Parenzana Trail Cycling Tour

Day 1: Piran — Arrival
You will arrive independently in Portorož or Piran on the Slovenian coast and settle into your 3- or 4-star hotel in Piran. Overnight in Piran.

Day 2: Škofije/Koper — Piran (29 km; +205 m / −262 m)
At 9 am a welcome briefing at the hotel will prepare you for the week, and if you have rented a bike you will be fitted with it and your equipment. A transfer will then take you and the bikes to Muggia or Škofije. From here you will ride on a traffic-free asphalt cycle path along the Parenzana, the former narrow-gauge railway that once connected 33 Istrian towns and today crosses three countries. The trail follows the coast through Koper, Izola and Piran. Overnight in Piran.

Day 3: Piran — Grožnjan (38 km; +426 m / −186 m)
The Parenzana will lead you all along Piran Bay through Portorož and Lucija to the Sečovlje salt pans, the northernmost in the Mediterranean, where salt is still made with a 700-year-old method; you can visit the salt museum. After crossing into Croatia, a gravel climb opens views over the bay, the saltworks and the Alps on the horizon. You will pass the old Savudrija station and the villages of the Buje region before reaching your guesthouse near Grožnjan, the town of artists. Overnight in a 4-star B&B in Grožnjan.

Day 4: Grožnjan — Motovun (31 km; +467 m / −447 m)
Today you will continue on the gravel Parenzana through rolling landscapes and lively vineyards, and you will soon see why it was known as the wine railway. You will pass through several tunnels and over old bridges, with many viewpoints along the way, before reaching Livade, the truffle centre of Istria, where you can taste and buy truffle products. Your hotel waits on the hill above, in the medieval town of Motovun. Overnight in Motovun.

Day 5: Motovun — Poreč (38 km; +265 m / −514 m)
Before leaving, take in Motovun's 13th-century bell tower, the Church of St. Stephen and the Romanesque municipal palace. Through a tunnel beneath the town, the Parenzana will carry you towards Poreč via Vižinada, passing near Nova Vas, where you can visit the Baredine Cave. Following the trail through vineyards you will reach Poreč, with its Roman forum, palaces from many eras and the famous Euphrasian Basilica. Overnight in Poreč.

Day 6: Poreč — Vrsar — Poreč (35 km; +357 m / −352 m)
Today's loop will take you along the coast to Vrsar, the romantic fishing village where Casanova returned twice. You will continue through the Kontija forest, with a panoramic view over the Lim bay, ride past the pirate cave and then head inland through small villages back to Poreč. Overnight in Poreč.

Day 7: Kanfanar — Rovinj (40 km; +232 m / −494 m)
In the morning a shuttle will take you to Kanfanar, a small town above the Lim valley. On a quiet local road you will reach Svetvinčenat, with its grand Morosini-Grimani citadel, loggia and row of 16th-century Renaissance houses. Asphalt roads lead on to Bale, where you can visit the Bembo palace, the square and the museum, and from there a mix of gravel and asphalt will take you along the coast to Rovinj, the Pearl of the Adriatic, once an island and famous for its traditional batana boats. Overnight in Rovinj.

Day 8: Rovinj — Departure
Breakfast and end of services.