Never heard of Istria? Well, you will

Istrian cooking takes advantage of many Italian techniques. Along the coast, restaurants serve branzino (sea bass), sogliola (sole), cozze (mussels), vongole (clams) and gamberi (prawns). Locals claim that the seafood tastes better here than elsewhere in the Adriatic and Mediterranean because the feeding grounds along the rocky Istrian coast are so rich.

In the interior of Istria, agritourism has produced excellent restaurants that serve only meals prepared from livestock, produce, wine, cheese and olive oil raised and made within a mile or two of the restaurant. Lamb, goat, beef and chicken grace the tables together with seasonal vegetables and fruit. These meals, made with the freshest of ingredients, are a rare treat.

Here are a handful of suggestions, restaurants and places to stay based on my short visit in May 2006. (The telephone code for Croatia is 00385.)

Getting around

I recommend a car. AutoEurope (800-223-5555) can arrange rental cars for a three-day minimum with pickup in the Istrian towns of Porec, Pula and Umag. Cost is approximately $55 a day for an economy car based on a three-day rental. Comparable automobiles picked up in Italy cost around $70 a day because of required insurance charges. A smaller car is recommended for the narrow Istrian roads. Buses connect most of the main towns in Istria, but the schedules aren’t always convenient and it is difficult to explore the smaller towns once you get off.

Dining

One of the best fish restaurants in Istria is Restaurant Trost in Vrsar, just south of Porec (in the marina, tel. 052-445197).

In the interior, restaurant Agroturizam Stefanic, near Motovun (tel. 052-689026), serves only what the surrounding towns raise, hunt or produce — including the region’s famous truffles. It is the essence of living off the land.

In Rovinj, an affordable restaurant (and one of the oldest in town) is Kanoba Neptun (J. Rakovca 10, tel. 052-816086). It seems the perfect tourist trap, but the fresh fish cooked over wood coals is delectable. The staff hovers over those who are enjoying the succulent fish rather than the tourists wolfing down pizza, bratwurst and the pasta of the day.

Where to stay

Hotel Neptun (tel. 052-465100), right on the docks of Porec, and Hotel Fortuna (tel. 052-465100), set on St. Nikola island only a few hundred yards from Porec, are both good year-round choices. They are part of the Riviera chain.

For accommodations in a private home near Porec, contact the Damjanic family (tel. 052-444553). The daughter speaks good English and they have two wonderful apartments set in the midst of vineyards only about a mile and a half from the sea. If they don’t have room, they will put you in contact with another family that does. The family also produces some of the best wines in Istria.

Guidebooks

I used three guidebooks during my visit to Istria in May: Lonely Planet, The Rough Guide and Frommer’s. The best of the lot for history and description is Lonely Planet. The Rough Guide is a close second, but it lacks detail for some of the smaller towns. Frommer’s guide is uneven; it has excellent descriptions of the main towns and good stories about local sights, but its coverage of the many interior towns runs to platitudes. The three guidebooks are about equal when it comes to hotels, though none prepared me for the excellent design of the coastal hotels, which are not at all the side-by-side tourist high-rises that one too often finds on southern European beaches.

Never heard of Istria? Soon you will, I guarantee it. Istria has already been discovered by many Europeans and it is now moving onto the radar screen of American travelers. It is a beautiful region of Europe, and you shouldn’t miss it.

Charles Leocha is nationally-recognized expert on saving money and the publisher of Tripso. He is also the Boston-based author of "SkiSnowboard America & Canada." E-mail him or visit his Web site. Want to sound off about one of his columns? Try visiting Leocha's forum.

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