All Inclusive Resort Funtana
All Inclusive Resort Funtana sits right on the west coast of Istria in Croatia, in the small seaside village of Funtana between the towns of Poreč and Vrsar. It’s a full all-inclusive resort of 228 balconied rooms in gardens that slope down to the sea, with two freshwater pools, a beach a few steps from the rooms, the sports thrown in and a children’s club for ages four and up.
On this page
Is it worth it?
The quick read before the detail: who Funtana suits, what’s folded into the price and the facts to skim first.
All Inclusive Resort Funtana is the value end of the all-inclusive market on this stretch of the Istrian coast, and the only Maistra resort in Funtana that runs full all-inclusive. It costs noticeably less than the Family Hotel Amarin, the group’s family flagship over in Rovinj, and it has less dedicated family kit to match: no baby club, no indoor pool and no spa. What you get instead is a simple, good-value package right by the sea, with two pools, the sports included and a children’s programme for primary-age children in the peak weeks. It works best if you want a beachside base to explore western Istria from, rather than a self-contained resort you never leave.
Best for
You want a straightforward, good-value all-inclusive by the sea, with two pools, a beach on the doorstep, the sports thrown in and a club for children of four and over.
Maybe not for
You’ve a baby or a child under four who’d want a club, or you’re after a sandy beach, a spa or a big choice of included restaurants.
Best ages
Four to eleven, the ages the MaiSky Kids Club runs for. Younger children are welcome, but there’s no club or childcare for them.
What stands out
The beach a few steps from the rooms, the sports included in the price and Dinopark Funtana within walking distance.
What to check
The exact opening and closing dates for your week, whether the AquaColors waterpark is open yet, and that having no under-four childcare suits your family.
Where is it?
Funtana, on the west coast of Istria in Croatia, between Poreč and Vrsar, about 55 minutes by car from Pula airport.
Quick facts for families
What the resort is like
Where Funtana sits, how it’s laid out over the sloping gardens and what that means for getting around.
All Inclusive Resort Funtana is run by Maistra d.d., part of the Adris group, under the Maistra Select brand, the operator's mid to upper-mid-market strand of hotels and resorts in seafront spots across Istria and Dubrovnik. It's at Valkanela 2 in Funtana and is the only all-inclusive Maistra property in the village, distinct from the Maistra Select resorts Belvedere and Petalon further south in Vrsar.
The resort stands directly on the shore on a quiet part of the west Istrian coast, surrounded by Mediterranean planting, on the village edge between Poreč, about 5 miles (8 km) north, and Vrsar, about 2 miles (3 km) south. Its 228 rooms are spread across low pavilions set in a garden that steps gently down towards the sea and the pools, so most rooms look out over the water and the Vrsar archipelago, a scatter of 18 small islands offshore. Every room has a balcony. The resort was renovated in 2022.
Because the garden slopes and the pools sit above the beach, getting around on foot means paths on a gentle incline. On-site pushchair hire isn’t listed, and the slope can make it harder going with a buggy in places, so it’s worth planning to bring your own and expecting some inclines between the rooms, the pool and the sand. The resort states plainly that it is not adapted for guests with disabilities.
Most of what a family needs day to day is close. The sea is 20 to 50 m away depending on which pavilion you’re in, the beach is 20 m from the nearest rooms, and the centre of Funtana village is about 300 m, a walk of under ten minutes. There’s a shop 50 m away, a bus stop and a post office about 300 m off, and the harbour around 1 km. Parking is free. Electric-car charging is available on site for an extra charge. Pets aren’t allowed. For the wider region, its towns and beaches, see our Istria guide.
What the all-inclusive includes
What’s covered by the price, what costs extra and every place to eat and drink.
Funtana runs on full all-inclusive, and that board is its main draw among the Maistra resorts around Vrsar. The price covers breakfast, lunch and dinner at the main buffet, snacks and light meals at the bars through the day, drinks with your meals and local spirits, all the sports facilities and sun loungers and parasols at both the pool and the beach, subject to there being enough to go round. The children’s programme is included too, in full through July and August and on a reduced timetable either side.
A few things sit outside the package. The Tramontana à la carte restaurant is charged separately, as is electric-car charging, and excursions, transfers and car hire are all booked and paid for on their own. On drinks, the resort lists local spirits and drinks with meals as included, so that’s house and local pours rather than a spelled-out premium-brand list.
Two restaurants and the barsEvery restaurant and bar
Board Restoran Funtana is the main buffet and where the all-inclusive meals are served, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It leans Mediterranean and Istrian, with hot and cold dishes, fish and meat. There’s no separate children’s buffet or baby-food corner here, which the Family Hotel Amarin does have, so with a baby or weaning toddler you’d be picking suitable things off the main buffet rather than from a dedicated station.
Tramontana is the à la carte restaurant, set on a shaded poolside terrace, serving Istrian cooking such as pasta, risottos, meat dishes and salads. It’s the one place to eat that isn’t in the all-inclusive, positioned as an evening out rather than an everyday choice, so it’s worth booking a table ahead for the night you want it.
For drinks, the Aperitiv Bar sits near reception for an aperitif or a coffee. The Fresh Corner pours juices, hot drinks, beer, local wines and ice cream through the day and turns into a spirits bar in the evening. There’s a bar beside the main pool, with live music there on summer evenings.
Eating with young children
The buffet is the practical choice with little ones: no booking, no fixed sitting and enough plain choice to find something a toddler will eat, though there’s no dedicated children’s menu. Keep Tramontana for an evening when everyone can sit through a longer meal, and reserve it in advance since it’s à la carte and charged on top.
Rooms and suites
Every room type, the two freshwater pools and the beach a few steps below.
There are five room types, all with a balcony, across the 228 rooms. Maistra doesn’t publish floor areas for Funtana, so the table below is the layout and how many each sleeps rather than sizes; the guidance after it is which suit a family.
| Room | Sleeps | Bed and layout |
|---|---|---|
| Basic single room | 1 | A double or single bed, sea-facing, with a balcony and a bathroom with a shower. |
| Standard double room | 2 | A double bed, a balcony, an LCD satellite TV and free Wi-Fi. |
| Superior double room | 2 | A double bed and a balcony, fully equipped. |
| Superior double room with extra bed | 2 adults and 1 child under 12 | A double bed plus a pullout armchair single bed for the child, with a balcony. |
| Family room | 4 | Two separate double rooms joined by a connecting door, each with its own balcony. |
For a family, the layout that works best is the Family room, two separate double rooms joined by a connecting door with a balcony each, so children can sleep in their own space next to yours. The Superior double room with extra bed takes two adults and one child under twelve, but the child’s bed is a pullout armchair single rather than a cot, which suits an older child more than a toddler. If you’re travelling with a baby or younger toddler, ask for a cot: it’s free on request and set up before you arrive, though it isn’t already in the room.
Every room has air conditioning, a mini fridge, free Wi-Fi, a telephone, a safe, an LCD satellite TV, an emergency alarm, a hairdryer and a balcony. Bathrooms have a toilet and a shower rather than a bath.
Pools and water features
There are two outdoor pools, both freshwater and both renovated, set just above the beach with views of the sea and the islands. The main pool is 207 sq m and 1 to 1.75 m deep, with free loungers and parasols and a bar alongside. Next to it is the children’s pool, 125 sq m and 0.5 m deep. That shallow depth is reassuring for toddlers and non-swimmers, though it may feel too shallow for an older child who wants to splash about, and either way a young child needs watching in it. There’s no splash pad and no indoor pool, so this is a resort for the warm months rather than a shoulder-season one.
The beach
The beach is essentially on the doorstep, 20 m from the nearest rooms. Like most of the Istrian coast it isn’t sandy: it’s a mix of natural rock, pebble and flat rocky areas, so water shoes are worth packing for small feet. There’s a spot set aside for children where it’s easier to get into the sea, which is the gentlest place to paddle, along with natural tree shade and showers on the beach. Loungers and parasols are free for all-inclusive guests when there are enough to go round. Pedal boats are available at the beach if you fancy time on the water.
Babies and toddlers
What’s there for the youngest children, everything that fills a family day and the days out beyond the gate.
The caveat for families with the youngest children is childcare: there’s no crèche, baby club or dedicated care for under-fours, and no babysitting listed. The children’s club starts at four, so with a baby or younger toddler you’re on the childcare yourself all week. They’re welcome, and a cot is free on request, but the resort isn’t set up to take them off your hands the way the Family Hotel Amarin, with its baby club from birth, is. There’s no baby-food or weaning corner here either.
From age four, the MaiSky Kids Club covers children up to eleven, named after Sky the Dragon, its mascot from a local legend, with Sky merchandise sold at reception. It runs from a newly renovated Mini Club building right next to the children’s pool. The programme is full every day in July and August and reduced from 1 May to 30 June and from 1 to 20 September, so a shoulder-season week gets fewer sessions. Days mix play, learning activities, sports and games, including a swimming school for beginners that’s part of the all-inclusive, and there’s an evening children’s programme of mini discos, cabaret, cartoon evenings, quizzes, talent shows and a magician’s show. Older children get a video-games area from age eight, and there’s an outdoor playground on site.
On resortThings to do
All the sports facilities are in the all-inclusive price. On land that means two clay tennis courts, a beach volleyball court, miniature golf, table tennis, billiards and darts, plus bicycle hire and the outdoor playground; at the beach there are pedal boats. The bike hire doubles as a way into the wider area, with cycling and hiking trails running from the resort into inland Istria, along the wine roads and out to the largest vineyard in the region, and there are dedicated cycling maps for the Poreč Riviera.
The daily activity programme adds guided sessions through the season: sports tours, Zumba, aerobics and aqua aerobics, hobby workshops, bicycle tours to the local water springs and surprise outings into the surroundings, with live music by the pool in the evenings. Pedal boats are the only water activity the resort itself lists: kayaking and sailing aren’t offered here, and there’s no diving school either, so if diving matters to you the neighbouring Resort Petalon is the one with that facility. What the resort doesn’t have is a spa or wellness centre, so this is an active, sports-and-beach place rather than one for treatments and downtime.
Off resortThe area and days out
Funtana village is about 300 m away, a very small place of around 900 permanent residents that fills up in summer, when almost every house has rooms to let or a tavern or bar. It has a marina, restaurants, taverns and a run of summer events, from fishermen’s feasts at the port to concerts in the church and square and a crab festival. The village name comes from the local water springs.
Dinopark Funtana is the standout family day out, walkable or a very short drive: a theme park of life-size dinosaurs with rides, a children’s zoo, pony riding and live shows, open from around late April to early October. All the rides are included in the ticket price except the Flying Devil Zip-Line, which costs extra, and dogs are welcome on a lead throughout the park. There’s a run of places to eat inside too, from the Jungle Bar and Bambus Cafe to Mc Dinos for burgers and Pizza Cut for pizza. Under-fours go free and four-to-fourteens pay a reduced rate; day-ticket prices aren’t published online and vary with the season and how far ahead you book, so check dinopark.hr before you go. A family visiting more than three times in a year would break even on an annual pass, €129 for a child aged four to fourteen or €149 for an adult (last checked June 2026). Show times vary from day to day and are posted on the information boards when you arrive, and it’s card at the ticket office but cash only for food and rides once you’re inside.
A little further afield, the AquaColors waterpark in Poreč is a big park, over 100,000 sq m, with 13 slides and a 500 m lazy river, one of the longest in southern Europe, plus dedicated zones for younger children. It opens on 29 May, so an early-May week would miss it; advance tickets online cost from around €22 for children and €27 for adults (last checked June 2026), less than paying on the gate, and it’s cash only for food and drink once you’re inside, though card works at the ticket office. Poreč is the nearest larger town, about 5 miles (8 km) north and roughly ten minutes by car. Its old town has shops and restaurants alongside the UNESCO-listed Euphrasian Basilica, an early Christian complex of mosaics. Vrsar, an old fishing town with Casanova connections, is about 2 miles (3 km) south along the paved Bernardina coastal path, 30 to 40 minutes on foot at a family pace.
The Lim Channel, a protected fjord-like inlet known for boat trips and oysters, is around 6 miles (10 km) south; the Funtana tourist board also lists snorkelling and sailing among activities in that wider area, though neither is something the resort itself offers. Further out, Rovinj, a Venetian-looking coastal town, is about 12 miles (20 km) away, and the well-preserved Roman arena at Pula is about 34 miles (54 km) south and suits older children. Brijuni National Park, reached by boat near Pula, and inland Istria for Motovun and truffle country are longer half-day trips.
Loves and gripes
The draws and the trade-offs, how it sits against the other Maistra resorts nearby, the journey in and the weather by month.
We haven’t stayed at Funtana, so the draws and trade-offs below are weighed from what the resort actually offers rather than from a star rating.
The draws
- The beach and both pools are a few steps from the rooms.
- The sports are generously included, from tennis and beach volleyball to bikes and pedal boats.
- Good value, at the more affordable end of the local all-inclusives.
- Dinopark within walking distance, and Poreč, Vrsar and Rovinj all in easy reach.
- A club and evening programme for four-to-elevens in the peak weeks.
The trade-offs
- No baby club, crèche or babysitting, so under-fours are on you.
- The beach is rocky and pebble rather than sandy.
- No indoor pool and no spa, and the club programme thins outside July and August.
- One buffet and one extra-charge à la carte, rather than a wide choice of included restaurants.
- Sloping garden ground between the rooms, pool and beach.
How it compares
The clearest comparison is with the Family Hotel Amarin in Rovinj, Maistra’s family flagship. Amarin is built for young families, with a kids’ club that takes babies from birth, three outdoor pools plus two indoor and a lazy river, a children’s buffet, a baby-food corner, a spa with a children’s zone and pushchair hire. Funtana has none of that, and costs meaningfully less: it’s the value, simpler choice, and Amarin is the one to book if you need childcare and facilities for a baby or toddler.
Nearer by in Vrsar, Resort Petalon also does all-inclusive and is pitched at active families, with a diving school and a more sports-led feel; Funtana leans a little more towards families with its MaiSky club. Resort Belvedere, also in Vrsar, sits right on the seafront within walking distance of the old town but doesn’t offer all-inclusive, whereas Funtana is about 2 miles (3 km) north in a quieter setting and the full all-inclusive is what sets it apart.
From the airportGetting there and when to go
The nearest airport is Pula (PUY), 34 miles (54 km) away and about 55 minutes by car, and it’s the realistic option for UK families flying direct to Istria. There’s a small recreational airfield at Vrsar 5 km off, but it takes light aircraft only, not commercial flights. Transfers, excursions and car hire are all offered through Maistra but sit outside the all-inclusive, so book a private transfer or hire a car ahead of time; a car of your own is worth it if you plan several days out, given how much of western Istria is in reach. By road, Rijeka is about 83 miles (134 km), Trieste in Italy about 48 miles (77 km) and Ljubljana in Slovenia about 114 miles (183 km).
The resort opens for the season roughly from May to late September. The exact opening and closing dates move year to year and aren’t published far ahead, so check directly with Maistra before you book. For young children the best weeks are July, with the most sun, the driest weather and the warmest sea, and June, which is warm with fewer crowds. September keeps a warm sea but brings more rain and a winding-down programme.
When to goWeather
Funtana shares the climate of Poreč, a little to the north on the same sheltered western coast. Summer is warm and mostly dry, and where rain does fall in the season it tends to come as brief afternoon thunderstorms rather than whole wet days. July is the driest month, and August and September are the wettest of the season even though the sun is still strong.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 23° | 12° | 77 mm | 8 | 18° |
| June | 27.5° | 16° | 74 mm | 6 | 23° |
| July | 29.5° | 17.5° | 60 mm | 5 | 26° |
| August | 29.5° | 17.5° | 82 mm | 6 | 26° |
| September | 25° | 14° | 123 mm | 8 | 24° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer. The resort is open roughly May to late September.
Health and the practical bits
The medical, money and entry details a UK family needs for a trip to Croatia.
For an emergency, the nearest A&E is Pula General Hospital (Opća bolnica Pula) at Santoriova 24a in Pula, on +385 52 376 000, about 34 miles (54 km) and 55 minutes away by car, the same run as the airport. For minor things, the health centre at Poreč (Dom zdravlja Poreč, Dr. Mauro Gioseffi 2, +385 52 451 611) is roughly 8 km north, about ten minutes by car.
A UK GHIC, or an EHIC you still hold, covers necessary state healthcare in Croatia on the same terms as residents, but it doesn’t replace travel insurance, so carry both. Croatia has used the euro since January 2023 and is in the EU and the Schengen area. You’ll need a valid passport, as a national ID card isn’t accepted, and there’s no visa for stays under 90 days in any 180-day period. It’s worth checking the FCDO’s Croatia travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/croatia before you go, as it can change.
The questions parents askQuestions
Is there anything laid on for a baby or toddler?
Nothing in the way of care. The club only takes children from four, and no crèche or babysitting can be booked, so a younger one stays with you through the day. What is there for them is a free cot on request, the shallow children’s pool and a welcome like any other guest. Families who want cover for a baby or toddler tend to choose the Family Hotel Amarin over in Rovinj instead.
When should we go with young children?
June or July give you the warmest sea and, in July, the driest weather and the full children’s programme. The resort runs roughly from May to late September, but the exact dates shift each year, so confirm your week with Maistra before you book flights.
Can a toddler wade into the sea easily?
The beach is rocky and pebble rather than sandy, so pack water shoes for little feet. There’s a spot set aside for children where the entry into the water is gentler, which is the easiest place to paddle.
Do we have to book Tramontana, and is it included?
Tramontana is the à la carte restaurant by the pool and it costs extra, on top of the all-inclusive. It’s an evening out rather than an everyday option, so it’s worth reserving a table ahead for the night you want it.
How do we get there from the UK?
Fly to Pula, 34 miles (54 km) and about 55 minutes away by car. Arrange a private transfer or hire a car before you travel, as neither is part of the all-inclusive and there are no direct commercial flights into the small Vrsar airfield nearby.
Is a cot provided?
Yes, on request and at no extra cost, but it isn’t already in the room. Ask for it when you book so it’s set up before you arrive.
Is AquaColors worth a day out, and will it be open?
The AquaColors waterpark near Poreč is about a ten-minute drive and makes a full day, but it opens on 29 May, so a holiday in the first weeks of May would miss it. Check the opening dates against your week.
Is it easy to get around with a pushchair?
The gardens slope down to the sea and the pools sit above the beach, so expect some inclines between the rooms, the pool and the sand. On-site pushchair hire isn’t listed, so plan to bring your own.
See more Funtana photos
Open the All Inclusive Resort Funtana photo gallery →Useful links
- Maistra: the operator’s own site for rooms, what’s included, the children’s club and booking. For a direct enquiry, call +385 52 800 250 or email [email protected].
- GOV.UK Croatia travel advice: entry rules and safety updates before you travel.
- Istria with little ones: our guide to the wider region, its towns and when to go.
Last updated 12 July 2026.
