Where to stay in Pula

The centre gathers the Arena, the Forum with the Temple of Augustus and the old town on its hill, all on foot. Verudela, a pine-wooded peninsula about 4 km south of the Arena, has rocky coves and small beaches.

Outside the city, Medulin is the resort bay south-east of Pula and Premantura the village at the gate of Cape Kamenjak, both in the Medulin municipality area. Fažana, north-west, is the harbour for the Brijuni National Park, 15 minutes away by boat.

Pula parking rewrote its zones on 1 April 2026. Zone 0, the streets of the old town hill such as Ulica Castropola and Uspon na Kaštel, is for residents and local businesses, and other cars may not park there. Zone 1 covers the centre and the streets by the sights, with a two-hour limit, and zone 2 the wider centre. Zone 3 runs from there to the city limits but for now covers only the car parks at Mandrač, Gregovica and Marsovo polje 4.

From 1 June to 30 September every zone is charged daily from 07:00 to 23:00: zone 1 at EUR 3 an hour, zone 2 at EUR 1.50 and zone 3 at EUR 1. The Karolina car park in front of the Arena, the only enclosed car park in the centre, costs EUR 4 an hour and stays open around the clock in that period. From October to May zone 1 costs EUR 1.50 and zone 2 EUR 1, charged on weekdays from 07:00 to 20:00 and on Saturdays until 14:00, and Sundays are free.

A car without a valid ticket is treated as if it had taken a 24-hour day ticket, left on the windscreen and payable within eight days; in zone 1 in summer that ticket costs EUR 72. Medulin, Premantura and Fažana lie outside Pula's zones, and their parking rules could not be verified as of September 2026. Cape Kamenjak charges cars EUR 10 a day from 16 June to 30 September 2026.

GetCar's guide Driving in Pula: the Airport Desks and the EUR 6 Shuttle, the Istrian Y Tolls and the Učka Tunnel, the 2026 Parking Zones, the Buses, Kamenjak and Rovinj in Summer covers the motorway tolls and the drives beyond the city.

The Istria County Assembly set the 2026 tourist tax in December 2024. In hotels and other commercial accommodation, the rate in Pula and Medulin is EUR 1.60 per person per night from 1 April to 30 September and EUR 1.10 the rest of the year, and in Fažana EUR 1.60 and EUR 1.00. Children under 12 pay nothing, ages 12 to 18 pay half, and people staying for work are exempt with proof such as an employment contract.

In private household apartments the host pays a yearly amount per bed, EUR 70 in Pula and Medulin and EUR 60 in Fažana, and must post in each unit that the tax is included in the price. Every host registers each guest in eVisitor within 24 hours of arrival, so expect to show a passport or ID. A household host may advertise only the type and category in its official decision, and a flat in a block needs the co-owners' written consent before it can be licensed.

Three sets of dates matter in Pula. The summer parking rates run from 1 June to 30 September, the higher tourist tax from 1 April to 30 September and the Kamenjak car fee from 16 June to 30 September. A stay in May or October falls outside the summer parking rates; in May the higher tax already applies.

For Brijuni, the boats from Fažana leave every 30 to 60 minutes, and the national park publishes its sailing schedule.

A short city stay on foot: the centre.

Coves and pine woods within a short drive of the Arena: Verudela.

A beach holiday with children: Medulin.

Cape Kamenjak on the doorstep: Premantura.

Brijuni and a quieter harbour: Fažana.