Istria, a peninsula with three countries and a single landscape.

What is Istria?

It is the heart-shaped peninsula south of the Gulf of Trieste, at the northern end of the Adriatic. The border crosses it twice: about 90% is Croatian, 9% Slovenian and barely 1%, the municipalities of Muggia and San Dorligo della Valle, Italian. On the north-east it is closed off by the Učka mountain, whose highest point, the Vojak, reaches 1,401 metres and separates the peninsula from the Gulf of Kvarner and Rijeka.

The landscape is the same on all three sides of the borders: a limestone coast with Venetian-era harbours, an interior of green hills with walled villages on top, vineyards, olive groves and oak woods where truffles are hunted. The history is also shared, because almost the whole coast belonged to Venice for centuries, and in many villages Italian is spoken and the signs are in two languages.

How do you get there from Spain?

By plane, the peninsula's own airport is Pula, normally with a stopover. Many travellers fly to Venice, Trieste or Ljubljana and continue by hire car; if you do, check that the contract allows crossing into Slovenia and Croatia. From Trieste, Piran is about 40 km away.

By car from Spain you cross France and Italy on tolled motorways and, from Trieste, a short stretch of Slovenia. On the Slovenian motorways you need the e-vignette, which costs €16 for a week and is bought on the official DARS website; you can avoid it on minor roads. Within Croatia, the motorway that crosses the peninsula, the Istrian Y, is tolled by section.

All three countries are in Schengen and use the euro, so there are no fixed border checks or currency exchange; carry your ID card or passport all the same. To get around, a car is almost essential: between the coastal towns there are buses, but the interior has hardly any public transport.

What to see in Istria

The Croatian part has its own page at Istria, with its bases and excursions. On the west coast are the three names that come up most. Pula, in the south, has the Roman amphitheatre, the Arena, the embarkation for Brijuni National Park from Fažana and the wild tip of Kamenjak. Rovinj, about 40 minutes by car, is the old town on a peninsula, with the St Euphemia bell tower, and the best base for the Lim channel. Poreč has the Euphrasian Basilica, with Byzantine mosaics, and large campsites for families.

Inland, Motovun and Grožnjan are villages on hilltops, less than an hour from the coast; around them are the truffle woods and the wineries of malvasia and teran. Through those hills runs the Parenzana, the old narrow-gauge railway that between 1902 and 1935 linked Trieste with Poreč; today it is a route of about 123 km, much of it unpaved, which is cycled in sections.

The Slovenian coast is short and seen in a day: Koper, the port; Izola, the fishing village; and Piran, with Tartini Square open to the sea and Venetian houses packed onto a point of land. Less than 10 km away are the Sečovlje salt pans, which still produce salt in the traditional way. On the Italian side, Muggia is a small harbour opposite Trieste.

When is it best to go?

May, June and September: the sea is warm, everything is open and there are half the people of August. October brings the white truffle to the interior and is a good month for eating and walking, although the coast is already emptying. July and August are hot and expensive, with the beaches and car parks of Rovinj and Piran full. From November to March many coastal hotels, campsites and restaurants close, and the north wind, the bora, can blow hard.

How many days do you need?

For the Croatian part, three to five nights: a base on the coast, a day at Pula and Brijuni, another for the interior and one for the beach or cycling. If you want to add Piran and the Slovenian coast, add a day, or sleep there the first or last night if you arrive via Trieste or Venice. A week lets you do it all at a relaxed pace.

What it is worth knowing before you go

The beaches are almost always rock or pebble: bring water shoes. In summer, book accommodation in advance, especially in Rovinj and Piran, where the old towns are pedestrian and parking is expensive. If you cross into Slovenia by motorway, buy the e-vignette beforehand on the DARS website: it is digital, tied to the number plate and not sold at booths.