A long day at the wheel, but been through some amazing scenery which included the Dolomite mountain range.
We set off from north Austria at 9am, drove into Italy, Slovenia and Croatia arriving at Rovinj for 6.30pm. It was warm as we entered the campsite’s reception where we explained that we would like a pitch for five nights. We made enquiries before our trip, but couldn’t book in advance because we were staying less than one week. As it transpired, the feedback from the campsite at the time was such that we shouldn’t have an issue finding a pitch as it wasn’t high season.
The options were they could allocate us a pitch or we could find one ourselves. My concern was the solar panels having enough light as I like to live on free energy whilst camping and not using electric hook up if we can. Proof of concept and all that :). So we wandered around the campsite looking for the perfect pitch. A couple were in contention , but the one that Mandy was drawn to was in a line of three, newly created pitches overlooking the sea. It was right next to the main coastal road, which I said could potentially cause us issues from a noise point of view, but we committed to the location and we’re pretty happy, although it was narrow.
Our first full day in Croatia was fantastic. Beach lounging, swimming, and in the afternoon a walk into the town of Rovinj. The icing on the cake has been a climb to the top of the church of St. Euphemia. Really proud of Mandy for accompanying me as I know she struggles with heights, but we did it all the same and both really enjoyed it. We had to remind ourselves that since having the campervan, we hadn’t been this close to the equator as all of our holidays had been in the van. We had done some nice travelling don’t get me wrong, but this put us on the beach with crystal clear seas in temperatures of 30+.
Chilling by the ocean 
Church of St. Euphemia 
Last flight to the bell tower (Church of St. Euphemia) 
Sunset over the Adriatic Ocean 
Evening meal at Rovinj harbour side 
Top of the bell tower (Church of St. Euphemia) we made it 🙂 
bottom of the stair case (Church of St. Euphemia) 
photos from the top of the bell tower
On day three our neighbours left for their home in Switzerland and after a brief conversation with the campsite reception we found that their pitch was free for the rest of our stay. It was far bigger than our pitch for just a couple of Euros more per night. This gave us much more sunlight which was also good for the solar panels
Shortly after relocating we were approached by a couple of young Austrian guys who admired the van, and said that they had just setup on the campsite with similar age VW vans. I took a walk over to find they were both pretty rare. One a syncro multivan, the other a panel van that used to be used as a funeral van. Both in excellent condition. I was invited round for cold Austrian beers later that evening, but due to a decision to go paddle boarding sadly this didn’t transpire.
Austria T3 Owner Kevin 
Austria T3 Owner Raphi 
We had committed to a boat trip and were due to be collected at just after 11am. This was to view the 13 Islands close to Rovinj, and immediatly after we were due to head inland via an estuary to visit a local fishing village for an hour, with one final short stop to view some caves late afternoon before heading to port in the evening. This turned out to be a really good day out. We learnt a great deal and it gave us a better perspective of the town of Rovinj and its surrounding locations. Lunch was free as we had subscribed to two trips in succession, which also included wine throughout the duration of both trips. All for 70 euros (£63) for both of us.
In the afternoon of the fifth and final day we took one last walk into Rovinj. We were trying our best to be sensible to seek shade by the narrow streets in the heart of the town. We didn’t feel the need to do another boat trip, but the timing was right when we found ourselves on the harbor for the dolphin spotting, sunset tour. At 10€ each (£8) for two hours on the sea in such idyllic conditions seemed like a nice way to finish our five day stop in this wonderful location. Boy was it worth every penny. We saw dolphins, and although they were distant, we felt strangely humbled.
The following morning we got up knowing that we were moving on, so after breakfast we packed up, went to the local Lidl supermarket for supplies (very prominent throughout Europe), and headed over to our next stop some 2 hours away on the island of Krk.
Note: Currency for Croatia is the Kunar. Accept euros at some of the main attractions and fuel stops, but better to use kunar, or a card that lets you pay in their currency. Halifax Clarity card offers this functionality.
5,Autocamp Porton Biondi
Porton Biondi 1
52210 Rovinj
Croatia
Tel: +385 / 52 / 81 35 57
fax: +385 / 52 / 81 15 09
Mail: portonbiondi@web.de
google maps Coordinates: 45.094922 , 13.641508
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