Croatia car rental guide
Is It Worth Renting a Car in Pula?
Pula's Roman arena sits close enough to the old town's narrow streets that a car dropped off downtown often just gets in the way until the moment you actually need to leave the city.
The Arena and old town don't need a car
Pula's amphitheatre, harbor and old streets sit close enough together to cover on foot in an afternoon, and parking right in the historic core is limited and fills fast in summer. A short stay based downtown mostly means the car waits.
Cape Kamenjak and the Istrian hill towns are the real case for a car
Cape Kamenjak, a nature park south of the city, has no public transport at all — its unpaved tracks lead to a string of secluded coves that only make sense with your own wheels. Inland, hill towns like Motovun and Grožnjan sit on steep approach roads through Istria's truffle country, a very different landscape from the coastal strip most visitors see first.
Two more things worth knowing
- Motovun's own hilltop streets are largely closed to visitor cars, so plan on parking below and walking up.
- Rovinj, further up the coast, gets its own summer parking squeeze near the old town — arriving early or late in the day helps.
Brijuni doesn't take a car with you
The Brijuni Islands, a national park just off the coast near Fažana, are reached only by boat, and private vehicles stay on the mainland. If Brijuni is on the list, it's a day out from wherever the car is parked, not a driving destination in itself.
Who should skip it, and the mistake worth avoiding
An old-town-only stay in Pula doesn't need a car; the amphitheatre, harbor and center are all within an easy walk.
The mistake is driving straight into the historic core expecting an easy space near the Arena in July or August, when the few central spots fill early and the realistic option is a lot on the edge of town and a short walk in.
Pula itself is a walking city built around a Roman ruin. The road toward Kamenjak, the hill towns or Rovinj is where a rental car earns its place, and Brijuni stays a boat trip regardless of what's parked at the harbor.