Coached doubles at Umag, then a Michelin table at truffle season

Where you're staying

Agroturizam Sterle, Štancija Drušković, Brtonigla: a genuine working farm: cows, sheep, goats, horses, pigs and geese in the yard, and a family pouring its own malvasia, muscat, teran and a barrique-aged red since 1994.

• Four rooms only, meals cooked to order from the farm's own produce, and a 4.4/5 rating across nearly 700 reviews on the kitchen alone
• Not on the booking sites: we book it direct with the family

Getting there

Fly into either Trieste (TRS, Italy, about 45 minutes away) or Pula (PUY, about 55 minutes); the two are genuinely comparable, so let price and schedule decide.

• Collect the rental car and drive to Brtonigla

This evening

A short walk up to Brtonigla's hilltop centre around the Church of San Zenone, views rolling out over vineyards toward the Mirna valley, Istria's best-known wine and olive-oil belt.

Dinner

Malo Selo, Buje: Mediterranean cooking with strong local reviews (4.7/5, nearly 600 reviews).

• A 10-minute drive

Afternoon

Lunch and a walk around Umag's compact old town and harbour promenade: the Church of St Mary and St Peregrin and the old town walls make an easy 20-minute loop.

• Free afternoon for the beach or resting before dinner

Dinner

Kaleta Umag, a well-reviewed seafood address near the harbour (4.6/5, close to 600 reviews), the right register after a physical morning.

Morning

A drive to Motovun (about 35–40 minutes), Istria's best-known hilltop town: walk the medieval walls, the view rolling over the Mirna valley and the Motovun Forest below, source of most of the region's white truffles.

Morning

A short hop on to Grožnjan, a tiny former Venetian hill town given over to artists' studios and galleries.