We had a great time visiting the beautiful main island of the Brijuni National Park, which consists of one large island (Veli Brijun), a smaller one (Mali Brijun), and 12 small uninhabited islands, located along the south-west coast of Istria. Humans have inhabited the island since the stone age, but before that time, there were dinosaurs and you can find about 200 dinosaur tracks on four locations – Cape Pogledalo, Ploče, Kamik/Plješivac and Trstike/Debela Glava. There are many ruins from ancient times with good educational displays to let you see how the buildings would have looked like. The island has been host to many famous people, from politicians to movie stars like Sofia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Placido Domingo, princes Caroline of Monaco and is best known as the site of the summer residence of former head of state Josip Broz Tito – you can find more information about that period in the museum.
It is a unique nature park cultivated by humans since ancient times. The contrast between the clear blue sea and green vegetation – there are centuries old olive and oak trees on the island, make it a great place to relax and for outside activities. Go walking or rent a golf cart to drive to interesting sites where you can walk around and search for dinosaur tracks or wander along the old ruins, cycling (rent-a-bike), playing golf on the 18-hole golf course, swimming, and playing tennis.
There is plenty to see on the island, like a museum, a church, there is a small safari park with animals that have in the past been donated to Tito by other heads of state. You can rent a bike or golf cart as the island is to large to see on foot in one day, but it is also great to walk along the shady roads if you just want to see a few things on the island. There is about 24km of asphalt road for cycling, in the high season it can be difficult to get a bike as there are only 300 on the whole island. Outside the high season it is less crowded and there are more facilities available.
How to get there
In the town on the mainland opposite Brijuni, Fažana, you can buy entrance tickets to the National Park at the tourist office, which include the ferry ride to the island – which takes about 15 minutes – and a tourist train ride on the island along some of the main attractions. These are the ruins of a Roman villa, the safari park, archaeological museum in the citadel and the St. Germania church. The guide is in multiple languages, but not in Dutch. It is also possible to go with a tourist organisation that offers a boat tour and trip to the island. It is not allowed to take your own bike to the island, which is a pity for I think it is the best way to explore Brijuni.
Where to stay
You can visit the island for a day or you can stay on the island for more days and sleep in one of the hotels or villa’s on the island. There are two hotels near the harbour and 3 villa’s located near the Lovrika bay in the south-east part of the island. In the mainland town Fažana there are plenty of private apartments and near Fažana is a camping close to the sea open from April – October which offers 3 swimming pools, sites near the sea, camp sites, mobile homes and villa’s.
In Fažana is a parking area, where you can leave your car and pay a price per day (80-100 kuna), from there you can walk into this fishing village to buy tickets to Brijuni, while waiting for the ferry you can walk around town and maybe enjoy a coffee or an early lunch.
- For prices, booking and reservation of entrance tickets click here
- For tourist information about national park Brijuni click here
- For the schedule of the ferry from Fažana to Brijuni click here
- For tourist information about the town Fažana click here
- For tourist information about Istria click here
- For more scientific information about the dinosaur footprints click here
- For more information about having your wedding in Brijuni click here
