Driving through the Balkans (4): Zadar to Portoroz (and around), and back

Itinerary (1)
Kranjska Gora (Slovenia) (2)
Zadar (Croatia) (3)

Portoroz is a quiet seaside resort along the coastline of Slovenia (which is very short, about 46 kms). The towns here make up the Slovenian Riviera, small but quite charming. Many of Slovenia's rich come here regularly, and you can see it in the feel of the place. And both Italy and Croatia are less than half an hour’s drive from here.

Rovinj

We spent 6 nights in and around Portoroz, exploring the Istrian region. It was a small town and it had been tough to find a good airbnb there. We mostly visited coastal towns nearby, like Piran and Izola in Slovenia, Rovinj and the wine region in Croatia, and Trieste in Italy. All these places felt different yet similar. September was already a quiet period as it was post summer, so it felt like slow heaven everywhere.

And we mostly took it easy, walking around, eating, listening to local music and enjoying the sunsets around. The weather was not helpful though as it had gotten cold and rainy by then. My favourite days were our visit to the town of Rovinj and the day in Kabola winery. I must say though, I found the first two weeks of our vacation definitely better than this part.


Day 14: Exploring the town of Rovinj (1 hour drive)

Our first day, it was raining all morning, so we started our day late after 2 pm. Given the long summer evenings, we still got enough time to explore around. As our airbnb in Portoroz was very close to the border, we planned to go south to the Croatian town of Rovinj. We reached the border within 10 mins, and thankfully remembered in time that we needed our passports when crossing between Slovenian and Croatian borders. So we were able to go back to our airbnb and get our passports. 

The drive to Rovinj first goes past the salt pans near Pororoz, where salt is produced. They are huge fields where sea water is evaporated. Past the saltlands, we drove through green rural areas, with some scenic towns on the way.

Rovinj

When we reached Rovinj, we were blown away by our first view of the town. It's a small town on a raised peninsula, surrounded by the sea on three sides. There were boats and yachts moored all around. And all the warm toned coastal houses on the peninsula made for a great view. Most of them were in pastel colours, shades of yellow, orange and pink. When we reached the town waterfront, we saw loads of activities being advertised, including dolphin tours. We however kept walking along the waterfront and reached the pier which allows one a nice view of the whole town.

We slowly started walking up towards the main church. We first stopped for snacks at a restaurant on the sea, Ascora. The views from there were outstanding. As we made our way through the old town, we passed through its winding streets full of activity. There were shops with beautiful clothes, art, handicrafts and other interesting things to buy. And musicians playing relaxing music on the streets. As the sun started to set by then, it all felt so magical - I think this is when I realised I liked this town 😀.

Sunset at Rovinj

As we kept walking, we saw 100s of people sitting along the rocks next to the sea, waiting for sunset. As there were clouds in the sky, the sunset that day was magnificent, with all shades of orange, red and purple in the sky. We hiked all the way up to the church on top which gave a nice view of the town and many islands around.

When we came down to the town square, there was a concert going on in the main area. And loads of crowds around. We stopped again now in the main square to have dinner at Atlas. We could hear the concert playing in the background while eating. The vibe there was great. It was nice to eat outdoors too. It was soon time to go back and we suddenly realised that the day was over, just like that. We don't know what we did all day other than walk around soaking the feel of the place, but we enjoyed the experience a lot.


Day 15: Exploring Piran and Portoroz

Breakfast with a view

We spent the day exploring both Portoroz and Piran. They are towns very close to each other, barely 20 mins apart. Piran is a historical town while Portoroz seems like a new resort town right next to Piran. The views all around of the charming towns was just so serene. We loved our meals in the airbnb balcony, with views of these towns around, rains and cold permitting of course.

We first went to Portoroz marina and walked along the waterfront crossing all of Portoroz. We made our way past hotels, resorts, restaurants, malls, yacht clubs, salt warehouses and other tourist buildings all the way. The whole waterfront felt quite upmarket and posh. It was barely a 5 kms walk to Piran all along the sea, but we decided to eat first on the water front and then drive to Piran. So we had lunch at Lanmar Portoroz. The food was quite average, with limited fish options available and not tasty either.

Piran

After lunch, we drove to Piran and walked around. It was another nice seafront town, with boats moored all around, sun washed houses, narrow streets, restaurants and the church on top. We circled all around the town, and could even see Italy across the bay. We hiked up to the church and got a panoramic view of the town around. We could see all the way till Italy and Croatia, with the lights twinkling along the sea. We saw some fort ruins on one of the mountains around. We could also see the whole town spread out around us, with the orange roofs spread out as far as the eyes could see. The view reminded me of a smaller version of Dubrovnik.

Piran at night

We walked down the hill to the main square, as the lights all around started lighting up. The town was not too crowded though. We stopped at a local cafe and ate the famous local cake, the S'Torta. It was a bit underwhelming though. As was the town. Rovinj felt a lot more buzzing than Piran. As we were walking around, it started raining again, so we ran to our car and didn't explore the town more.


Day 16: Trip to Trieste (Italy) (40 mins away)

The next day we visited a city in Italy (quite interesting that every day we would drive to a new country 😂). My friend was flying back from Trieste, so we drove there and explored the place before she flew out. Even though it was so close, we could feel a stark difference between Slovenia and Italy. In the architecture, in the driving, and definitely in the food.

On the way to Trieste, we stopped at a mall in Koper for the supercharger. It was quite a nice mall and we saw such stylish clothes in the shops there, we already knew we had reached Italy ☺️. And then there was the chaotic traffic when we got close to Trieste. People were honking on the streets, not following traffic rules and driving rashly. We were clearly in Italy!!

Walking through Trieste

Trieste city was quite huge and spread out. We had to drive quite a bit to get to the station. From there, we first walked to the city centre. It was full of imposing buildings - ornate offices and elegant palazzos - something we hadn’t seen in the last 2.5 weeks as we hadn't visited any city for a while. Though we could see hills in the background and felt that nature was close. We explored the local streets for a while, checking out the shops and enjoying the sun. It was a sunny day but the weather had turned extremely windy. So it wasn't as comfortable as I would have wanted it to be.

Trieste

There were a few canals in Trieste too, and the buildings around them were built in typical Italian style architecture. In fact some of the areas arount the canals looked straight out of Venice. We strolled through the high streets, near the canals, the waterfront, and explored the shops and restaurants there. The city was quite interesting, it had Italian, Austrian and Slovenian influences everywhere. But it felt quite chaotic and dirty, also a lot less safe than Slovenia and Croatia.

After all the walking around, I had an italian lunch in the sun, at Al Barattolo, a highly rated restaurant. Lunch took 2 hours to finish, it really felt like an Italian lunch. The restaurant was located in a closed street, so the wind was limited and it felt warmer to be outside. And the food was so tasty, after such a long time! It’s interesting how just being 30 mins away in Italy made such a difference to the food quality and taste. I loved the lunch there.

But I think I had had my fill of the craziness of a city already. While driving back, I almost felt happy to leave Italy and its chaos behind, to go back to my small little Slovenian town, Portoroz. With quiet around, nature everywhere and few people. It’s interesting how a few days in the countryside does to someone. Back in Portoroz, I recorded the sunset with timelapse on my phone, for the first time. And it came out quite dramatic.


Day 17: Sunset at Izola (20 mins away)

My last two days in Portoroz were lazier than usual, a lot more of just being than doing something new all the time. Today was a bit warmer than other days, so I spent the first half of the day swimming along the Portoroz waterfront. The water was fine to swim but a bit coolish. It still felt amazing to swim in the open sea here in such serene and pristine surroundings, with a stunning landscape in the background.

Izola from afar

In the evening, I drove to one of the towns we had seen while driving to Trieste but hadn't visited yet, Izola. It looked stunning from afar, a small spot of red along the water. I must say all these Istrian towns were quite atmospheric but they had started looking similar to me by now 😂. Izola was again a small touristy seaside town along the coast, with colourful houses, a small church on the hillside, loads of boats along the water, nice beaches and locals playing street music. People around the town were just sitting and chilling, so I did the same.

Izola at sunset

I walked along the marina and stopped at a restaurant on the beach to eat while enjoying the stunning sunset in the sea. Somehow the place was less crowded than the other towns, and I enjoyed the calmness here. And of course, I didn't mind it either, after the craziness of Trieste the day before. It was a short stop in this town but a nice quiet one. While driving back I noticed that the entire Istrian coast sparkles at nigh, dotted with all the villages and towns along the coast. It was quite a sight to experience at night.


Day 18: Visit to Kabola winery (Croatia) (20 mins away)

On my last day in Slovenia, I spent the first half of the day walking along the Portoroz marina, while waiting for my car to be washed. It was a long row of hotels, shops and restaurants along the marina including some luxury ones like the Kempinski right next to the water. There were some casinos too! I walked past some of the residential areas, and most of the houses there looked like holiday homes, they were simple but also posh.

Croatian Tuscany

After the car wash, I drove out towards Croatia towards a region known as Croatian Tuscany. It's a place away from the sea with small hills dotted with vineyards. The road to get there was a bit rough in places, and felt very remote. Until I came across row after row of vineyards in this very green part of the country. It was a picturesque valley, lined with vineyards everywhere. And even though I had driven only 20 mins from Portoroz, I felt I had come to a different world altogether.

Kabola chalet

A friend had suggested a few places to visit, and I stopped at the first of those wineries I came by - Kabola winery. In the end, I ended up spending all my time there. There was a small chalet with a very limited menu of cheese and meat. I tried the food and as I was the only customer for a while, I spoke to the waiter to learn about the place. He was Croatian and sounded very proud of his country. He had worked in many countries but kept coming back as he said Croatia was extremely safe. The downside was it was quite corrupt and wasn't very welcoming to immigrants. It’s also apparently a 100% Catholic country.

He also shared that this year they had had three months of no rain, which affected the wine harvest that year. Though we got all that rain in September while we were there 😂. Even though it was a quiet day that day, he said it was mostly Americans who visited the wineries here. He talked for so long that I felt guilty about not buying much. So I also bought a few olive oil bottles from there, one of the tastiest olive oils I have ever had. Overall, it was a relaxed day and I enjoyed it. The drive back to Portoroz was scenic again, through green hills with some orange roofed houses. It was a pleasure to explore the area for one last time.

View from our airbnb

Finally today evening was not that cold, so I managed to sit outside my airbnb for a little while to enjoy the sun going down, and the lights coming up slowly. It was a gorgeous view, and seeing it at night was even better when it wasn’t cold. Sadly, this only happened on the last day of the trip.

Overall, I had a nice time in Istria, all the towns were quite picturesque. My favourites from this part of the trip were the town of Rovinj and the day in the vineyards of Croatia. But overall, I wasn’t very impressed.


Day 19: Drive back (7.5 hours) from Portoroz to Greding (Germany) with lunch stop in Radstadt (Austria); night stay in Greding

And just like that it was time to go back. I was planning to visit Munich and Salzburg on the way, but then decided to just finish the drive back to Amsterdam over two long days of driving. The first day, the initial drive was through green areas on the Alps foothills. The mountains seemed so majestic all around but I seemed to be driving around them for a long time. Then I drove a bit through the Italian Alps which were great, the driving not so much. I also stopped at a supercharger in the middle of the mountains near an abandoned mall! There were some shops there but not many, it felt weird.

Austrian valleys

Then I entered Austria and mostly drove through the Alps there. The mountains were gorgeous, paintings in green, and it was a pleasure to drive through them. I mostly drove on highways with charming villages on the sides. There was some snow on the far-off peaks, but most of the drive felt like late summer. The landscape all around was so stunning, it kept me entertained on the long drive. In fact, I wanted to stop at every turn and didn't even realise how the long drive flew past.

Lunch view in Radstadt

For lunch, again I stopped at a random town called Radstadt. I had lunch at the Stegerbrau hotel with a magnificent view of the valley below. After that, I wandered around the high street which had typical Austrian architecture. But it was totally empty. And the views from everywhere in town were just magnificent. Somehow in Austria, even pit stops feel like perfect paintings, such a beautiful country it is.

After Radstadt, I got stuck in traffic for an hour. But the views were so engaging all around, I didn’t mind it much. From Austria, I drove into Bavaria which had smaller hills, but still green. And the villages were also less dramatic here than Austria. Also the drive felt so different, I feel I took a different route this time than the way to Slovenia.

For the night, I had picked a random small town on the way, Greding to stay at. I reached there around 9:30 pm and checked into the hotel, Hotel Bayernhof. It was a small old style hotel, where I got a physical key for the room! And the staff closed the doors after I checked in, and left, at 10 pm!

Greding at night

Which should not have surprised me so much. After check-in, I went out into the town for a stroll. It was a nice little place with pretty buildings, a town centre, and strong town walls all around. Though there was not a soul out at 10 pm! In fall time! Everything was shut - shops, restaurants, even hotels - and all the residents were asleep. It felt like a ghost town.

Even my hotel had no staff to do anything at that time 😂. This was quite an interesting experience for me, as we city people always assume things will be open late, but places in remote places don’t work like that apparently.


Day 20: Drive back (7.5 hours) from Greding (Germany) to Amsterdam

I had liked Greding at night but felt too scared to explore it given there was not a single soul in sight! So I decided to explore it in the morning, and it turned out to be a pretty Bavarian town, with a lot more hulchul during the day. Many cafes were open, people were sitting in the squares and sunning themselves. It felt nice.

Greding through the gate

There were three churches in town, I walked up to one of them and it turned out to be quite a simple one. There were so many old people tending to the garden in the cemetery there. When I saw that, I thought to myself, there are some joys of living (and dying) in the same town or village for generations.

And then I was off, on my way back home to Amsterdam. This last day of the drive was quite boring. The landscape was mostly the green fields in the plains of Germany, which don't offer much variation. So I just drove continuously without many stops.

I stopped at a supercharger in Geiselwind, it felt like such a modern and cool one. The town looked pretty too. Then I stopped at another supercharger where I had a Subway lunch. The drive was green, though quite flat once I entered the Netherlands. I think it quickly got me out of my holiday mood, and I just drove on without breaks. Thankfully there were no delays today.

The stark difference from where I started, the green hills of Bavaria to the flatlands of Netherlands, was quite unmissable. Though after weeks of travel, I did welcome the simplicity and orderliness of my home in the Netherlands. It had been a great three weeks in the Balkans. I loved the experience of driving there, and exploring those areas. And looking forward to more visits, soon.