Rovinj Truffle Hunting with Trained Dogs & Small Groups

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.87 (195 reviews) 94% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/19

Duration1h 30m

GroupUp to 10

PickupAt your hotel

Hunt truffles in Motovun forest the way locals do

You walk through Motovun forest with trained truffle dogs, learning to spot and dig for white and black truffles alongside the Svilicic family. Small groups mean personal attention and a genuine hunt, not a performance. The forest's reputation for high-quality truffles is earned, and you'll understand why by the end of the morning.

1h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Authentic truffle hunting experience

Walk through Motovun forest
Search for truffles with trained dogs
Learn truffle hunting from Svilicic family

The Experience

The forest floor is soft underfoot, scattered with leaves and the smell of damp earth. You're standing at the edge of Motovun woodland in Istria, and the dogs are already moving ahead, noses down, pulling gently on their leads. This is not a demonstration or a staged photo moment — it's a real truffle hunt, the kind the Svilicic family has been running for years, and you're about to spend the morning doing exactly what they do.

The dogs know what they're looking for. Truffles are subterranean fungi, hidden underground, and the trained animals can smell them from several meters away. You'll walk through the forest watching them work, learning to read their behavior, understanding how to dig carefully when they signal a find. The Motovun forest sits in the valley of the Mirna River, and the truffles here — both white (Tuber Magnatum) and black (Tuber Melanosporum) — are considered among the highest quality in Europe. That reputation exists for a reason, and you'll see it firsthand as the hunt unfolds.

Groups stay small, capped at 10 people, which means you're not competing for the guide's attention or waiting while someone else asks questions. The pace is set by the dogs and the forest, not by a schedule. You walk, you watch, you find what's there. The Svilicic family leads the way, pointing out what to look for, explaining the difference between the varieties, showing you how to extract a truffle without damaging it. It's hands-on and unhurried — the kind of morning that stays with you longer than the polished tours do.

What’s included

Your morning includes the truffle hunting tour itself, led by the Svilicic family with trained dogs, in the Motovun forest. You'll learn to identify and extract truffles, and groups are kept to a maximum of 10 people for a personal experience.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats availablePublic transport nearby

Operated by Svilicic truffle hunting

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to hunt truffles yourself rather than watch someone else do it — the real work, the dogs, the forest, and the Svilicic family's knowledge are what make the difference between a tour and an actual hunt.