Join us!
Applications for 2025 are now closed (deadline 31st January 2025).
“A completely unique, immersive experience of living and working in a gorgeous setting where you will learn everything from cooking with home-grown produce to maintaining a beautifully restored stone house to caring for guests with warmth and hospitality. You will work hard and also get to reap the rewards by enjoying wonderful food, peaceful surroundings and being welcomed into the community.” (Rochelle, Canada)
Bolara 60 is a special guesthouse, and we look for special people to run it with us. Every year we host over 300 guests from around the world and are proud of the high ratings and wonderful reviews we receive. Our guests appreciate the beautiful rural setting, the unique details of our carefully renovated house, our great food, and our team’s wholehearted hospitality. We offer a relaxed and friendly vibe, while also maintaining the highest standards in all areas. Rather than having a pool, air-conditioning and mini-bars, we have a large vegetable garden, use renewable sources of energy and offer homemade drinks. We are also busy looking after our chickens, olive trees and cats, and making almost everything we serve from scratch (from breads, jams and yoghurt to pasta, pickles and liqueurs). If this sounds like the kind of place you’d like to work, please read on. We are currently recruiting to fill staff and intern vacancies for our 2025 team for the period April to November.
We have 3 types of full-time position available:
* Full-season / permanent worker (7+ months employment) – 1 post available
* Seasonal worker (3-4 months employment) – 2-4 posts available
* Intern (6-8 weeks voluntary position) – 2 posts available
Over the last 8 seasons we have worked with 8 fantastic employees and over 50 interns, a number of whom have returned for subsequent placements or promoted positions. People come from nearby and from around the world to join our small team – to experience work and life in rural Croatia, and to contribute to the success of our guesthouse.
On this page you will find out about working and living at Bolara 60, the details of the roles, and how to apply for them.
Recruitment timetable:
31st January 2025: Application deadline for all positions
February: Shortlisting and interviews
March: Positions and placement dates confirmed
Note that there is one application form, which can be used to apply for any of the roles. You can find full details on how to apply, including the link to the online application form, further down this page. Only applications received in the correct way will be considered.
Why join us?
“Bolara 60 was a hugely rewarding experience: I learnt an enormous number of new skills, very fast, in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. It is challenging, sometimes non-stop, and hard work so not for the faint-hearted, and with huge bonuses of a beautiful setting and gorgeous food and company. And you couldn’t ask for better hosts: Anna and Matt are interesting, and interested, people. I highly recommend Bolara 60!” (Eleanor, UK)
Whether you are here for formal employment or an intern position there is plenty to do and to learn here, in a rather special setting. Bolara 60 is more than a tourism business; our mission has always been to bring people together in this beautiful spot as it offers such rich opportunities for conviviality, connection, collaboration and learning.
We look for people who will really enjoy working at Bolara 60, people who bring a positive attitude as well as useful skills. It is an opportunity to learn how a rural guesthouse works; to develop your cooking, gardening, housekeeping and management skills, perhaps in a completely new context; to meet guests from near and far; and to spend time in a beautiful peaceful rural area, learning about food, culture and society in Istria. All positions will suit people who thrive in a busy social context, who want to do and learn about everything that Bolara 60 has to offer, and who are ready to get stuck into any job, hard-working, reliable and self-motivated.
Our past employees and interns report many benefits from their time with us. Here are those often cited:
* Learning a lot about food, cooking, baking and preserving, including cooking extremely seasonally and with minimal waste, and using up gluts from the garden.
* Gaining knowledge and experience with gardening, agriculture and foraging.
* Learning about the region, including culture, agriculture, politics, history and languages.
* Developing personal skills, such as confidence, social skills, multi-tasking, team-working and a range of management skills.
* Living a completely different life in a very different place, having a lot of fun and making a lasting connection with the place and with colleagues.
* An opportunity for a change of career direction (often into food).
* Insight and inspiration for taking on a similar project somewhere in the world one day.
The work
The work involved is similar for all three types of position, and you can read more about that below. Here are summaries of each position, with full details available in the downloadable documents, including placement dates, terms and selection criteria. It is essential that you read the full details before applying for the post.
Full-season / permanent worker: 7-8 month post, or, for the right person, a permanent position, starting in April. Due to Croatian regulations, this post is only available to someone with EU citizenship (including Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein). If taking a permanent position, we will be able to work with the post-holder to shape a role and working pattern which suits them and us, for example with seasonal variation. There will also be the opportunity for role development and promotion, should this suit the post-holder. Click here for full details.
Seasonal worker: 3-4 month post. We are looking for several people to take up roles as seasonal workers. Most or all work placements will be either from late April to early August, or from late July to early November. Preference will be given to applicants who can do these periods. Seasonal workers play key roles in all aspects of the business and life here, taking on at least one responsibility area of their own. Relevant work experience is needed. Click here for full details.
Intern: 6-8 week placement, starting in late April or mid September. These placements are an ideal way to first experience living and working at Bolara 60, and to develop your skills and knowledge in a wide range of areas. People have interned here for different reasons – from gaining work experience during or after their studies to taking a contemplative career break or change of direction later in life. Interns need to have some relevant work experience. Importantly, we also look for people with a great attitude and with reasons for doing the placement which match what it can offer. Click here for full details.
Dates: As outlined above, we have specific placement periods for which we are recruiting. Exact start and end dates will be agreed as we liaise with all successful candidates to create a timetable for the season. NOTE: If you really want to apply but cannot do the placement periods indicated above, you can still apply, but your chances of success may be reduced.
Hours: All positions are full-time, therefore c.40 hours per week. Working hours are varied and will involve some early starts (eg 7 or 8am), late finishes (eg 10 or 11pm) and split shifts. We create a weekly plan so everyone can see ahead of time when they will be working.
Shifts: We operate a system of shifts: Early morning duty (8-9am), Breakfast duty (8-10am), Morning shift (10am-1pm), Afternoon shift (3-6pm), Evening duty (6-10pm), Dinner service (6-11pm). Each week you will do a mix of these shifts.
Work: Below is an outline of the duties. Please note that some activities will vary from week to week and month to month since they may depend on the season, the weather and the number of guests arriving, staying, dining and departing. These jobs are shared among the team. So in some cases you may be doing them together with one or two others, or dividing them up, or doing them on alternate days or weeks. We provide plenty of training and support in your first weeks to get you up to speed. Finally please note that everyone living at Bolara 60 is expected to chip into the work of looking after ourselves, as house-mates would in a shared house, in addition to carrying out their guesthouse duties.
BREAKFASTS
We serve guest breakfast every morning. The work includes laying the tables and setting out the breakfast foods on the terrace / in the dining room, hosting and serving guests during the meal, and cleaning up afterwards. During the week we make the yoghurt, granola, sourdough bread and jams which we serve for breakfasts, and also prep some of the ‘breakfast specials’ we offer, such as shakshuka and spicy beans.
HOUSEHOLD
There are daily chores such as watering plants, sweeping, emptying the dishwasher, putting away the laundry, taking out the rubbish, collecting the eggs and tending to the chickens. Then on days when guests are leaving and/or due to arrive, we turn around their rooms and bathrooms: hoovering, mopping, dusting, window-cleaning, laundry, ironing, bed-making, flower-arranging, etc. We also clean the communal areas of the house twice a week. Cleanliness and aesthetics are extremely important in a guesthouse, so these household jobs must always be done impeccably. We have high standards!
GARDENING
We have a large vegetable garden, herb patches, fruit, nut and olive trees, courtyard area, a meadow and lawn to look after. Work includes weeding, watering, sowing, planting, pruning, cutting the grass and harvesting crops. Exact jobs will depend on the season. In spring and early summer we are busy growing vegetables from seeds and seedlings, planting out the garden and weeding. In summer the focus shifts to cutting the grass and making haystacks, watering, harvesting and planting out autumn crops. In late summer and autumn we process our harvests (eg tomatoes into passata), cut back the lavender bushes, harvest the olives, and eventually prepare the beds for winter.
DINNERS
We serve guest dinners on Wednesdays and Saturdays – three course seasonal dinners with aperitifs and wine. The style of cooking is unpretentious and rustic, Mediterranean-leaning, full of vegetables, and using as much produce from our own garden as possible. We also serve meat and occasionally fish, sometimes using the outdoor grill and indoor fireplace to cook. The work involves helping prepare the food during the day, laying the tables before guests arrive, hosting and serving during the meal, washing up and clearing everything away at the end.
COOKING CLASSES
Anna offers very occasional cooking classes (depending on our capacity). Our classes are usually vegetable-led, using produce from the garden where possible. We often make pasta, mezze-style dishes, soups, breads, salads and fruity desserts. Classes are participatory – everyone gets stuck into the cooking together – and the style is informal. The work includes helping set up the kitchen and cooking spaces, assisting Anna teach for example by getting ingredients and kit ready and helping guide guests, laying the table and helping serve and clear the meal, and cleaning up during the class and afterwards.
PROJECTS
Two afternoons a week we work on ‘projects’. These are usually culinary, and occasionally crafty (eg sewing and mending). Regular projects include making the sourdough bread and granola for breakfasts, and the crackers and dips we serve as snacks. Seasonal projects centre on transforming garden harvests or market hauls into jams, pickles, ketchups, cordials, liqueurs and other preserves. We dry our own herbs, lavender buds, borlotti beans, garlic, chillies and nuts, and (some years) process our own corn for polenta. In spring we go out to pick wild garlic, wild asparagus, elderflowers and blackthorn shoots to use in our projects. The result is a very well stocked larder, which supplies many of our house specialities.
OTHER JOBS
There are always other things going on! There are a number of seasonal agricultural jobs, such as helping with the potato, grape, corn and olive harvests, raking up the hay meadow, pruning olive trees and collecting and stacking firewood. There are also occasional DIY projects, such as making lavender bags, repairing/repurposing old objects, varnishing wooden furniture or helping build something new. And every year seems to bring new special events too – weddings, workshops, film crews and more…
Living at Bolara 60
Most of our team live here with us. In 2025 we will have two small bedrooms and a caravan available for team members to use. Team members are also free to use all our communal spaces, along with our paying guests, and can use our ‘summer kitchen’. We do not like to draw a heavy line, or curtain, between “staff” and “guests”, nor between “front” and “back” of house. Of course these distinctions do exist, but the vibe here is quite informal, with all of us often gathered around one table for meals or drinks. This situation is worth considering when thinking about applying, for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, it means the experience of living and working here can feel immersive, or quite “full on”, since you have limited private space “away” from work space. You are living where you work, and working where you live. Your colleagues are also your housemates, and will probably also become friends with whom you want to spend time off. Our paying guests tend to go out during the day, but are here for every breakfast and around many evenings too, whether for our dinners or just a drink and a chat. Working here therefore suits people who thrive in busy social settings – you will make many friends from around the world. It also means knowing when and how to find quiet alone time, such as escaping to a corner of the garden with a book, taking yourself off for a solo outing or being able to opt for an early night without fear of missing out.
Secondly, it means being not only a good team-player but also a good housemate. Those of us living here all chip in when it comes to some of the regular household chores and preparing and clearing up our “family” meals (lunches and some dinners). We also clean our own bedrooms and bathrooms, and help keep shared areas tidy. If cooking for others scares you, don’t worry – everyone is happy with leftovers or pasta ‘n’ pesto. If you love cooking or are looking to develop your skills, then taking your turn preparing family lunches and dinners is a great opportunity for experience, something many team members have noted in the past.
Time off
All positions have one full day and two half days off each week. Employees also qualify for paid leave: 2 days per month worked, the timing of which must be agreed well in advance. Here are some examples of what you can do.
ENJOY OUR IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS
We are set in a beautiful, peaceful valley, perfect for relaxing in nature. Lounge in a deck chair with a good book, take a stroll through the nearby woods, olive groves and vineyards or follow one of our walking routes, which take you on 1-5 hour hikes to find nearby villages and stunning views in the hills. Within walking distance you will find a konoba (restaurant-bar), a friendly winery, and an artists’ village with galleries, cafes and a pizzeria. We also have two mountain bikes team members are welcome to borrow, allowing you to reach further villages and even the sea. Or simply hang out on the terrace chatting over a drink with the others who share Bolara 60!
GO TO THE SEASIDE
Especially when it’s really hot in July and August, the best thing to do can be to jump in the sea. The seaside is 20 minutes easy drive from us. There you will find great swimming and sunbathing spots, cute seaside towns and villages, and plenty of options for a spritz or seafood with a sea view. We like to go to Novigrad, or one of the beaches just north of it. Nothing beats a sunset spritz at the end of a hot day.
EXPLORE ISTRIA
There are lots of possibilities for day trips and afternoon visits: the extremely beautiful nearby hilltop villages of Grožnjan, Motovun and Oprtalj, the Venetian coastal towns of Poreč and Rovinj, Pula with its Roman amphitheatre and excellent beaches, and also Piran in Slovenia and Muggia and Trieste in Italy – all within an hour’s drive. There are numerous wineries offering tastings and views and a whole calendar of weekend festivals, many food-themed. Team members can borrow our car, in return for looking after it well and topping it up with petrol. Or even better, bring your own. There is no public transport from Bolara.
DISCOVER ISTRIA’S BEST FOOD
We love to eat out! Every couple of weeks or so we try to organise an excursion to one of our favourite village or farm restaurants so that our team can enjoy some of Istria’s best food. Istria is known for its excellent air-dried ham, olive oil and wine. Other specialities include truffle pasta, gnocchi with beef ragu, scrambled eggs with wild asparagus and homemade sausages with sauerkraut. And some restaurants also offer excellent steak, fish and seafood cooked on an open fire. Vegetarian options are slowly on the increase, but being vegan in Istria is hard. We also love to cook for each other, whether it’s simple snacks or an all-out feast.
INDULGE YOUR INTERESTS
In the past team members have used their spare time to pursue their passions or develop new ones: painting or sketching, knitting and sewing, baking and cooking, nature-spotting, photography, yoga and more…. There is usually a kitchen and oven available, we have a sewing machine, pizza oven, yoga mats and plenty of wildlife all around. Some have also opted to help our neighbours with their agricultural work, like the potato, grape and olive harvests, to learn more about how these things are grown and processed.
Further information
Make sure you have a good look through our website. For more insight into life at Bolara 60 check out our Instagram. To read testimonials from previous placement holders, see the bottom of this page. And for more information on the region, see here. If you have any remaining questions please don’t hesitate to ask us.
To apply
If you are happy with everything you have read so far, and meet all the essential criteria, please apply by completing this online form and submitting it by 31st January 2025.
Please note that you will need to provide details of 2 referees, and also upload a CV. Click the link above to find full details.
Thank you for your interest! We hope you will apply….
[Please note that if you enquire about working with us or send us an application we will keep your name and email address on file so that we can let you know about placement opportunities here. Just let us know anytime if you’re no longer interested. Read more about how we handle personal data here.]