Yes folks, the 6th biggest preserved Roman amphitheatre in the world is just a 2 hour drive from the Lodge!

As if you didn't have enough secret places to have to choose from, this massive arena in Pula.. Istria.. Croatia is a must see treasure in this part of the world!

Pula sits at the base of an area called Istria, which is part in Slovenia and part in Croatia. By far the bigget attraction here is the amphitheatre, but there is a quaint old town, with narrow streets, old gates, cafes and restaurants.

Of course some of our guests are heading up to us from Pula or the other way, so it is still worth checking this page to see some places where you maybe stop off at along the way!

But it's also perfectly possible to come down here from the Lodge and choose from several different routes, depending on what you want to see, but the trip would be a roundtrip, with Pula as the main destinaton.

We came directly down via Slovenian Istria, by Portoroz and koining a motorway that whizzes you into Croatia and down to Pula.

This is probably not a trip to do in July or August as the Istrian peninsula is completely full of tourists, but other times in the year, this is a great idea for a day out.

So maybe hang out in Pula, see the amphitheatre, relax in the old towm, have a wander around and then decide what you do for the rest of the day!

Pula has a very wiggly coast, so there are miles and miles of little inlets that have an island feel about them and lots of places where you couldd stop off and enjoy time by the sea.

But there are places to stop off at if you head back up the east side towards Rijeka, for example the lovely little hill top village of Labin, with little cobbled streets and great views.

If you come back this way then the landscape changes into curvy mountaineous road and we very much recommend parking at the bottom of the old town in Rabac and walking up to explore the town and buildings on the hill. The pretty coastal town of Rabac is not far from Labin, but we would think this is a place that is vert busy and crowded in the season, so maybe visit in the off season.

There is a cut around before Rijeka that brings you to Mt Ucka 1,396m with great views and then you can pop back up into Slovenia maybe via the fortress church that is known as Hrastovlje.

So this is the route and the stops that we would take for the day.. Pula, Labin, Rabac, but there are absolutley numerous choices for stop offs depending on what you like to see or do.

For example there are 3 more very pretty hilltop villages closer to Slovenia with similar AND completely different features to Labin to choose from, being Buzet, Motovun and Groznjan! Or maybe you could visit one of these on the way down to Pula in the morning?