Magical Croatian city Rovinj

Rovinj - Great destination for luxury yacht charter Croatia

Have you seen this town before? She is Rovinj/Rovigno, one of the prettiest ports on the Adriatic and home to some of the friendliest people we have ever encountered. While sitting down for pre-dinner cocktails overlooking the bay, the 72-meter luxury charter yacht O’Pari III motored slowly into port, coming alongside the main town quay where she spent the early part of the night bouncing jazz numbers off the walls of Rovinj’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed old town… and entertaining crowds of onlookers, ourselves included.

The story of Istria comes floating across the table, where we dine on fresh mussels and deep-fried calamari in the company of our host, who lives here in Rovinj, and who tells us that Istria is now making a big splash on the international olive oil scene, with six of the nine Croatian olive oils awarded with Gold and Silver medals at the New York International Olive Oil Competition (NYIOOC) all coming from producers here in Istria, the largest Croatian peninsula.

And it’s not just the olive oils that have us signing up for another trip to Istria next year - and next time, we will be visiting by charter yacht via the Kornati Islands - we’ve also developed a taste for truffles. Since our arrival, we have been sampling this delicacy in a dozen different ways, as tasty entrees, richly satisfying mains and even as an ice-cream dessert. Every charter yacht that comes to Istria on their way to or from Venice will like feature a truffle dish or two on their menu as the streets of Rovinj offer numerous sampling and shopping opportunities. Alongside Croatian wines and olive oil, warm sunny days spent by the sea. and a town full of artisans and gorgeous Venetian architecture, this is just the kind of place where you’d love to linger a little longer, make sure you’ve taken it all in.

Sitting atop its peninsula is the Church of St Euphemia, its spire rising tall and proud and topped with a copper statue of St Euphemia who rotates with the wind, thus being the only saint to predict the weather. If the saint is facing out to sea, the weather for the next few days will be favourable! On a day like today with clear blue skies, we see large luxury charter yachts pull into the harbour, opposite the St. Katarina island, situated in the centre of the bay, and by nightfall, they will enjoy one of the prettiest vistas in all of Istria... with the twinkling lights of the old town reflected in the highly polished marble paving stones that line the streets and alleyways, bringing an olde world charm to this tiny paradise.