Mike and Yvonne share their summer home exchange story to the lovely, laid back seaside town of Rovinj, Coratia.
How did you find your exchange?
I contacted a member of the HomeExchange community.
What attracted you to this exchange opportunity?
It sounded perfect for a weekend getaway from the UK, especially as we could fly in to the nearby airport in Pula (itself a lovely town) in just over two hours and it looked just small enough to relax and big enough to interest us for 4 days.
How was your arrival at the home?
We knew as soon as we arrived that the weekend was going to be a laid back one.
The airport was so small that we were in and out in ten minutes and a convenient shuttle bus was waiting to take us into the centre of Rovinj in a only half hour.
The bus stopped right in the historic centre and we felt so relaxed from the moment we stepped off.
Our first impression was of the city being very Venetian but without the summer tourist hoards. Romantic and historic, it looked and felt more Italian than Croatian.
We made the short walk to our hosts house past a photogenic harbour and through a medieval labyrinth of cobblestone alleys and on reaching our accommodation we were so happy to find this too was so impossibly picturesque. We were really pleased to be greeted by our hosts friend, who gave us all the information we could have hoped for.
What did you see or do during your exchange?
We dropped our bags and went straight out to explore. Within minutes we came to sophisticated restaurants and cafes at the picturesque working port.
We decided to stop at what had to be the coolest spot in Rovinjj - a small bar right on the water’s edge with views out to St. Catherine’s Island, it's colourful tables and comfy beanbag chairs arranged along the water’s edge, made us feel we could have stayed all day. We soon decided that one of our favourite things about a weekend in Rovinj is that there aren’t a million things to do.
In the Rovinj summer heat the best daytime thing we found to do was to just chill, wander the old town, people watch and eat and drink at the most incredible seafood restaurants.
In the early mornings we went for a dip in the crystal blue sea as just opposite our apartment we found a ladder fixed into the rock of a little cove.
In the evening a cycle all the way round the peninsula following the marked bike routes was the perfect way to finish a day out before returning to our abode.
The lively food market near the harbour sold fruit, veg, truffles, honey and various other local products, so we were happy some evenings to take advantage of this and cook in our ‘pad’.
What is your favorite memory from the exchange?
Swimming in the crystal blue sea as just opposite our apartment and eating out in local restaurants.
How would you describe home exchange to your family and friends?
It's the best decision we ever made travel wise and couldn't recommend it more.
