The route to Piran, Slovenia
I knew about Piran on the Adriatic coast from my previous visits to Slovenia. It was instantly added to my to-visit list. The challenge was to find the best way to get there, which I figured was to go via Ialty. So armed with my detailed itinerary my partner and I flew to Venice in June 2015 for our 7-day visit
We stayed one night at Mestre Venizia near the station and caught the 10.53 train to Trieste (a lovely city I had visited the year before). It was a very pleasant trip of just under 2 hours. We stayed in Trieste for 2 nights so that I could show my partner around. On the fourth day of our trip we took the 12.30 direct bus to Piran arriving just before 14.00.
The view, looking out to the harbour as we stepped off the bus was breath-taking. And our B&B was just 100 yards across the road from the bus stop!
B&B Miracolo di Mare
The property nestled amongst other private dwellings was homely and comfortable. The breakfast table under the pergola in the raised terrace at the back was my favourite spot. The breakfast was really nice, especially the freshly baked croissants. Our host was very helpful with advice on transport and sight-seeing. The seafood restaurant that he recommended was excellent!
Piran
Piran is just a small city but is really picturesque and unspoilt by mass tourism. It was well worth our efforts to get there! It was lovely and relaxing to stroll around in the warm sun in June and then took the weight off our feet with a refreshing drink at one of the outdoors cafés around Tartini Square
The harbour
It’s the first thing that enticed the visitors to linger
St George’s Bell Tower
The imposing tower dominated the view of Tartini Square. It cost only €1 to get to the top
The great view of Tartini Square from The Tower
At the end of the peninsula there’s the watch tower. Away from the many eateries around it’s a great place for a quiet stroll
Tartini Square
It’s one of the prettiest squares I have visited. It was so blissfully tranquil and clean too!
The city walls and fabulous views from up there!
There’re many footpaths and hiking trails around Piran with pretty views
Dusk at Piran
It was really restful to sit at one of the many benches along the harbour to see daylight giving way to dusk and watch the fishing boats heading home as the sun set. Then dinner at one of the many seafood restaurants rounded up a day nicely
A day trip from Piran by bus —Portorož & Izola
We were to take a boat trip from Portorož at 9.30, but by the time we got there, we missed it. We looked around Portorož before taking the bus to Izola. It seemed to be a busy resort with the usual beach, tourist shops and stalls. Although I had bought a fridge magnet, there’s really nothing special that’s worth writing about.
Izola
The bus from Portorož to Izola was not very frequent but it was worth the wait. Izola was much more my sort of places to visit than Portorož. The harbour was very pretty with many interesting craft stalls on the quay. Lunch at a restaurant by the waterfront was a great way to break up a busy day.
Izola was not unlike Piran, perhaps a bit more compact. However I think I made the right choice with Piran
Day 7—Homeward bound
The homeward journey started with the 9.00 bus from Piran to Koper arriving at 9.45 (there was no direct bus to Trieste at the time I wanted).
The 10.30 bus from Koper got us to Trieste at 11.15.
The 12.20 train from Trieste took us to Mestre Venezia at 14.15.
We were in time for the airport bus at 14.40 arriving at Marco Polo Airport just after 15.00
Thanks to the Marco Polo airport lounge the wait for our flight 17.45 was rather pleasant.
By the time we cleared immigration and collected our luggage at Gatwick we had time for a drink before catching the 20.40 train to Portsmouth Harbour, arriving home around 22.00.
It was a long day but the satisfaction that everything went smoothly according to my schedule was immense!
Me & the fridge magnets
