Istria, the heart-shaped peninsula at the top of the Adriatic, has a food year as sharply seasoned as Tuscany’s and far less known: wild asparagus in spring, new Malvazija in May, the sea from June, a grape harvest in September, and then the season the peninsula is quietly famous for, white truffles and new olive oil from October into the winter. The coast closes when the truffles peak, which is the whole trick to visiting well. This guide runs through the year for Istria, with the dates of the festivals in Motovun, Livade, Buzet and Poreč, and a note on the Slovenian side of the border, an hour north, where the same soils continue.
The year at a glance
| Month | Eat and drink | Dates to know | Crowds and prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Last white truffles; Kvarner scampi at their best; the pršut curing season begins | – | Very quiet; much of the coast closed; lowest prices |
| February | Carnival fritule and kroštule; truffle tail | – | Quiet |
| March | Wild asparagus season opens | Days of Istrian Asparagus, north-west Istria, March to May; Slovenian Istria asparagus days, late March to April | Opening up |
| April | Asparagus; scampi fishing season begins; Easter pinca bread | Teran festival on the Slovenian Karst | Shoulder begins |
| May | New Malvazija released; last asparagus; scampi | Vinistra wine fair, Poreč, early May; Istria Open Wine Cellars Day, last Sunday | Ideal: warm, uncrowded |
| June | Black summer truffles; cherries in Brda; sea urchins | Brda Cherry Festival, first weekend; Rabac scampi festival, mid-June | Busy from mid-month |
| July | Seafood summer; Momjan Muscat | Pula Film Festival, mid-July; Kingdom of Muscat, Momjan, mid-July | Peak: highest prices, full |
| August | Muscat; Karst Teran and pršut | Teran and Prosciutto Festival, Dutovlje (Slovenia) | Peak; book everything ahead |
| September | Malvazija and Teran harvest; white truffle season opens; first olives | Subotina in Buzet, second weekend: the giant truffle omelette; Buje grape festival, second half | Warm sea, fewer people, lower prices: the best month |
| October | White truffles peak; olive harvest through November | Zigante Truffle Days, Livade, weekends from early October to early November; TeTa Teran and Truffle festival, Motovun, mid-October | Shoulder; truffle tourism inland |
| November | New olive oil; white truffles; new wine on St Martin’s Day, 11 November | Truffle Days end early November; Martinovanje across Slovenia and Istria | Coast closing; inland open |
| December | White truffles to the end of the year; Christmas fritule | – | Winter closures on the coast |
January and February: the truffle tail and scampi season
The white truffle season that began in September runs into January, and the hunters around Motovun keep working while the coast sleeps. Rovinj and Poreč lose most of their restaurants to winter closure and the prices drop with them; inland, the konobas in Buzet and Livade stay open for truffles, and this is when the Kvarner scampi, landed on the eastern side of the peninsula, are fattest. February is Carnival: fritule, the small fried doughnuts, and kroštule, the fried ribbons. See Istria truffle hunting.
March and April: wild asparagus
Istrians walk the hedgerows in March for wild asparagus, thin and bitter, and the north-west of the peninsula, around Umag, Novigrad, Buje and Brtonigla, holds asparagus days through to May, with frittata and asparagus fuži on every menu. Across the border, Slovenian Istria runs its own asparagus days from late March. The scampi fishing season opens in April, Easter brings pinca, the sweet braided bread, and the coast begins to reopen. Prices are low and the weather is kind.
May: new Malvazija and open cellars
May is Istria’s wine month. Vinistra, the regional wine fair, fills Poreč in the first half of the month and shows the new Malvazija from the previous harvest; on the last Sunday, Open Wine Cellars Day opens dozens of producers from Momjan to Vižinada without appointment. The asparagus is finishing, the scampi are running and the sea is warming. If you can choose one month for wine, choose this one. See Istria wine tours.
June: summer truffles, cherries and the sea
The black summer truffle appears in the Mirna valley woods and stays until September, milder than the white but enough for a hunt and a lunch; sea urchins and the first summer fish reach the konobas of Rovinj; and an hour north, Goriška Brda in Slovenia holds its cherry festival on the first weekend. Rabac, on the east coast, celebrates Kvarner scampi in the middle of the month. From mid-June the coast is busy. See Rovinj food tours.
July and August: peak season and Muscat
High summer is the sea, and the food follows it: grilled fish, scampi na buzaru, a glass of cold Malvazija. Pula’s film festival fills the Roman arena in mid-July, and Momjan, the village that makes Istria’s sweet Muscat, holds its Kingdom of Muscat in the same week. August is the most expensive month on the coast and the calmest inland; on the Slovenian Karst, Dutovlje celebrates Teran and pršut. Book restaurants, classes and tours ahead. See Pula food tours and cooking classes.
September: harvest, and the truffles begin
September is the month. Malvazija is picked in the first half, Teran later; the white truffle season opens in the Mirna valley woods; the first olives are on the trees; the sea is still warm and the August crowds have gone. Buzet holds Subotina on the second weekend, when a pan two and a half metres across cooks a truffle omelette with more than two thousand eggs in the main square, and Buje celebrates the grape harvest in the second half of the month. Prices drop with the crowds.
October: white truffles and the olive harvest
The white truffle peaks. Zigante Truffle Days in Livade run on weekends from the first days of October into early November, with markets, tastings and the year’s largest finds on show; Motovun’s TeTa festival pairs Teran and truffles in mid-October. The olive harvest starts and runs through November around Vodnjan and Buje, in the region Flos Olei has named the best olive oil region in the world nine times. Coastal hotels are winding down; inland, this is the busiest food month of the year. See Istria olive oil tours.
November: new oil and St Martin’s Day
The mills press the new oil, green and pungent, and the first slice of bread with it is the best thing Istria makes; the truffles continue; and on 11 November, Martinje, the must becomes wine and every cellar from Momjan to Maribor pours the new vintage. Slovenia’s Martinovanje in Maribor is the biggest party in the region. The coast is mostly closed by now; base yourself inland or in Pula. See Maribor wine tours.
December: last truffles, first fritule
The white truffle season runs to the end of the year in a good one, the olive oil is at its most intense, and Christmas brings fritule again. Rovinj and Poreč are quiet and beautiful; book a truffle lunch in Livade and a night in Motovun and you will have the peninsula to yourself.
Across the border: Slovenia’s food year
The Karst and the Vipava Valley, an hour north of Motovun, share Istria’s soils and grapes. Teran and Karst pršut have their festival in Dutovlje in August; Brda’s cherries ripen in June; the Vipava harvest is in September; St Martin’s Day on 11 November is the biggest wine day of the Slovenian year; and Bled’s cream cake is in season every day. See Slovenia wine tours and Piran food tours.
The best month for what you want
- White truffles: October and November, with September and December on either side.
- Wine: May for Vinistra and open cellars, September for the harvest.
- Olive oil: late October and November for new oil at the mills.
- Asparagus: March to May.
- Sea and food together: June and September.
- Lowest prices: November to March, inland.
- Avoid: the coast in August if you want space; the coast in January if you want it open.
See also what to eat in Istria and white truffle vs black truffle.
Frequently asked questions
When is truffle season in Istria?
White truffles from September to January, peaking in October and November; black summer truffles from June to September.
What is the best month to visit Istria for food?
September: the harvest, the start of truffle season, a warm sea and no August crowds. October and November for truffles and oil if the sea does not matter.
When is the olive harvest in Istria?
October and November, with new oil at the mills from late October.
Is Istria open in winter?
The inland truffle towns are; much of the coast, especially Rovinj and Poreč, closes from November to March.
What is Subotina?
Buzet’s festival on the second weekend of September, famous for a giant truffle omelette cooked in the main square with as many eggs as the year has digits, plus one thousand or two.
