Brijuni National Park
ACTIVITY FAMILY HOLIDAYS IN NATURE
If you are thinking about the ideal family activity holiday in nature, with plenty of outdoor sports activities for you and the entire family, Brijuni National Park is the right choice. As soon as you step out of the boat in the port of Veli Brijun island you will have the feeling of having landed in a different time. Magic breath-taking nature, diversity of the animal kingdom, remains of powerful civilisations that left an indelible mark in history provide various educational opportunities and entertainment for the whole family.
Upon arrival on this beautiful island, it immediately becomes clear that, notwithstanding its rich history, the place is in fact ruled exclusively by peace and quiet. The heavenly and mysterious beauty of nature, with fascinating sunsets and many options for an activity holiday, makes the island the ideal place to escape everyday routine and truly feel nature. The cosy hotels and villas, surrounded by vegetation and situated on the shore, will offer you more than just comfortable accommodation. Recreation possibilities for all generations, various sports activities and outdoor facilities for children, organised excursions by tourist road train with a tourist guide and the variety of food represent just a small part of what the park has to offer.
If you would like to visit the island on your own, you can take advantage of the mobile app Brijuni Pocket Guide that contains many sightseeing suggestions and useful service information. In the port of Veli Brijun you can rent an electric car or bikes for the whole family and your Brijuni Pocket Guide will then take you to your personal adventure called Brijuni.
You can observe a segment of the Brijuni archipelago animal world in the Safari Park, where you can spot free walking zebras, zebus, ostriches, llamas, Istrian goats and sheep… Nearby there is also the Dino Park with authentic dinosaur footprints in rocks. Once upon a time, the Romans enjoyed life in Veriga Bay, but today the ruins of an authentic Roman villa can be found only underwater. If you take a snorkelling tour with our experienced specialized guide, you will be able to swim and dive with your mask, snorkel and fins on a 500 m track, observing the unforgettable underwater world of Brijuni and discovering numerous and interesting sea creatures. You can discover much about Brijuni islands in the Boathouse, originally built in 1902, which is today an interactive Interpretation and Education Centre showing the history, flora, fauna and environmental protection of the Brijuni archipelago.
Brijuni highlights:
- Accommodation in cosy hotels and villas
- Day trips (visitors can take a 4-hour sightseeing tour led by a professional tourist guide, comprising a road train drive and a walk aimed at getting acquainted with the beauty of nature and the rich cultural and historical heritage, or go sightseeing on their own with Brijuni Pocket Gude)
- Organisation of conferences, meetings and incentive tours
- Rich gastronomic offer - Sports and recreation for everyone (bikes, electric cars, golf, tennis, team building)
- Unforgettable experience for yachtsmen
Brijuni National Park is open for visits all year round with obligatory reservation.
BLUE PARK AWARD
The international Marine Conservation Institute has honored Brijuni National Park with a gold level Blue Park Award for achieving the highest science-based standards for marine life protection and management. Brijuni National Park joins a growing network of 21 Blue Parks around the world designed to protect and regenerate the ocean’s biodiversity.
Long-recognized as a special place for biodiversity conservation, Brijuni is also part of the EU network of ecologically important sites Natura 2000. Brijuni National Park protects significant seagrass ecosystems, including one of the largest meadows of Neptune grass, an endemic species, on the west coast of the Istria region. The seagrass meadows support high levels of marine life diversity by providing feeding, refuge, and nursery habitats for many species of fish and invertebrates. IUCN Red-listed migratory species, including loggerhead turtles and bottlenose dolphin, and many birds frequent the area and use its abundant resources. Seagrass meadows can buffer ocean acidification and sequester large amounts of carbon, thus contributing to climate resilience.
Brijuni’s healthy ecosystems team with abundant marine life that is managed and monitored by a large, professional staff and their partners. The MPA’s sustainable finance strategy is particularly notable. As one of few MPAs that is financially independent, Brijuni collects significant revenue for conservation from visitor fees, tourist activities such as diving and kayaking, and visitor services like restaurants and hotels.
About Blue Parks
Blue Park Awards were established by the Marine Conservation Institute to encourage governments to safeguard marine wildlife, secure critical habitats, promote resistance to climate change, and ensure the beauty of our oceans for future generations. The effort aims to assemble an effective network that protects and sustains marine life and habitats globally. As of today, there are 21 marine protected areas that have been awarded Blue Park status. In addition to awarding new Blue Parks today, Marine Conservation Institute has launched collaborations – Blue Sparks – with groups planning new marine protected areas and upgrading existing marine protected areas in the U.S., Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Panama, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Mozambique to ensure their efforts result in future Blue Parks.
About Marine Conservation Institute
Marine Conservation Institute, founded in 1996, works in the U.S. and globally to seek strong protection for at least 30% of the ocean by 2030—for us and future generations. Our focus on protecting the ocean’s most important places follows several lines of work: identifying and advocating for strong marine protected areas; improving laws and other tools to better conserve marine biodiversity; catalyzing effective conservation by recognizing and elevating the best marine protected areas as Blue Parks; and accurately reporting on global conservation efforts with our Marine Protection Atlas (MPAtlas.org)
