Photograph: Motovun on its hilltop by Jernej Furman, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Motovun is a small walled hill town in central Istria, the peninsula at the top of the Croatian Adriatic, and it sits on a hill about 270 metres above sea level with the Mirna valley falling away beneath it. A few hundred people live in the town itself. Venice took it in 1278 and ringed it with walls that are still intact and still walked, and the Italian name, Montona, is used alongside the Croatian one. It is the inland Istria most people picture: stone lanes, a bell tower, vineyards on the slopes and a forest below where truffles are dug with dogs.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, Roman Trail earns a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The photograph above shows the town from a distance under a clear sky: the whole of it stacked up a conical green hill, pale stone and orange roofs inside the walls, with the square bell tower and dark cypresses at the very top. What a single distant frame cannot show is most of what you will actually do here. It does not show the walk along the walls, the church of St Stephen and its square, the town gates, the Motovun forest on the far side of the river, any truffle hunt, the valley floor or the vineyards. All of those are described below rather than illustrated.
If you are planning the coast as well, the Istria packing list covers the whole peninsula, including a short section on the hill towns that puts Motovun beside Groznjan, Hum and Buzet. This post goes into the one town in detail.
We receive a fee when you get a quote from World Nomads using this link. We do not represent World Nomads. This is not a recommendation to buy travel insurance.
What Is Here
THE WALLS ARE THE MAIN EVENT, AND THEY ARE A WALK RATHER THAN A VIEWPOINT. The Venetian walls run round the top of the town and you can walk them, looking out over the Mirna valley and the Istrian hills in every direction. The town is built in three parts joined by inner and outer fortifications with towers and gates, added between the 14th and 17th centuries, so the walk takes you through gateways and up and down steps rather than along a level rampart. On the inner walls are coats of arms of the families that ran the town and two Roman gravestones from the 1st century. Check at the gate whether a charge applies when you visit, because arrangements change and no current figure is printed here.
THE CHURCH OF ST STEPHEN STANDS ON THE TOP SQUARE. It is a late Renaissance church built at the beginning of the 17th century, from sketches probably by Andrea Palladio, and inside are marble statues of St Stephen and St Laurence and a 17th century Last Supper over the altar by an unknown Venetian painter. The water cisterns in the square in front of it date from the 14th and 15th centuries. The bell tower beside it is the tower in the photograph. It is a working church, so cover shoulders and knees if a service is on.
The lanes are steep, stone and polished. Houses are scattered all over the hill, and the streets between them climb hard from the lower town to the top. Old paving worn smooth by centuries of feet is slippery in rain and not much better when dry, which matters more for the packing list than anything else in this post. The racing driver Mario Andretti and his twin brother were born here in 1940, and as boys they raced homemade wooden cars down these streets.
THE MOTOVUN FOREST IS ACROSS THE RIVER, AND IT IS A DIFFERENT WORLD FROM THE HILL. Below the town the Mirna, Istria's longest river at 53 kilometres, runs from near Buzet down to the sea near Novigrad. On its far side is the Motovun forest, about ten square kilometres of valley woodland of which 280 hectares is specially protected. It is damp river woodland, mostly English oak, in a region that is otherwise largely dry limestone, and the protected area is still flooded on purpose from time to time to keep it that way. That damp ground is why it is known for black and white truffles, which grow underground and are found by trained dogs.
A TRUFFLE HUNT IS THE THING MOST VISITORS BOOK. You walk the forest with a hunter and a dog, which means wet leaf litter, mud after rain, insects in summer and low branches. The seasons differ by truffle, so ask the guide which is being hunted when you book rather than assuming.
The slopes are vineyards. Grapes for the two Istrian wines grown on the hill are Teran, a red, and Malvazija, a white, and tasting rooms in and around the town pour both.
THE FILM FESTIVAL HAS LEFT, AND OLDER GUIDES HAVE NOT CAUGHT UP. The Motovun Film Festival started here in 1999 and for years filled the town with screenings and a campsite every summer. In 2023 it was held both here and at Petehovac in Gorski Kotar, some 80 kilometres east, and since 2024 it has run only at Petehovac under the name Cinehill. It is no longer held in Motovun, so do not plan a summer trip around it.
When to Go
Late spring and early autumn are the easiest months for a hill town. The walls, the lanes and the forest are all on foot, and they are most pleasant when the heat is off. Autumn adds the harvest in the vineyards.
SUMMER IS HOT AND DRY, AND THE FCDO WARNS THAT WILDFIRES ARE COMMON IN CROATIA'S HOT, DRY SUMMERS. It asks visitors to take care in woodland and forest areas, which describes the valley below the town. From 1 June to 31 October it is illegal to set outdoor fires or light barbecues except in designated areas, and deliberately causing a fire carries fines of 2,000 to 20,000 euros. Leave no litter, and especially no glass, which the FCDO notes is known to start fires. A hilltop also catches more breeze than the valley, and evenings up here cool off faster than on the coast, so a summer bag still wants one warm layer.
Winter is quiet and partly shut. The hill towns are cool in the evening and calm out of season, and several restaurants close for the winter, so check that where you want to eat is open before you drive up.
The FCDO publishes no advised-against areas anywhere in Croatia and no country-level warning, and it describes overall crime levels as low with violent incidents rare. Four named risks matter more than that reassurance suggests. Sexual assaults have occurred in taxis, and the FCDO's advice is practical: photograph the taxi's identification, share your ride status, and tell someone which car you are in. Overcharging, where visitors report being presented with inflated bills at certain venues and then threatened for payment. Wildfires through hot dry summers, which the FCDO calls highly dangerous and unpredictable. And LANDMINES AND UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE left from the 1990s war, which still affect Eastern Slavonia, Brod-Posavina County, Karlovac County, areas around Zadar County and the more remote parts of Plitvice Lakes National Park. The rule there is simple and absolute: stay on marked paths and roads, and do not walk into uncleared ground to photograph anything.
Getting There
Motovun is a short drive inland from the Istrian west coast, and in practice most visitors arrive by car or on a tour. The nearest airport is Pula, at the southern tip of the peninsula, with Trieste and Rijeka as alternatives depending on where you fly from. Public transport to the hill towns is limited, and the railway that once ran below the town closed in 1935, so do not count on reaching Motovun cheaply without a car.
Park below and walk up. The old centre is closed to traffic and the approaches are steep cobbles, so you leave the car at the foot of the old town and climb. Pack a bag you can carry rather than wheel.
IF YOU DRIVE, THE FCDO LISTS RULES WORTH KNOWING. The drink drive limit is 0.05 per cent, lower than England's 0.08, and it is zero for drivers under 24, which matters in a town whose afternoons revolve around wine. Dipped headlights are required in daytime from 1 November to 31 March, winter tyres between 15 November and 15 April, and you must carry a fluorescent vest inside the car rather than in the boot. Always carry your passport, which the FCDO says you should have with you.
The Motovun Packing List
A hilltop town of steep stone lanes, a forest walk in mud and leaf litter, hot dry summer days and evenings that turn cool once the sun drops behind the hills.
Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a long sleeve merino wool base layer for women is the most useful single garment for this trip. It is the warm layer for an evening on the walls when the valley air cools, the layer under a jacket on a damp autumn truffle walk, and it resists odour over several days of climbing hills in the heat, which cotton does not.
Footwear decides how much you enjoy Motovun. The lanes are polished stone on a steep gradient and the forest is mud after rain, so one pair has to do both. Shoes with real grip and a waterproof membrane, such as Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX hiking shoes, cover the cobbles and the truffle hunt in one pair. Leave smooth soled sandals for the coast.
For the walls and the open slopes in summer there is very little shade. A Columbia Benton Spring II long hoodie keeps sun off your arms and neck without adding heat, and a wide brim UPF 50 sun hat does the rest on the walls walk.
For the evenings and the shoulder seasons, a light fleece such as the Columbia Fast Trek II jacket goes over the base layer at dinner on a terrace, and a packable Marmot PreCip Eco rain jacket covers a wet day in the forest and the wind on the walls.
An insulated water bottle earns its place on a summer climb up through the lanes, because the walk from the car to the top is short, steep and hot.
Advised and not linked, with the reasons. Insect repellent for the forest in summer is unlinked only because this list has reached its six link cap, and the bottle matters more on a hot climb; any repellent you trust will do. Sunscreen and sunglasses are unlinked because our affiliate register carries no sunscreen and no eyewear entry at all. Something that covers shoulders and knees for St Stephen's needs no link: a scarf works.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Is Motovun Safe for Women Travelers
The FCDO advises against travel to no part of Croatia, and it describes crime levels as low and violent crime as rare.
THE FCDO CARRIES A SPECIFIC WARNING ABOUT TAXIS IN CROATIA, AND IT IS WORTH QUOTING RATHER THAN SUMMARISING. There have been reports of sexual assaults in taxis in Croatia. To reduce the risk, the FCDO says to take a photo of the inside of the car where the taxi's number is visible and send it to someone, to share your ride status on the taxi app, and to make a call during the journey telling someone which taxi it is and where you are going. Book airport transfers through your accommodation or an app.
Croatia still has unexploded mines from the 1990s war and the FCDO names the areas. The affected ground is EASTERN SLAVONIA, BROD-POSAVINA COUNTY, KARLOVAC COUNTY, AREAS AROUND ZADAR COUNTY and the more remote parts of PLITVICE LAKES NATIONAL PARK. The instruction where it applies is to stay off uncultivated land, not to step off marked paths, and to take local advice if in any doubt. For most coastal trips this is background rather than a live concern, and the honest reason to carry it anyway is that the Zagreb road to the northern Adriatic crosses Karlovac County, and that Plitvice is on most itineraries. ISTRIA IS NOT NAMED ANYWHERE IN THAT LIST, AND THE WARNING DOES NOT REACH MOTOVUN. The Motovun forest and the Mirna valley are in none of the named areas. The Zagreb road crosses Karlovac County, where the rule is to stay on roads and marked paths.
Essential Resources for Women in Motovun
Emergency numbers: 112 for ambulance, fire and police anywhere in Croatia, free from any phone. The FCDO also asks you to call 112 if you see a wildfire.
Hospital and clinics: Motovun is a village, and serious medical care is in the larger towns. Ask your accommodation where the nearest hospital emergency department is before you need it. For anything urgent, call 112 rather than driving yourself down a steep road.
Croatia is in the EU, so a UK Global Health Insurance Card or an EU European Health Insurance Card gives you state-provided medically necessary care on the same terms as a resident. That is not the same as free and it does not cover repatriation or a private clinic, so travel insurance sits on top of it rather than instead of it. Croatian public hospitals are good, the coastal cities have private clinics used to foreign patients, and a ljekarna handles minor problems without an appointment. Tap water is drinkable throughout. Jellyfish and sea urchins are the common summer complaint on the Adriatic, and swim shoes solve the urchins.
Official health authority: the Croatian Institute of Public Health, is the Croatian Institute of Public Health.
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Zagreb.
Official tourism authority: the Croatian National Tourist Board, covers the country, and local tourist information is the place to ask about the walls walk, truffle hunts and which restaurants are open out of season.
US State Department travel advisory: the Croatia advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/croatia, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
Solo women safety assessment: Motovun is an easy and low risk place to visit alone. The FCDO advises against no part of Croatia, describes crime as low, and names nothing about Istria's hill towns. The two things worth care are the taxi warning above, for any car you take from the airport or another town, and the ordinary judgement of a wine region where tastings and driving mix badly. The real hazards are physical: steep polished stone, summer heat on an exposed climb, and wildfire in the forest in a dry season. Wear shoes with grip, carry water, leave no litter, and use 112 for everything.
Reading On
The Istria packing list is the companion to this one, covering the peninsula as a whole and the other hill towns, Groznjan, Hum and Buzet, which have no post of their own in this library yet. On the west coast, the Porec packing list covers the Byzantine mosaics and the resort coast that most Motovun day trips start from, and the Pula packing list covers the Roman amphitheatre and the airport at the southern tip. Rovinj has no post here yet. Round the Kvarner gulf, the Rijeka packing list covers the port city and the Krk packing list the nearest large island. Just over the border, the Trieste packing list covers the Italian city the old railway started from, and the Piran packing list the Venetian town on the Slovenian coast. For the country as a whole, the Croatia travel guide for women carries the regions, the costs and the ferries, and the Zagreb packing list covers the capital. Every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
For why merino handles hot days on a hill and cool evenings on the same trip, see our guide to the best merino wool base layers for women, and the full range is in the Roman Trail collection.
