Porec makes a comfortable base for exploring northern Istria. Bring or rent a car for the inland hill towns; the coast can be done by bus or boat.
The medieval port of Rovinj, 40 minutes south, is the obvious next stop — many travellers prefer its tangled old town to Porec's. Pula and its enormous Roman amphitheatre is an hour away. Inland, the truffle and wine country around Motovun — a hilltop village reached by a long stretch of switchbacks — is the heart of the Istrian interior. The cross-border trip into Slovenia for the Skocjan or Postojna caves is also possible as a long day out.
