Summer on the Slovenian Riviera

The harbour at Izola: once a fishing village, it’s now a laidback coastal town. Photograph: GettyView image in fullscreenThe harbour at Izola: once a fishing village, it’s now a laidback coastal town. Photograph: GettySummer on the Slovenian RivieraThe country’s coastline is one of the shortest in Europe, but it packs a punch with unspoilt nature reserves, vibrant Venetian towns and a thriving foodie scene I’m riding a salt-coloured horse through the Dragonja valley, deep in the green hills of Slovenian Istria.

Electric-blue dragonflies zip over the river as we gallop past olive trees and vineyards. The landscape rises steeply in a series of grassy terraces, and at the top of the hill we rein in the sweating horses to take in the view. Far below, the huge grids of solinas (salt pans), glittery and light-blue in the early morning light, look strange and somehow elegant against the wild, expansive sea beyond.

The Istrian peninsula is the largest in the Adriatic Sea, with 90% of it in Croatia and smaller portions in Slovenia and Italy. I’ve come to explore the Slovenian section. At just 29 miles (47km), the country’s coastline is one of the shortest in Europe, from the Italian city of Trieste down to the Croatian border, but it boasts colourful seaside towns, hilltop villages and an emerging gastronomy scene.

View image in fullscreenWe ride back to Kmetija Medljan, the farm where I’m staying, in time for breakfast – served at long communal tables under the shade of a mulberry tree – with freshly laid eggs, strawberries from the garden and homemade bread. The Kodarin family bought the land in the 1980s and today the farm is run by Marina, Marko and their son Tilen. There are simple rooms near the stables, rustic apartments in the old farmhouse and plans to build treehouses in the future.

For now, it feels much as it must have done 250 years ago. House martins flit through the air hunting insects, chickens cluck in the orchard, and horses graze among the olive trees. The coast is just a 10-minute drive away, but the peace of the Istrian hills is what guests come for – along with Marina’s delicious home cooking (her take on traditional Slovenian noodle soup is a favourite).

Not far from the farm is the Saltworks Museum, where I learn more about the Sečovlje salt pans I glimpsed from the hillside. Housed in three former salt-workers’ houses, the museum has interactive displays and abandoned pans you can visit. Salt is still harvested by hand in the working part of the salt pans, historian Prof Flavio Bonin explains as we walk around large crystallisation basins where sea water once ran through a series of shallow pools with the salt becoming increasingly concentrated.

Istrian salt is prized for its quality and whiteness, the solni cvet, or salt flower, having a delicate, slightly sweet taste.There’s a stark beauty to this empty landscape, and the solinas are also an important haven for wildlife. A black-winged stilt with bright orange legs stalks slowly through the pans in search of lunch, and snow-white egrets rise up from the marshlands into the azure sky as I watch.

My next stop is medieval Piran, a little way up the coast towards Italy, perhaps the most beautiful of Slovenia’s seaside towns. The Venetian Republic ruled Istria for five centuries and took one-fifth of the salt produced in tax, while a seventh went to Piran, which became wealthy as a result. The Venetian influence is everywhere, from the elegant painted houses in shades of lemon, orange and coral, to the Italian-inspired culinary scene.

Rostelin is known for its handmade pasta, though for me a dish of delicate raw scallops, served with thin slices of black truffle, steals the show.View image in fullscreenMoon Bay in Strunjan landscape park is one of Slovenia’s loveliest beaches. Photograph: Giuseppe Anello/AlamyI’m staying in Benečanka Casa Veneziana in Tartini Square, which is the finest example of Venetian gothic architecture in the town.

Legend has it that, in the 15th century, a Venetian merchant fell in love with a beautiful girl from Piran and built her the prettiest house in the city. But their relationship scandalised the town’s gossips, since he had a family back in Venice. So he defiantly had the inscription Lasa pur dir (let them talk) engraved on the front wall.

The water surrounding Piran is a protected marine area, and in the afternoon I go scuba diving, hoping to spot sea horses, which live in the sea grass meadows close to shore. The shallow reef runs close to the promenade, so I can walk straight into the water with my instructor. The sea horses prove elusive, but there is plenty of other marine life, including a jaunty, hairy crab wearing a bright orange marine sponge as a cap.

There are no sandy beaches here, but people swim from the rocky waterfront, which has ladders down into the water.View image in fullscreenLjubljanska Ulica, an arty street in Izola. Photograph: Laura CoffeyFrom Piran, it’s an easy walk along the coastal path t