opatija or porec

[wrighster]

Hi folks help needed again please ;D basically we are looking to buy a 2 bedroomed apt in croatia with the intention of spending 3 - 5 weeks on and off a year there and having partners friends over from hungary budget will be approx 120k (sterling) we have stayed in vrsar and liked it a lot so looking at the pros and cons of porec and also opatija (which appears to be cheaper) we have not been to opatija yet but have heard very good reports about it and partners sister loves it so some inside info is required please on the 2 locations which would you choose and why

thanks in advance

[mambo]

None of the above !!

Opatija is not exactly cheaper, on the contrary, it is one of the most expensive places in Croatia and it is very much 'passé'. In the past it used to be the Croatian Riviera, where the 'rich and famous' used to go to the upclass hotels. Nowadays Opatija is not even a shadow of what it once was, although the prices make you think otherwise.

Porec is Mass Tourism and if you don't like mass tourism .........don't go to Istria or stay inland Istria.
Somehow I get the idea that you desperately want to buy some property, but really don't know Croatia. So why don't you get to know Croatia first and then decide to buy somewhere. I can promise you that there are many beautiful spots in this country and Porec and Opatija are absolutely last on my list.
Some other spots ?
The area north of split is a nice area, close to the airport, but also the whole coast from Trogir to Zadar is worth a visit. The island of Korcula is really something special, with still space available. The island of Krk (where you will also find the airport) is a possibility although it can be very busy on the roads in the summer.

In other words, not a bad idea to get to know Croatia before you buy.

[philjames]

I agree with Mambo. We drove through Opatija last year. Good place to go for a visit but I don't think I would consider buying a property there. It is quite expensive for 'what it is' and therefore I am not convinced it offers value for money. Although quite different to much of the 'northern' coastline it looks like a shadow of its former self. Porec is really busy during the summer and yes it clearly pulls in the tourists. When we looked there, it was too much of an extreme - saw it in August and then in February when it was empty! We have a property in Pula and it is ideal for what we want but it will not appeal to everyone. We felt it offered a more 'all year round' investment not from a letting point of view but because as a 'working town' as well as a 'tourist town' this would benefit longer term values. However the place I would recommend would be Krk. Had 3 days there last year and saw much of the island. I thought it was really pretty, clean and had some great towns and some good beaches. It is good both to visit and in terms of better value for money from a property investment point of view. I thought many of the locations like Malinska and Krk town were quite classy but in an understated way and I could understand why people would want to go there and live there. In addition there were some well- kept, larger properties outside many of the towns and the 'island' gave the impression of being looked after - if that makes sense. Its strange but Opatija seems to be expensive but only because of its history. Krk on the otherhand is actually nicer, a better investment and I think in terms of general property prices, should be more expensive than it is. Last point is that I am sure there are loads of other great places in Croatia - these are just my views on those places I have been to.

[wrighster]

Thanks brilliant answers, Mambo yes we are pretty keen on buying somewhere the reasons we are looking at those locations is accessability (sp?) anyway we are located in the north west of england so really need to be flying from Manchester which limits us to Pula only as far as we know, we also want to limit travel time once we land in Croatia to the apartment, a sea view would be great as well
point taken about getting to know the country more that would be great ideally just impatience playing its part there, but the knowledge that you are all offering so far is invaluable any more advice or opinions is greatly appreciated ;D

[capio]

Buy around lake balaton instead.

[mambo]

Can agree with Capio, Balaton lake is also a very nice place, also lots of tourists, but when your friends are already from Hungary can understand that you don't want to buy there.

[mambo]

BTW, don't forget that Ryanair does not fly to Pula in the wintertime, which would mean you have to fly into another airport, eg Treviso or Trieste. From Trieste it is the same distance/time to Krk or to Istria.

Split on the other hand has year round connections, better weather and is even closer to the ski areas (e.g. Kupra) in Bosnia.
Zadar also has an airport, but also there no connections in the wintertime.
If you want to be near a tourist development or even want to buy there then take a look on the following website:
www.puntascala.com

It is a new project near Zadar, should open up in 2009 and they do sell apartments and villa's, perhaps not a bad option either.

[wrighster]

Hungary does not really appeal as a holiday home location, really want to be by the sea or nearby
Mambo do you live in Porec permanatly? do you like it?

[upthevilla]

Opatija is very nice as a day or weekend visit, the property is expensive in comparrison with the rest of Croatia.Opatija is East facing which means no sunset although a nice sunrise over the islands of krk.also Rijeka is down the road, whish again is nice for a day but not a holiday destination as they have a large oile refinnary there.
Porec is nice and very crowded in the summer 30 mins from Pula airport and 1.15 from triest making a good option. But most of the apartmenst for sale in old porec are very expensive and you will have to look in places near porec such as veli mai and mali mai or funtanna, Vrsar and rovinj are both nice but again a little pricy. there is not many new developments in the Vrsar area and in rovinj the main option is to buy an old property and renovate it.
The Pula option
Around Pula there is Medulin, Premantura, Liznjan and Peroj, all are 10 mins from the airport and although ryan air only fliy in the summer it is still possible to get here direct from manchester, sometimes with a stop over in Zagreb, croatia airlines i think.
All the above villages have new build 2 bedroom apartments with sea views for sale and are within your budget
if you go to the web site www.istria-realestate4u.com there is a large city guide to istria with lots of pictures.
Hope this helps
Up the villa

[mambo]

I used to live in Porec, but I moved more land inward two months ago. I found a small house in the middle of nowhere and that suits me better.

In the summer Porec is way too busy, one continuous traffic jam (especially when it rains), you cannot park your car anywhere and mass tourism is the kind of tourism I don't like.
In the winter there is absolutely nothing to do, the place is deserted, it is very cold and most of the shops etc are closed, pretty boring.
Having a house on the coast in Istria means that you will share your privacy with a hell of a lot of tourists who also think that your location is a good place to sit in the sun all day. So what is the point of having a house on the beach ?

To be honest............. Istria never had any attraction on me ! Before I came to live here we used to go to Losinj on holiday and we always had something like: 'thank god we don't have to spend our holiday in Istria'.

Istria has not a lot to offer, no entertainment, no musea, no theaters, basically nothing. If you want to go somewhere you either have to go to Rijeka, Zagreb or drive into Italy. That is nice if you do it once, but not everyday.
Don't forget the medical services in Istria...........they simply don't exist. There is one, very old, hospital in Pula, which is very nice until you have an accident or something urgent. Perhaps not interesting at this moment, but when you do have medical problems you tend to notice these things.
Of course, when you have a job and live here on a day to day basis it is different from just visiting for one or two weeks in the summertime.
I basically live here, work here (mostly during the summertime) and during the winter I try to survive the cold weather. After almost 17 years in the Caribbean it is a bit of a change.

The only reason I am here is that our company has a production facility here, which means I have to be here, I cannot leave. Mass tourism is of course good for our product so that was the reason for coming here in the first place.
But if I had the option I would move to the region of Zadar or even Korcula.....yesterday !

It will also be quiet there during the winter time, but the scenery is more beautiful, I love watersports, so a small boat would be on the top of my list and I would spend a lot of time on the water.
And with the new highway it is easy to drive from Dalmatia to Zagreb or even Italy. If I don't want to drive I simply board a plane in Split and I can go where I want.

But then again, this is my opinion and I know enough people who simply come back to Porec year after year and they have done so for more than 20 years. Apparently Porec is good enough for them, so it proves that taste is quite personal.
It could very well be possible that you will like Porec, but just make sure that you really like the place before you buy. The first couple of months I did like Porec, that has changed.

[Estelle]

Come and visit Istria and Kvarner,also look at the villiages and areas outside of the towns. I love Opatija for the excellent restaurants but prefer to stay in the quieter parts nearby, you have got to see for yourself.

[gmh]

I would say around the Istrian coast there are some nice places that aren't as touristic as Porec or Opatija. Look at smaller seaside towns. Vrsar springs to mind.
Krk is a good idea but being a regular of Krk town in the summer I would suggest a place in a village outside of Krk town as it gets pretty hectic there in the summer. Closer to the bridge would save you some driving on the often crowded main road.
The suggestion for Lake Balton is pretty poor in my opinion. I've spent a lot of time there and have a good freind with a holiday home on either side of the lake. Top side is better bottom side is tourist hell, and we're talking about the worst kind of cheap german tourist. I never dared put my body in the water.

[Aleksandra]

philjames said:

However the place I would recommend would be Krk. Had 3 days there last year and saw much of the island. I thought it was really pretty, clean and had some great towns and some good beaches. It is good both to visit and in terms of better value for money from a property investment point of view. I thought many of the locations like Malinska and Krk town were quite classy but in an understated way and I could understand why people would want to go there and live there. In addition there were some well- kept, larger properties outside many of the towns and the 'island' gave the impression of being looked after - if that makes sense.

I have to say upfront that I am totally biased, as some people on this board already know, but I agree with philjames' comments about Krk. The island's municipal council have done a lot over the last five years to create a great infrastructure for both residents and tourists. People there really care about how the island looks and is presented. In the space of 15 miles you can enjoy rural countryside, relatively sophisticated living, bits of history and all the water-based activities you could wish for - depending on what you want of course.

Property prices are very competitive compared to the rest of Croatia, though if you're looking for a quick and cheap deal you will probably be disappointed. If you're interested then have a look here www.croatianvillasforsale.co.uk/ And yes, thats shameless promotion

Kitty

[crogirl]

Kitty
I have to say many of the properties on your site do not strike me as 'competitively priced' (and I apply this to other advertised properties via different agents throughout Croatia)
I would love to be proved wrong in I disagreeumption that generally properties are over-inflated in this region and they are not actually selling easily. Are there any published figures confirming property sales over the last few years and at what price? My specific interest is Istria but a general idea would help.

[Aleksandra]

Hi Crogirl,

I cannot talk for Istria and I am not sure if this will help you, but back in August we did some research on the actual sale prices achieved from the sale of apartments on the island of Krk since 2004. We have focused on two places: Krk Town and Malinska.

To be able to compare like for like, all apartments we decided to include in research were of similar quality and in similar relative position to the sea and town. We focused on one and two bedroom new or near new apartments positioned up to half a mile from the seafront, with a sea view, and with a quality finish (parquet flooring, double glazing, good size balcony, air conditioning, secure entrance, parking space, etc). This is what we came up with:

Krk Town, based on actual sale price of 43 apartments

2004 1,380 EUR / sq. m. avge
2005 1,600 EUR / sq. m. avge
2006 1,700 EUR / sq. m. avge
2007 2,140 EUR / sq. m. avge

Malinska, based on actual sale price of 39 apartments

2004 1,240 EUR / sq. m. avge
2005 1,500 EUR / sq. m. avge
2006 1,650 EUR / sq. m. avge
2007 2,040 EUR / sq. m. avge

Kitty