Pula Airport to Poreč
About 60 km north; coaches via Rovinj or Vrsar run €12–20, and a transfer is €75–100.
A Roman street grid on a small peninsula, with a sixth-century basilica whose apse mosaics are among the finest Byzantine work outside Ravenna, and a long line of resorts spreading north and south.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Poreč, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from €75). Travelling light on a budget? The bus is cheapest (from €12) but slower, with a change in the city.
What it costs for your group
The bus is charged per person, while a taxi or private transfer is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Bus (per person) | Private transfer | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | €12 | €75 | Bus |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €24 | €75 | Bus |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €48 | €75 | Bus |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Bus | From €12, though slower with a change in the city. |
| Speed & comfort | Private transfer | Door-to-door, fixed price, a driver waiting for you. |
| A group of 3–4 | Transfer or taxi | One flat fare splits cheaper than several bus tickets. |
| A late-night arrival | Transfer or taxi | Both run 24/7 when buses and the tram have stopped. |
By transport mode
Bus / shuttle
An hour and a half with the change. Poreč's bus station is a ten-minute walk from the basilica, and the large resort complexes at Plava and Zelena Laguna are a further local bus or taxi ride south.
Where to catch it: Airport coach to Rovinj or Pula bus station, then a northbound Autotrans service up the coast to Poreč.
Best for solo & budget travellersPrivate transfer
Give the complex name rather than just Poreč — Zelena Laguna, Plava Laguna and Lanterna are several kilometres apart and none of them is in the town.
Where to catch it: Seventy minutes up the peninsula. Most Poreč accommodation is in resort complexes with proper vehicle access, unlike the old towns further south.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsCar rental
Poreč is the northern base for Istria, putting Motovun, Grožnjan and the truffle country within forty minutes — all of it road-only.
Where to catch it: Straightforward drive with parking outside the old town, which is pedestrian.
Best for travellers who want to exploreTaxi
Priced above a pre-booked transfer with less certainty. If you know your arrival time, book ahead instead.
Where to catch it: A long run for this airport; agree the fare in advance.
Best for small groups in a hurryPoreč & Pula in photos
Buying tickets in Pula
Pula's buses run on an unusual clock: departures are set at roughly 30 minutes after each scheduled arrival rather than at fixed times, so the coach you want is tied to your flight number. Two companies operate them, Brioni and FILS. The city shuttle into Pula bus station costs about €6 and takes 20 minutes. The Rovinj service — the one most arrivals need, since Rovinj takes more visitors than Pula does — is €15 booked online and €18 from the driver, about an hour to the Rovinj bus terminal. Booking online saves three euros and, more usefully, guarantees a seat when two flights land together in August. Everywhere else in Istria means changing at Pula or Rovinj onto an Autotrans coastal coach: Poreč about 90 minutes in total, Umag closer to three hours with two changes. The interior — Motovun, Grožnjan, the truffle villages — has no service worth the name.
Taxi scams & safety in Pula
This is a small, seasonal airport with few of the usual problems: fares are published, the coaches are run by established companies, and the taxi rank is straightforward. The thing to plan around is geography rather than money. Istria's old towns — Rovinj, Poreč, Motovun, Grožnjan — are all closed to vehicles, so whatever you arrive in stops at a car park or a gate, and Rovinj in particular is steep, cobbled and stepped once you are inside. Ask your accommodation where cars actually reach before choosing between a €15 coach and a €60 taxi; sometimes the answer makes the coach just as good. Two contractual points: Cape Kamenjak's tracks are unpaved and most rental agreements are unhappy about them, and if you plan to cross into Slovenia from Umag — twenty minutes away — that must be declared to the rental company rather than assumed. Note also that Trieste and Ljubljana airports are closer to northern Istria than Pula is.
Getting from PUL to Poreč
Poreč has a sixth-century basilica with apse mosaics that stand comparison with Ravenna's, and a Roman street grid you can still walk — the decumanus and cardo are the two main streets of the old town. It also has one of the largest concentrations of resort accommodation on the Adriatic strung out for kilometres either side. Both things are true and visitors tend to experience only one of them.
Getting there from PUL
Sixty kilometres north and no direct service. The airport coach to Pula or Rovinj, then a northbound Autotrans coastal bus — about ninety minutes in total and €12–20. A pre-booked transfer takes seventy minutes and costs €75–100.
Say the complex, not the town
This is the practical point. Zelena Laguna, Plava Laguna and Lanterna are resort complexes several kilometres from Poreč itself, each with its own entrance and internal roads. Giving a driver "Poreč" when you are staying at Zelena Laguna adds a taxi ride at the end. The complexes are linked to the town by a tourist train and a passenger boat in season.
The Euphrasian Basilica
Built in the 550s on the site of two earlier churches, and remarkably complete — the basilica, atrium, baptistery and bishop's palace all survive. The apse mosaics are the reason it holds UNESCO status: gold ground, the Virgin enthroned, and a procession of saints in a style that is straight out of Byzantium rather than Rome. The bell tower can be climbed.
The Roman grid
Poreč was Parentium, and its street plan is essentially unchanged — a rectangle on a small peninsula with two main axes crossing at right angles. Walking it takes fifteen minutes. The Marafor square at the western end was the forum and has the remains of two temples beside it.
What the resorts are like
Large, well organised, and built for families and package holidays — pools, sports facilities, pine woods, rocky and concrete swimming platforms rather than sand. They date from the 1970s onward and many have been substantially rebuilt. They are also self-contained, which is either the appeal or the problem depending on what you wanted.
Baredine cave
Fifteen minutes inland, a show cave with five chambers, stalactites and a colony of olm — the blind aquatic salamander found only in this part of Europe. It is a straightforward hour and a reliable wet-weather option.
The truffle country
Motovun, Livade and the Mirna valley are forty minutes east, and that is where the white truffles come from — Istria produces some of the best in Europe and the autumn season is a serious business. There is no bus. This is the argument for a car if you are basing yourself here.
Cycling
The Parenzana is a disused narrow-gauge railway from Poreč to Trieste, converted into a cycling and walking route through tunnels and over viaducts in the Istrian interior. Sections of it are excellent, and bike hire in Poreč is easy.
The evening
The old town fills after six with people coming in from the resorts, and the waterfront restaurants are busy. Prices are higher than in Pula and the standard is variable — the places on the side streets away from the marina do better.
Getting around without a car
Local buses connect the resorts to the town frequently in season and less so outside it. The passenger boat from Zelena Laguna to the harbour is the pleasanter option and runs through the summer. Both stop early enough to matter if you are eating late.
When to come
Poreč is a summer resort town in the fullest sense — much of it closes from November to April, including a good share of the restaurants. May, June and September have the weather without the density.
The Venetian centuries
Poreč was Venetian from 1267 until the republic fell in 1797, and the old town's houses carry the evidence — Gothic and Renaissance windows, a lion of St Mark on the town hall, and the Romanesque house on the decumanus with its exterior wooden balcony. Five hundred years under Venice is also why the local dialect and the food lean Italian rather than Slavic.
