorway through the Učka tunnel, more than 5 km long under Učka mountain, into Istria. The tunnel has a toll booth, paid by cash or card. Leave the motorway and drive on small roads to Hum, which calls itself the smallest town in the world: a walled lane, a church and a few dozen inhabitants on a hilltop.

Continue west to Motovun, a walled town on a hill above the Mirna valley. Cars are not allowed into the old town: leave yours in the car parks on the slope below and walk up the cobbled road to the gate. Walk round the walls for the views over the valley. Then drive to Grožnjan, a hill town that artists began to settle in the 1960s; today its stone houses hold galleries and studios, and in summer you hear music students practising. In the evening, drive down to the coast at Poreč.

Day 3 — Rovinj and Cape Kamenjak to Pula (103 km)

Start in Poreč with the Euphrasian Basilica, built in the 6th century and known for its gold-ground mosaics. The Episcopal Complex of the Euphrasian Basilica has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.

Drive south to Rovinj. Its old town is closed to cars, so park at Valdibora, just north of it, and walk in. The lanes climb to the church of St Euphemia, whose bell tower of about 60 m carries a copper statue of the saint that turns with the wind.

Continue to Pula and its Arena, a Roman amphitheatre from the 1st century, which could hold some 20,000 spectators and still has all four of its towers. In the afternoon drive south through Premantura to Cape Kamenjak, the southern tip of Istria, a protected landscape of gravel tracks, low cliffs and coves for swimming. In summer cars pay an entry fee; walkers and cyclists go in free. Drive back to Pula for the night.

Costs

Use the cost calculator to price fuel and nights for your dates. Croatia has no vignette. The Krk Bridge is free, and the only toll on this route is the Učka tunnel, paid at the booth by cash or card; barrier-free tolling is not expected before 2027. If you drive back from Pula to Rijeka, the Istrian Y motorways (A9 and A8) are tolled as one system. Budget for accommodation, fuel for about 353 km, car rental with a one-way fee if you drop the car in Pula, parking in Rovinj and Motovun, entry to the Euphrasian Basilica and the Pula Arena, and the car fee at Cape Kamenjak in summer.

This trip is also in the free Roadcut trip planner: change the number of days and where you sleep each night, pick your vehicle to see the fuel cost, check the weather on the road, and open each day in Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze.