Porec and Rovinj Croatia

[JKP]

My wife has suggested that we visit Croatia in September. She has been looking at holidaying in the Pula, Porec and Rovinj area. Porec seems to be the favourite. How easy is it to travel by bus along the coast? I have found references to Arriva but these appear to be pre book coach routes and offer only journeys pre 0900, early afternoon and late afternoon in many cases. The cost also looks quite high compared to many routes in the UK and especially for those of us with free bus passes.

Can anyone tell me if Arriva is the sole provider in this area or if there are other operators that don’t have a website presence. Neighbouring Slovenia had a good bus network when we visited there around 8 years ago. This too was run if I recall by Arriva.

 

[nwales58]

I researched Istria, Trieste-Pula-Rijeka a while ago but have not been yet.

www.putovnica.net are a Croatian online agent showing multiple operators but I don’t know how comprehensive they are. They show 4-5 services per day along the coast. The main interurban operator seems to be Autotrans who are indeed an Arriva subsidiary. East of Pula there is also Brioni. Flix run long distance services Pula-Trieste but they may not take local traffic.

Given the geography and economy I would not be surprised if regional buses were little more than morning and evening. It’s not like the economy along the coast around Rijeka.

 

[MrMaz]

As someone who’s spent an extortionate amount of time in Poreč, I can tell you that September (especially mid) is probably the best time of year to visit! Weather is still good but tends to get a lot quieter. Just be wary that if you’re planning on going in late September, a lot of the good restaurants will have closed for the season. Try to coincide your visit with the Tunalicious Festival, it’s fantastic!

As for coaches, Arriva are the main operator and the service frequency is pretty low. Nomago Intercity are another operator that are decent, and Brioni also run some services. There’s the odd Flixbus too.

If you’re planning to do a lot of exploring of Istria rather than staying put mostly, I’d look at car rentals too as it gives you a lot more flexibility (especially to go inland, which is worth it).

Happy to answer any other questions!

 

[JKP]

As someone who’s spent an extortionate amount of time in Poreč, I can tell you that September (especially mid) is probably the best time of year to visit! Weather is still good but tends to get a lot quieter. Just be wary that if you’re planning on going in late September, a lot of the good restaurants will have closed for the season. Try to coincide your visit with the Tunalicious Festival, it’s fantastic!

As for coaches, Arriva are the main operator and the service frequency is pretty low. Nomago Intercity are another operator that are decent, and Brioni also run some services. There’s the odd Flixbus too.

If you’re planning to do a lot of exploring of Istria rather than staying put mostly, I’d look at car rentals too as it gives you a lot more flexibility (especially to go inland, which is worth it).

Happy to answer any other questions!

Many thanks both for your replies. I suspected that overall frequencies of routes was low. It sounds as though hiring a car for a few days might be the best option. We were looking at going first week in September so hopefully will not be too busy and that the weather will be kind.