Stella Maris, Umag
Key Information
Tennis holidays on the dirt on the courts used for the annual ATP Croatia Open.
- Phone: Contact Sunshine World on +44 (0) 207 581 4736
- Website
Location: The Stella Maris Tennis Centre is just 2km outside Umag, a coastal city in northwest Croatia. British company Sunshine World organises tennis camps at the resort, which also hosts the annual ATP Tour Croatia Open clay court event.
Getting there: Fly to Pula, which is around 90km from the club, with either Ryanair, FlyGlobeSpan or various charter airlines in the summer. An alternative arrival point is Trieste in Italy, which is only about 90 minutes by car.
Tennis facilities: As you would expect at a venue for a professional tournament, the facilities are spot on. There are 16 red clay courts, two of which are indoor and 14 floodlit. There’s also a pro shop and cafe bar.
Coaching: Tennis fanatics can choose either the ‘pro-package’ (20 hours of group lessons a week) or ‘fun package’ (10 hours a week) run by pros Bruno Bilic and Vedran Greblo. There’s also a beginners’ package and a kids’ package and individual lessons are on offer too.
Eating: As well as the restaurants within the hotels (see below), make sure you experience the real Croatia by eating in Umag. There are cafes, pizzerias and plenty of impressive restaurants. For a special night out head for renowned truffle restaurant Zigante.
Sleeping: Accommodation is at one of a variety of hotels. There’s the family-friendly Sol Aurora, the four-star Sol Garden Istra, four-star Hotel Sol Koralj, four-star Sol Umag, three-star Hotel Sipar, the two-star Hotel Moj Mir. All have their own bars and restaurants.
What else? Umag is on the Adriatic coast and the beaches (awarded with the prestigious eco-label Blue Flag), the crystal-clear water and associated watersports are very popular in the summer. Further afield, a day-trip to Venice is an attractive option as well as mooching around Pula, which has some great Roman remains.
