Istria Private Day Trip

We have just come back down to Earth after spending a fantastic week with Sini. He is an amazing guide full of care and consideration for his clients. My sister and I had some mobility issues and he tailored our trips accordingly but not to the detriment of my husband and cousin who could commit to the more rigorous walking of the day. His knowledge of Croatia and it's interesting and varied history is second to none and his stories keep you enthralled and wanting for more. His driving is very safe and his English is excellent. We went on a different day trip each day and spent time learning, sightseeing, eating, laughing and singing. We saw far more of the Istrian area than we thought we would and because of Sini we would love to return soon and visit other places on his recommendation. If you want to experience and learn about Istria and Croatia in general Sini is your man. He really is a hidden gem in himself and we can't wait to meet up with him again. We won't forget you Sini. Thank you so much.

We are a family of 6 persons. Sini picked us up in Rovinj and took us to drop our bags in Motovun. From there we visited the towns of: Groznjan, Oprtalj and Zavrsje. He was great and gave us all good information regarding each place. After that he took us to a very lovely restaurant at the outskirts of Livade. The food was delicious. Don't hestitate and contact Sini for any transportation needs. He will be happy to tailor the trip to your needs. sini@istria-tour.hr (his e-mail) https://www.istria-tours.hr/ (his website)

This was one of the best tours we have ever experienced!! Sini planned the perfect day for us. We saw a wonderful sample of the different areas of the beautiful Istria peninsula. Sini has a superb knowledge of the Croatian history and culture. I would rate him a 10 if I could.

I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this tour and our driver, Sini, to anyone who wants to spend a day in Istria. Sini (sini@istria-tours.hr) was AMAZING! He picked us up at our hotel in Rovinj in his comfortable Mercedes and suggested an itinerary which included a medieval town of Groznjan, beautiful Buje and Motovun, which is THE place for any truffle lover. When we mentioned that we were interested in wine tasting, Sini immediately picked up the phone and set up a wine tasting at Kozlovic Winery which was a delightful experience in a gorgeous setting. The fact that this was a private tour enabled us to move at our own pace and custom tailor it to our particular interests. The entire day was relaxing and unhurried, leaving us with wonderful memories of Istria.

We really enjoyed this day, an extra special memory beyond beach days. I arranged an itinerary beforehand on email and it was full but not exhaustingly so. We had driven ten years ago around Istria in a hire car for a day and very much enjoyed it but I was rather more nervous about doing it this time (you lose nerve as you get older) so took the easy option. There are now parking charges for Groznjan and Motovun and a charge for the Motovun walls which certainly wasn't the case then! Sini picked us up from our apartment in Rovinj at 9 dead on time, and we drove first to Groznjan which we have very fond memories of, and it is still a lovely charming artistic place. Met an artist at work in his studio as well. Some amazing facts and figures on his paintings. Had time to wander before on the road again to a place I was interested in seeing, Zavrsje, which is almost completely abandoned, and a contrast to the other towns. All through the day we enjoyed a near constant stream of conversation on Croatia and Istria plus life generally, Sini has a very dry British type wit and is great company. Zavrsje is well worth a stop. Tiny, one small street through. Abandoned houses all overgrown. Eerie. Very atmospheric and haunting. Then on to Oprtalj which we didn't have time for before on our drive in 2013 to Groznjan, Motovun and Hum. It was smaller than I was expecting! But very sweet and an impressive loggia for the size of the town (meeting place/council building). All through the day by the way there was plenty of time to admire the surrounding countryside which is just amazing. Completely unspoilt, nothing but trees, hills, agriculture, and large skies, hope it stays that way. Nothing at all to spoil views on 3d vistas. Just stunning. We had a sandwich stop in Oprtalj before getting to the Livade forest out of Motovun for our agreed truffle hunting demo with Nikola (think it is right) which was hilarious as well as informative..loved his two dogs as well. If you do this, take insect repellant, we forgot but thankfully Nikola had some! Sini left us to that for 40 minutes before taking us to Motovun, walls included. Had a walk around, yes the views are worth it from those walls and visit tasting olive oil and truffles at a shop. Then a lovely drink at a cafe where we could see the views, and home by way of photo stops at the Limski Canal. Sini is really accommodating in agreeing an itinerary, so get familiar with various towns in a Rough Guide or online before as it is well worth doing detours and less famous places, I will always remember Zavrsje. It was a wonderful day.

We did a 3 day tour of Istria Croatia with Sini. We have been traveling for about a month and have had many your guides. Sini, by far, is the absolute best. He is knowledgeable, kind and patient. He made sure that we not only got the most out of time in Istria but that we did it in a pace that worked for us. We never felt rushed by him and he was always very accommodating. Croatia is a beautiful country and Istria is just special. Spending 3 days is not enough and we will be back. We will definitely be contacting Sini again when we do get back. He made this special place even more welcoming and wonderful. I cannot recommend him enough. Fantastic to work with. Thank you Sini for making this trip so special.

Excellent tour of Rovinj, Motovun and Pula. It was wonderful meeting all of Sini's cousins (lol), and hearing about the history and current events of the area. We had a great day and he got us back to the ship in time!

We went on a fantastic day trip with Sini. With pickup in Opatija and sightseeing of Pula and Rovinj. Sini speaks excellent German and knows a lot about country and people. The tours of Pula and Rovinj were very nice and informative. Excursions with Sini are highly recommended.

We did a day trip with Sini around Istria. We had such a lovely day. Sini is a great guy, he took really good care of us he shared a lot about the places we visited and every place was so beautiful. Lunch with truffel pasta was also great and Sini was really relaxed and flexible adjusting to our pace so we could spend enough time everywhere. I can highly recommend booking a tour with Sini. Thanks for a great day.

If you don’t care about Istria and you only need Wi-Fi, German menus and a free lounger by the pool, then this experience is certainly not obvious. But without such a tour you could have saved yourself the journey to this fabulous piece of earth. We loved the many little stories and the characters that give this landscape its character Be it the giant Dragonja, the Trapp family, the defeated Italian fleet, Sonja with the church key or the unfortunately prevented Marko, whose former courtyard in Grožnjan still looks like a burst paint shop. And also the strange world of truffles has opened up to us a little... Our worldly tour guide Sini, with his open-mindedness and perfect language skills, is the ideal link, whether at the Lim Fjord, in the 'business' at the Štefanic family farm or tasting the truffle specialties in Motovun. In short, a successful day, worth every brighter and it will imprint Istria in our memory. Greetings to everyone we got to know.

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