End of April and beginning of May are packed with public holidays and in if you combine them with personal leave, you can have a great mini vacation. We try to escape from everyday routine whenever is possible and this year we decided for a nearby location by the sea. The idea was to spend our time outside, enjoying fresh air, sun, Mediterranean climate and have some great time biking. Istrian peninsula, Croatia, looked like the perfect location for us.
We booked a mobile home in a nice campsite between Novigrad and Umag. We love this kind of accommodation, since it gives you a comfortable stay but you are still in close contact with nature.
From the campsite, either if you go north or south, you have a charming coastal cycling route (a combination of cycling paths and secondary roads).
The sun was caressing us as we were cycling on our way to Umag, luckily it wasn’t that hot and from time to time a fresh, almost chilly, wind gently blew from the sea. It is a very easy, plain terrain, mostly along the sea shore, so we had nice views of the sea almost all the time of our ride.
If you need a rest or a fresh drink, you will easily find it in one of the beach bars along the path.
Our ride brought us to Umag, a popular tourist resort and charming town, located in the north of Istria, not far from the Slovenian border. A summer residence for nobility already in Roman times, today is a very popular destination for tourist from neighbouring countries, but also from other countries.
Umag, together with other small vacation villages, like Zambratija and Savudrija is a great location for seaside vacation offering many great accommodation facilities, options for active holiday and excursions around the whole peninsula. As I’ve already mention in one of my previous post, Istria is a perfect location also for foodies, offering excellent cuisine, gastronomic products, like olive oil and truffles, and is also the region of great wines.
Personally, I prefer Istria in off season (between September and May) since later one it can be quite crowded. Also, I’m not a fan of the sea in this part of Croatia, the beautiful beaches and crystalline waters are found southern in Croatia.
The Old Town of Umag is small, but cute. The history of the town centre goes back to ancient times, and as mentioned, it was a popular resort in the Roman times. The town walls and towers, that are still visible, date back to Roman times, but as walking along the town you will immediately notice also a strong Venetian imprint.
I really like the picturesque seaside promenade with old stone houses and many cosy restaurants overlooking the sea. A perfect location for a lunch or dinner based on fish menu.
The main square, Trg Slobode, is certainly the main location that you can’t miss. The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary with its freestanding church tower St. Pellegrinus dominates on the square.
We had a walk around the town, took a quick look on the small shops and vendors along the sea front and made a coffee stop in one of the numerous cafes.
Since we had a full day at disposal we continued our ride a little bit further north, towards Stella Maris Resort. Passing few hotels in the outskirts of Umag we arrived into nicely arranged resort, with a large bay, looking almost like a lake.
There were some nice villas (apartments) located in the resort, and we were already planning our next vacation😊.
We made our way back to the camp site taking the same route. The last stop was at a nice beach bar, in the pleasant shadow of the pines and overlooking the sea. A glass of chilled sparkling wine was a perfect closure of a perfect day.
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