Premantura: a stunning oasis in Istria

Even though I live relatively close by, this was my first time, and I must say that, although I had received many positive comments about it, it surprised me unexpectedly even more! Beautiful sea, tranquillity and little or no chaos from tourist resorts. We set off by car from Udine at 5.30, and by 6.15 we had already found a bit of a queue at the first border, the Slovenian one, where we avoided paying the 35-euro vignette (valid six months --> the only smaller denomination) that is compulsory if you use motorways and fast roads. In fact, if you go via Trieste following the signs for Rabuiese, you automatically enter the 'ring road', even if only for 100 metres, because then you can exit and take the urban road as far as Koper.

The trick is to take the direction for Muggia at the junction, where there is a small border crossing that puts you onto normal urban roads; from there you come out at Ankaran (if I remember rightly) and then always follow the yellow signs indicating Koper or Pula. At a certain point you'll find yourself forced to take the fast road signposted Koper, but just before entering it there is the direction to the right for Sant Anton (or something of the sort); once you take that, you're safe and you reach the border without having to buy the vignette. We stayed one night in a hostel in Pula that had small bungalows with 2 bunk beds, a bathroom with shower and air conditioning, paying about 23 euros with breakfast included; it's nothing special, but for one night it's more than fine!! I'll leave the link: Pula was our starting base, since it offers many hostels, hotels, etc.

From there in the morning we moved to the Premantura nature reserve, which is about 5 or 6 km away. At the entrance to the oasis you pay a toll of 20 kuna, which is about 5 euros, and the reserve is all yours; there are many bays and places in the midst of nature to visit, and even though there are lots of visitors, you really don't notice their presence because there are just as many bays, inlets and little beaches, always different. In the centre of the little village there's a currency exchange open for many hours, better than in Pula, even though for emergencies there are the casinos that exchange at slightly higher rates. I recommend everyone to go there at least once in their life!!