ABOUT BUNARINA
Whether you want to go south to explore the Adriatic or you want to spend your vacation at the sea, whether you want a safe year-round berth or you are looking for favourable winds for adrenaline sailing, Bunarina as a starting point or a safe harbour will satisfy every yachtsman. Living at the sea or, better yet, living the sea in Bunarina is an experience as it once was – without fanfare or crowd, with a smiling staff to greet you in the port throughout the year.
Bunarina is the ideal starting point for exploring the Adriatic and the Mediterranean and the city of Pula with its 60 thousand inhabitants provides facilities for a stress-free holiday. Pula is a city of multiculturalism, multilingualism and rich history where everyone is equally welcome, and its inhabitants –Puležani or Puljani – will give you the feeling that Pula is just as much as your own town as it is theirs.
ATTRACTIVE ALL YEAR
The Port Bunarina and the city of Pula with its surroundings are an ideal 365-day destination. During summer, you will enjoy swimming, exploring the bays and the rich underwater world as well as numerous events for all ages and tastes. If you do not long for swimming, spring, autumn and winter are the ideal seasons to explore the city of Pula and its rich cultural diversity.
A unique attraction in Croatia is certainly the Aquarium Pula which is set only at 10 minute walk from the port Bunarina. The Pula Arena (the amphitheatre) and many other monuments from the Roman period, situated in the centre of Pula (app. 4 km from Bunarina) are worth a visual experience. In the Austro-Hungarian period, Pula was also the main harbour of the royal navy, so the Austro-Hungarian government is to be thanked for the city structure suitable for hosting 70 thousand inhabitants.
Numerous entrepreneurs who develop and offer various services combining the culture of living with modern technologies testify that Pula is not only a city of rich history.
The figure of over 360 thousand tourists that visited Pula last year also speaks to how appealing this city is.
THROUGH THE FOUR SEASONS
SPRING
In the spring begins the pre-season, the sailing season, the yachting season, and the swimming season, but it is also a perfect time for exploring the city of Pula and its surroundings. The local people impatiently expect yachtsmen and tourists, various services are offered; it is a perfect time for walks, cycling, sailing and boating while enjoying the landscape of untouched nature. From the port Bunarina, you can rent a bike and go for a ride to explore the bike paths of Pula and surroundings whether you want mountain biking, trekking or driving an electric bike on asphalt (Bičikleta in Verudela). Diving clubs are looking forward to take you to explore wrecks and underwater caves, and if you want to have fun in other sports while your boat is safely moored at Bunarina, spring is the ideal time for almost all sports and leisure activities. At 50 meters from Bunarina, you can play tennis, enjoy in a wellness centre, swim in a pool, and enjoy a massage or culinary delicacies of a fish restaurant.
SUMMER
The sea in Pula and its surroundings is exceptionally clear. This is why there is a funny local saying that “our sea is more transparent than our people”. The swimmers will be enchanted by the isles of Frešker and Freškerić with the turquoise colour of the sea, shallows of 2 m and sandy bottom with pen shells. Swimming is pleasant due to the salinity of 36 – 38 ppt in average and the temperature of the sea water in summer reaches 27 degrees C. The citizens of Pula open the swimming season at the end of April and it often continues until October. If you want to enrol your children in a summer sailing school, you can choose between two sailing clubs in Pula– Uljanik plovidba and Vega. Numerous services like adrenalin parks, SUP renting etc. are offered in Pula. Besides the Brijuni National Park and Kamenjak, an interesting destination is the archipelago of Medulin with 11 uninhabited islands and isles that attract visitors with their pristine nature.
AUTUMN
When the summer crowds are over, the autumn offers its charms to yachtsmen who do not like high temperatures. The swimming season continues in the autumn, as well. It is interesting that the sea temperature in the northern Adriatic can be even 5 degrees higher than in the southern Adriatic. This is due to the fact that the northern part of the sea is shallower. The shape of the bottom of the Adriatic is such that it reaches the greatest depths in the far south and the currents are weaker and the weather is also more favourable in the north, and therefore there are more sunny days. Passionate yachtsmen can participate in recreational regattas organized by the local sailing clubs – Delfin, Uljanik plovidba and Vega. The diving season is still on in autumn. A mild autumn climate is also beneficial to many other sports which attract the active inhabitants of Pula.
WINTER
Winter temperatures range from -4 to 18 degrees Celsius and the temperature of the sea does not drop below 7 degrees. Sailing in the Adriatic can be difficult due to strong gusts of bora which strikes in the winter months on the Adriatic Sea and can reach 70 knots. In the archipelago of Pula, the port Bunarina offers you protection from all winds and storms and it is one of the rare places where you will not experience the stormy bora in all its intensity. If you do not want to be moored to the coast, one of the most attractive and safest bays in the Adriatic is the Soline bay, located south, about 0.5 nautical miles between the isle of Fratarski and the Banjole mainland.
If you sail in winter, you will have the impression that the time has stopped a long time ago. You will experience the Adriatic as it once was. From the port Bunarina, you can sail north towards Fažana and enter the archipelago of Brijuni, adorned by 14 islands and an intact nature. A touch of elitism offered by the Brijuni National park can be experienced in all seasons, whether you want to rent electric bicycles and cars, play golf, tennis or enjoy gala lunches and dinners. On the Brijuni National Park website you can find all the information about this jewel of the Pula archipelago.
THE VIBE OF THE CITY
HISTORICAL ATTRACTIONS
The citizens of Pula are proud of their history and preserve the remains dating back to 3,000 years ago. Among imposing buildings, apart from the Roman amphitheatre, the Golden Gate i.e. the Arch of the Sergii, the Temple of Augustus, the Double Gate and the fortress Kaštel are also attractive. Since Pula was also the main port of the Austro-Hungarian navy from the first half of the 19th century, Pula's fortifications were built for 100 years. Today, in Pula there is a total of 26 forts and according to a local legend, they were all interconnected by a network of underground tunnels. There is also a legend about the sailors on the Argo ship who were looking for the Golden Fleece and founded Pula.
SPORTS & LEISURE ACTIVITIES
The citizens of Pula live actively throughout the year, they enjoy in various activities and are increasingly turning to the development of active tourism by offering a wide range of quality services. In Pula, you can rent a boat, a SUP, dive a route with a diving club, play tennis, beach volleyball, rent bikes, quads, fly a parachute, in a balloon, try parasailing, aquarocket, jet ski, run with Pula locals, dance rumba, samba, participate in local sailing regattas, roller skate or ice skate all year round. Children can enrol in summer schools, you can take them to adrenaline parks or water parks on the sea.
MODERN ATTRACTIONS
The genuine Pula citizens love living in a quiet city like Pula, but they also like travelling around the world. They read local newspapers, but think globally. Pula is the leading Istrian city by the number of entrepreneurs who make their contribution in creating a modern and attractive city. The "Lighting Giants" will draw your attention in the port of Pula as well as the First Museum of Istrian Olive Oil. At a distance of 20 meters from the port Bunarina, there is the Aquarium. The music festivals Outlook and Dimension and the Festival of Light –Visualia, which take place in the late summer and early autumn, attract the younger population from all over the world to Pula and its surroundings.
TRADITION FOR YOUR PALATE
Pula and Istria are proud of quality olive oils and wines rewarded and recognised in the whole world. In the taverns, you can find the genuine Mediterranean cuisine rich in fish and pasta, but also meat. The local specialties are the Istrian dried ham (prosciutto), eggs with asparagus, truffles, Istrian sausages, fish stew (brodetto), black cuttlefish risotto, homemade pasta (fuži, ravioli, pljukanci, makaroni na žlicu) or potato dumplings (gnocchi), grilled sardines topped with olive oil, garlic and parsley, and various Istrian minestrones. Unique is also the Istrian “supa”, that is more like a red wine dessert which you should taste in authentic taverns.
MUSIC, FILM AND BOOKS
In summer, in the Arena - on the stage under the stars - take place numerous concerts of musicians from all over the world, while in winter in the Advent season, the music scene takes place in the very centre of the city around the Golden Gate. Over 30 café bars offer different genres of music throughout the year. In Pula, you can also enjoy films throughout the year (the Cinestar cinema at Stoja and the Valli cinema in the Pula city centre), and a special attraction is the 66 years old film festival. In July, tourists and locals enjoy films under the stars in the Arena, in the fortress Kaštel and in the city centre. Pula is also a city of books and for 25 years, at the beginning of December, the traditional Book Fair(y) is held, while at the end of April the Children’s Books Festival "Monte Librić" takes place.