Where to stay in Poreč: which area suits you

Old town and peninsula: short distances, more bustle

The old town sits on a peninsula which, according to the Poreč Tourist Board, is about 400 metres long and 200 metres wide, with the Roman street grid of the Decumanus and Cardo Maximus largely preserved. The basilica, the harbour and restaurants are right on your doorstep. You can stay in small hotels and suites: Valamar, for example, runs the Jadran Heritage Hotel and the Riviera Hotel on the old town waterfront and Villa Ulixes on the Decumanus. There are also a few private apartments, for example on the Decumanus.

In the evening it gets lively: according to the tourist board, on summer nights the music of numerous clubs, bars and cafés follows you from Trg Slobode to the town waterfront. You can walk to the beach, north of the old town to the beach in Peškera Bay, or on the southern shore to the municipal bathing area Gradsko kupalište, which extends to Brulo. A boat takes you across to Sveti Nikola island.

If you come by car, check in advance where it will be parked. On-street parking is divided into three zones, and rates and parking duration depend on the zone and season. There are also car parks with barriers, such as the Large City Car Park near the market with 750 spaces.

The north: hotel beaches on the coast, residential areas behind

From the centre, the 500 m promenade Obala 154. brigade Hrvatske vojske, with separate lanes for pedestrians and cyclists, leads north. Along the coast come Borik, Pical, Špadići and Materada, with several hotel complexes by the water: Pical Resort with 514 accommodation units, according to the Istria Tourist Board a few minutes’ walk from the historic centre, the Valamar Parentino Hotel, the Valamar Collection Marea Suites and Plava Laguna’s Hotel Materada. There is also the campsite Boutique Camping Materada Beach.

Behind the coast lie residential areas. Finida, for example, is planned by the City of Poreč as a residential neighbourhood; on OpenStreetMap it lies north-east of the old town. In the residential streets of the north you will find private apartments; Špadići and Materada come up again and again as addresses in the Istria Tourist Board’s listings.

Donji Špadići, according to the Istria Tourist Board about 2 km north of the centre, has the Blue Flag in 2026, as do Borik and Val Marea. Val Marea is one of the few sandy beaches in Poreč, and the tourist board calls Materada Sjever a popular destination for families. It is not completely quiet here either: the hotel beaches have beach bars, and the Marea Suites have a beach club.

The south: Brulo, Plava Laguna and Zelena Laguna

In Brulo, where Gradsko kupalište ends, you will find for example the Valamar Diamant Hotel, according to the operator about a ten-minute walk from the old town. According to the Istria Tourist Board, you can reach Brulo beach, which has the Blue Flag in 2026, on foot, by bike or by the tourist train.

Further south are the Plava Laguna resorts. Plava Resort, with hotels, apartments and villas, is a 20-minute walk south of Poreč according to the operator. Zelena Resort, on a green peninsula a few kilometres south, offers hotels and apartments; from there you can take the tourist train or the boat into town. So in the south, holiday apartments are also found within the resorts themselves.

Of the ten campsites listed by the Poreč Tourist Board, five are in Funtana, including Zelena Laguna and Bijela Uvala, and two in Tar-Vabriga. Bellevue, about 2 km from town, is mostly rocky, and the Zelena Laguna campsite beach, about 5 km from the centre, has a naturist area. The south suits you if you are looking for a hotel or camping holiday with a beach nearby and see the old town more as an outing.

Inland villages and Červar Porat

The City of Poreč also includes inland villages with their own local committees, such as Baderna, Fuškulin, Nova Vas, Varvari and Žbandaj. Many of the holiday homes and villas listed for Poreč by the Istria Tourist Board are located there or in Kukci, Mugeba and Dračevac. You stay in the countryside; for the beach and the old town, it is best to plan on using a car.

In the north lies Červar Porat, according to the tourist board a tourist resort with Poreč’s northernmost marina. The tourist board describes its pebble beach as ideal for families with children, and the Istria Tourist Board lists numerous private accommodation options here too.

What to consider when choosing

A few questions help before you send an enquiry or book:

• Walking times: ask for the actual walking time to the beach and the old town. “By the sea” can mean right on the shore or a few streets back.
• Parking: in the centre you pay depending on the zone and season, at a machine or by text message. Ask whether a private parking space is included. More in Getting to Poreč.
• Quiet or bustle: around Trg Slobode and on the town waterfront there is music on summer evenings. If you go to bed early, look for a residential street away from it.
• Beach: sand is the exception in Poreč; mostly you will find rock, pebbles and paved sunbathing areas. More in Poreč beaches.
• Hotel or holiday apartment: hotels offer service and an on-site restaurant, while a self-catering apartment with a kitchen lets you cook for yourselves and live at your own pace.

Our own offer: Villa Matea in the north of Poreč

Finally, our own offer, so you can judge it for yourselves. Villa Matea is a private house in a quiet residential street in the north of Poreč, at Ul. 43. istarske divizije 2. The nearest beach is about a 10-minute walk to the north, in the Špadići area according to OpenStreetMap, and the old town is a 15 to 20-minute walk. The location map shows where the house is.

The house has three apartments: Dina, 50 m² for up to four guests with a private terrace; Matea, 50 m² for up to four guests with two balconies and access to the garden; and Veronika, 40 m² for up to three guests on the top floor, with two bathrooms. Each apartment has a kitchen, dishwasher, washing machine, air conditioning, free Wi-Fi and its own free private parking space in the enclosed courtyard. Guests share the garden with barbecue.

Your host Zlatko speaks Croatian, German, Italian and English. Prices start from 70 € per night, and your enquiry involves no payment. If you want to stay right by the water, the hotel complexes on the coast will suit you better; if you are looking for a quiet holiday apartment with a garden, here are the three apartments at a glance.