Rovinj's old town sits on a peninsula and every street inside the town walls is pedestrian-only. If you arrive by car, you park at the edge of town and walk in — usually 5 to 15 minutes. All the paid city lots are run by Komunalni Servis d.o.o., the local municipal company, and prices are standardised across the town.

Aerial view of a packed parking lot with rows of cars — parking in Rovinj in summer

Quick take

  • Closest to the old town: Velika Valdibora and Mala Valdibora — both closed lots with barriers, right next to the harbour. Velika is also used by residents and fills up fast in season, so don't count on finding a spot at midday in summer.
  • Honest advice from locals: just pay the lot and move on. Don't drive around hunting for free spots — you'll burn 30 minutes and still end up parking somewhere you'll pay for.
  • For campers & buses: Fra Pavla Pellizzera or Gripole-Spinè, with water and sanitation included.
  • When to arrive in summer: before 10 am. The closest lots fill fast in June–September.
  • Pay with an app: Bmove or Aircash are both accepted across the zones.

How parking works in Rovinj

Parking is split into two types:

Closed lots (barriers, entry/exit terminals) — you take a ticket on the way in and pay at a machine before you leave. There are six of them:

  • Velika Valdibora
  • Mala Valdibora
  • Boksiti
  • Nova Hladnjača
  • Fra Pavla Pellizzera
  • Grand Park Hotel garage

Open lots (parking meters, no barrier) — you pay up front for a given duration. These are grouped into five zones from closest-and-most-expensive (Zone 1) to furthest-and-cheapest (Zones 4–5):

  • Zone 1 — Matteo Benussi Cio, Tommy. Short-stay only (max 180 min). Good for a quick errand, not a day visit.
  • Zone 2 — Carducci, HEP, Fontera, Obala Aldo Negri, Vijenac braće Lorenzetto, Istarska 1, Sv. Vid.
  • Zone 3 — Obala Vladimira Nazora, Fontana, Matteo Benussi, Istarska 2, 43. istarske divizije, Stanka Pauletića, Gimnazija, Mirna, Ampelea, Braće Brajković, Obala Nona.
  • Zone 4 (furthest, cheapest, free in winter) — Monvi, Basketball Court, Cademia, Football Field, Škaraba, Punta, Kuglana, Bolnica, San Pelagio, Luigi Monti, Porton Biondi, Centener-Cuvi, Cemetery.
  • Zone 5 — Gripole-Spinè, exclusively for buses, campers and trucks.

Map of all Rovinj parking lots

Official map from Komunalni Servis, with every lot colour-coded by zone:

Prices

Rates change with the season. The main brackets are: winter (1 Nov – 31 Mar), shoulder (1 Apr – 31 May, 1 Oct – 31 Oct), and peak (1 Jun – 30 Sep).

Open lots (pay at meter)

  • Zone 1: 0.50 € for first 30 min, then 1.00 € per 30 min. Max 180 min.
  • Zones 2 & 3: 0.50 €/h (winter) → 2.00 €/h (shoulder) → 3.00 €/h (peak).
  • Zone 4: FREE in winter. 1.00 €/h and 7.00 €/day in summer.
  • Zone 5 (buses/campers): 1.00 €/h winter, 2.00 €/h summer (with 5–10 €/day).
  • Daily cap for Zones 1–3: 15.00 € winter, 25.00 € summer.

Closed lots (barrier)

  • Velika Valdibora, Mala Valdibora, Boksiti: 0.50 €/h winter → 2.00 €/h shoulder → 3.50 €/h peak.
  • Nova Hladnjača, Fra Pavla Pellizzera: 0.50 €/h winter → 2.00 €/h shoulder → 3.00 €/h peak.
  • Fra Pavla Pellizzera (buses, trucks, campers): 2.00 €/h winter, 4.00 €/h from March to November.
  • Grand Park Hotel garage: 2.00 €/h winter → 4.00 €/h summer.

Operating hours on open lots are 06:00–23:00 in summer and 06:00–20:00 in winter (Sundays and public holidays free in winter). Closed lots charge 24/7.

How to pay

You don't have to feed a meter with change. Payment options:

  • Mobile apps — Bmove and Aircash are the two official ones. Both let you start, extend and stop a session from your phone. Download before you arrive.
  • SMS — each zone has its own number posted on the meter.
  • QR code on the meter — takes you to a payment page.
  • ParkShop (webstore) — for pre-paying a multi-day ticket online.
  • Kiosks — Tisak, iNovine and Azzurro kiosks across town sell paper parking tickets.
  • Valdibora cashier — the Komunalni Servis office, for anything you'd rather pay in person.

Camper & bus parking

Two city lots are equipped for campers and buses, with free basic infrastructure — water supply, toilets, and wastewater disposal — available 24 hours:

  • Fra Pavla Pellizzera (closed lot) — about a 15-minute walk from the old town.
  • Gripole-Spinè (Zone 5) — the dedicated bus/camper/truck lot, further out but cheaper.

Local tips

  • Just pay for the lot. The realistic local advice: don't hunt for free parking. The time you'll spend looking costs more than a day ticket.
  • Avoid peak hours. Summer evenings — roughly 18:00 to 22:00 — are the worst, when the whole town heads in for dinner and a walk along the harbour. Morning or mid-afternoon is much easier.
  • Velika Valdibora fills fast and is shared with residents — plan on it being full midday in July and August. Boksiti and Fra Pavla Pellizzera are your reliable fallbacks just a bit further out.
  • Don't rely on the car in town. Rovinj is small — you can walk across the old town in 15 minutes. Most hotels rent bikes (or include them free), and the coastal path south to Zlatni rt is flat and pleasant. Park once, use two wheels or two feet.
  • Zone 1 is not for visitors — 3-hour max means it's for quick errands. Pick a Zone 2–4 lot for a proper day in town.
  • Sundays and public holidays in winter are free on the open lots (Zones 1–3).

Practical tips

  • Operator: Komunalni Servis d.o.o. — the municipal company that runs all city lots.
  • Hotel guests: if your accommodation has a private garage (Maistra properties, Grand Park, most hotels) use that. It's almost always cheaper than Zone 1–3 day rates.
  • Old town rules: no driving in. Delivery vehicles only, with a permit, early morning.
  • EV charging: Grand Park Hotel garage has EV chargers; there are also public chargers near Valdibora.

For getting around once you've parked, see our Getting Around Rovinj guide. Or if you haven't arrived yet, our Getting to Rovinj guide covers the best routes in.