TRAVEL GUIDE
5 MIN
Istrias
Some of these beaches are famous. Some are known only to the people who live nearby and would prefer to keep it that way. All of them are worth the drive, and none of them will disappoint.
Cape Kamenjak
The land at the southern tip of Istria just runs out - cliffs, pine scrub, thirty kilometres of coastline with no hotels, no lounger rentals, no one trying to sell you anything. You pay €15 at the gate, drive down a gravel track, and walk until a cove appears. The water is the kind of turquoise that looks edited. It isn't. Safari Bar is built into the cliff at Mala Kolombarica - bamboo and shade and cold wine with the sea directly below. Order the sardines. Stay longer than you planned. Go early. In August, by noon, you'll be sharing it.
Crveni Otok (Red Island), Rovinj
The boat from Rovinj takes fifteen minutes. By the time you arrive, the town behind you looks like something off a postcard - the spire rising above the old buildings, the sea pale and flat in the morning light. The island is pine forest and rocky coves and near-total quiet. No cars, no roads. The southern beach has sunbeds and a playground; walk ten minutes and the crowds disappear entirely, replaced by clear water and fish going about their business.
Hawaii Beach, Pula
Down a stone staircase cut into the cliff, through pine trees, and there it is - a pebble cove tucked between rocks, the sea a deep turquoise. It got its name from the waves that arrive with the Jugo wind, turning this quiet corner into something with genuine force. Most days it's calmer than that, and better for it. The steps and pebbles make it less suited to young children. For everyone else, it's one of the more memorable swims in Istria.
Bijeca, Medulin
One of Istria's very few sandy beaches - actual sand, over a kilometre of it, with water so shallow you can wade out almost endlessly. In the early morning it has a quiet, unhurried quality. By midday in August it's considerably busier. Come in June and you'll have it nearly to yourself.
Lanterna, near Poreč
Sandy in parts, sheltered, calm - and within a resort, which means parking is easy and everything you need is within reach. It won't be the beach you talk about when you get home. There are days, usually involving small children and a long drive, when that's entirely the right call.