2024 Crossroads of the Adriatic - Day #16 - Istrian Peninsula

Day 14 Opatija • Optional Hill Towns of Istria tour

• Destination: Opatija
• Included Meals: Breakfast
• Accommodations: Hotel Admiral or similar

Breakfast: Included at the hotel.

Morning: Today you have the entire day free to explore Opatija at your leisure. Perhaps you’ll opt to spend the day relaxing, or take a stroll along a section of the famous Lungomare, a 7.5-mile-long waterfront promenade linking Opatija with Lovran, another small resort town dotted with aristocratic villas and manicured gardens.

Or, you may join our optional Hill Towns of Istria tour, featuring some of the hilltop villages and towns that surround the region. Those taking this tour will drive to Motovun—one of the region’s 136 medieval hill towns, where we’ll drive to the top of the city’s hill. Here, we’ll disembark to walk through town with a local guide, culminating at a family-owned truffle shop where we’ll learn about these local delicacies from one of the owners who will offer us a taste as well. After our shop visit, we’ll have some free time to enjoy the shops and cafés of Motovun on our own.

Then, we’ll depart Motovun and drive to the town of Hum, the next stop on our optional tour.

Lunch: For those not joining our optional tour, lunch is on your own. Your Trip Experience Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Travelers who take our optional tour will enjoy lunch at a local restaurant in Hum, included in the cost of the tour.

Afternoon: For those who did not take the optional tour, continue your free time in Opatija. This afternoon, you may wish to visit St. Jacob’s Church, or wander through the historic Volosko neighborhood.

Travelers who take our optional tour will continue their explorations in Hum after lunch. With your Trip Experience Leader, you’ll explore the town on a guided tour, featuring local landmarks such as St. Jerome’s Chapel, whose interior contains a series of original medieval frescoes that date back as far as the twelfth century. You’ll also visit a local shop for a taste of handmade rakija (fruit brandy) and jam before driving back to your hotel in Opatija.

Dinner: On your own. Opatija is famous for its fresh seafood, so perhaps you’ll sample it tonight. Ask your Trip Experience Leader for suggestions.

Evening: The rest of the evening is yours to rest, relax, or continue exploring the coastal sights of Opatija.

Up at 6:00 am, my plan was to use the fitness center for an upper body workout. The door was locked. I checked back at 6:30 am and it was still locked. Stopping at the front desk to ask when it opened, they said it would be unlocked at 8:00 am!?! I ended up doing a bodyweight workout in the room.

After breakfast at the buffet in the hotel, we boarded the bus at 8:30 am. The plan for the day was exploring the Istrian Peninsula. As we were leaving Opatija, the local guide noted that we are only two and a half hours from Venice.

The first stop was meeting truffle hunter Nikola Tarandek for a truffle hunting demontration. Nikola had two mix breed dogs. He led the group a short distance into the forest looking for truffles. Not finding any, on the way back, Nikola had Paul go ahead of group and hide two truffles for the dogs to find. The dogs quickly found those. As he was talking about the dogs finding the planted truffles, the younger dog started digging furiously near the stream. He found a white truffle.


After the demonstration, we headed to the hilltop city of Motovun. Leaving the big bus behind, we took a shuttle bus up into the city. We did a walking tour that included the Church of St. Stephen and walking the well-preserved medieval walls. Along the way, we stopped at Bencic Truffles and tasted a number of products, including a variety of chocolates, salt and olive oil. After the walking tour, we had some free time in the city. Sharon bought a couple of prints and some truffle powder.


From Motovun, we headed to Hum for lunch. The Guinness World Records has listed Hum as the world's smallest town. Just as we pulled into town, it started to pour rain. We had lunch at HUMSKA KONOBA. Eating family style, we had soup, salad and two types of pasta. The penne pasta with truffles with good.

After lunch, we toured the Church of St. Jerome and walked fairly quickly through the Museum of Hum Aura with audio guides. We finished with a brandy tasting.


We were back at the hotel about 4:45 pm. Getting cleaned up, Holly, Van, Sharon and I took an Uber to Plavi Podrum. This is a Michelin rated restaurant.

All four of us had the Local Luxury course menu. It included:

• KVARNER CUTTLE-FISH SALAD [cuttle-fish, melon, dehydrated black olive powder];
• FOIS-GRAS STUFFED WITH SCAMPI [figs with Cassis];
• A PAIR OF KVARNER SCAMPI TAILS [bisque, parsnip cream, Granny Smith];
• MONK-FISH WELLINGTON [shrimp mousse, mushrooms, carrot]; and,
• LEMON [Valrhona Ivoire white Chocolate, lemon, poppy seeds, pistachios].

The food and the wine pairings were very good. This may be the best meal of the trip.

Catching an Uber back to the hotel, Sharon and I crashed just after 10:00 pm.