Tiny House Dora
Pure chance brought us here for the first time in 2024 — a find on Booking.com, with no idea what it would become. The house sits in the middle of nowhere, at the end of a dirt track, deep in the Istrian countryside. From the moment we arrived it felt different: the owners' warm, personal welcome made it instantly clear this was no ordinary holiday rental.
What makes this place so relaxed is precisely how far it sits from any bustle. No city noise — just birds starting the day. Even our dogs know it by now: every year, the moment we arrive, they dash straight inside to “check” whether this is really the same house again — and every year the answer is yes. They're so at ease here that they roam the whole garden as if it's theirs. (And on the rare occasion the neighbours have no visitors and there's genuinely no one around, the dress code briefly relaxes too — it's that kind of place.)
Just as important as the house are its owners. Their warmth isn't about grand gestures, but in how they treat you: they genuinely ask how you're doing, worry when something's wrong, and radiate a hospitality that isn't taught — you either have it or you don't. Last year proved it again: the house happened to stand empty in the days after we left, and without us even asking, they offered to let us stay a few extra days, free of charge. By now it's more than guest and landlord — we text back and forth, and they get our sense of humour as well as we get theirs. The proof hangs literally by the door: their cheerful garden gnome with its “WELCOME” sign, which in one of our edited photos gets taken out by a pressure washer — gnome blown to pieces, sign still held proudly aloft. Exactly the kind of joke they got immediately.
Over three years, our own rhythm has taken shape. We now arrive as early as possible — before check-in is even allowed, just to drop off the bags — but not before catching up and hugging the owners first. After that it's straight to the beach, to our usual spot at Wau Beach Bar. The house itself isn't standing still either: a second building is going up for the future, and the owners keep improving little things year after year.
Not everything has gone smoothly. When temperatures swing, the garden gate tends to work loose more often than it jams — these days we secure it with a rope. Once, during a heavy storm while we weren't there, our dogs managed to push it open anyway. When we got back, we found them soaking wet and shivering on the dirt track — looking for us. Our youngest dog was only six months old at the time. A moment that stays with you.
Ask us why we keep coming back, and there's no single moment we can point to — it's more a feeling of “we're here again,” one you can read on our dogs just as easily as on us. Since we found this house, we've never considered anywhere else, even though we booked plenty of other holiday cottages before. Why does this one win? Because it's simply perfect. These days we rebook for the following year the moment we leave — Tiny House Dora has become our regular spot in Istria.
2024 — The first year
Our first encounter: a chance find on Booking.com that turned out to be a perfect match right away.
2025 — Back to Dora
Our second summer running, with a spontaneous gift from the owners at the end.
2026 — Our regular spot
Our third year running — by now we rebook for the following year the moment we leave.
The gnome
Proof that the owners get our sense of humour just as well as we get theirs.
