Baredine Cave

When it’s too hot for the beach — or the kids need something different — Baredine Cave never disappoints. It’s a proper show cave near Nova Vas, just inland from Poreč, and even people who expect a quick tourist stop come out genuinely amazed.

What You’ll See

A guide leads you about 60 metres down through five underground halls, along a lit and railed path of some 270 steps. It’s a constant 14°C down there, so bring a light layer even in August. You’ll pass dramatic stalactites and stalagmites, flowstone that looks like curtains and statues, and an underground lake — and, in the pools, the cave’s famous resident: the olm (Proteus), the pale, blind little “human fish” that lives only in these Dinaric caves. Kids are transfixed.

Visiting

Guided tours only, about 40 minutes each, leaving roughly every half hour in season — no need to book for the standard tour (winter visits are by reservation). There’s also a longer caving/adventure option if you want to get properly underground.

Opening times change with the season — check baredine.com before you set off; in winter you need to arrange a visit in advance.

Tickets are sold at the cave — check the current prices at baredine.com. Bring good shoes for the steps.

Make a Day of It

There’s free parking, a little café, and the open-air “Traktor Story” museum of vintage Istrian tractors right by the cave — easy to fill a morning with the kids. Then it’s a short hop to Poreč for lunch and a wander round the old town and its UNESCO-listed Euphrasian Basilica with those glittering Byzantine mosaics.

It’s about 67 km from the house, a bit under an hour up the motorway toward Poreč.

See Also

• Lim Channel — the green oyster fjord, on the way back
• Rovinj — the prettiest coastal town in Istria, not far south
• Cape Kamenjak — for the opposite kind of day: wild beaches