“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 of hospitality.

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). 

Over the last 9 seasons we have worked with over 60 fantastic employees and 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.

If this sounds like the kind of place you’d like to work, please read on. We are currently recruiting to fill staff vacancies for our 2026 season team.

Positions: Full-time salaried employment.

Season 2026 period: Early May to early November.

Length of placements: Approx. 3-6 month seasonal work; one permanent post available.

Work permits: If you are not an EU citizen, you may need a work permit. It is possible to get a 90-day work and residence permit. We will work with you to apply for this after you arrive.

Internships: Currently we are not recruiting for interns for 2026. However, since this may change, you can indicate in your application if you would like to be considered for an internship if your application for employment is unsuccessful. Internships are not salaried employment.

To apply: Read this whole web page carefully, and then follow the instructions at the end for how to apply. Note that you must apply using our application form. Only applications received in the correct way will be considered.

25th January 2025: Application deadline for all positions.

February: Shortlisting and interviews.

March: Positions and placement dates confirmed.

We look for people who will really enjoy working at Bolara 60, people who bring a positive attitude as well as useful skills. Working here 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.

We need staff from early May to early November. Applicants need to be able to commit to a minimum 3+ month placement, or preferably 6+ months.

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

* Positive, enthusiastic and self-motivated: very happy with the whole role description and terms; willing to work hard and learn new things. The job will not suit those who are able to clean bathrooms, or weed for several hours, but get grumpy doing so! It will suit people who really want to be here because they want to do, and learn about, the things the placement offers.

* Professional, reliable and efficient: able to learn jobs and systems quickly, follow instructions, pay attention to detail, take responsibility for own work and manage own time effectively. Running a guesthouse means maintaining quality standards all the time, especially for food service, hygiene, tidiness and cleanliness. Poorly done jobs are not an option!

* A good people-person: able to easily fit into life at Bolara 60, including working with us and other team-members, interacting with guests, and being open, communicative, smiley and approachable. That team members enjoy meeting new people and chatting over meals is really important to us. Bolara 60 is a very social space during the season.

* Practical and physically fit: willing and able to do a lot of physical work such as cleaning, gardening and cooking (which will require hours standing) each day. The placements do not suit those who prefer or need more gentle or sedentary work. It is hard physical work, every day.

* Relevant and solid work experience (eg hospitality, catering, gardening/agriculture or cleaning/housekeeping): Please note hobbies, interests and occasional jobs are not sufficient; you need to demonstrate a proven track record in a work context in at least one of these areas.

* Fluent in English and an excellent oral communicator.

* Aged 21-65.

* Full and clean driving licence. Willing and able to drive a manual (stick-shift) car in Croatia.

* Able to commit to a 3-4 month placement (within period early May to early November).

PREFERRED CRITERIA

* Solid work experience in several relevant areas – see above.

* Croatian, German or Italian language skills.

* Additional useful skills, eg woodwork/carpentry, sewing/craft skills, wild plant identification, chicken-keeping knowledge, plumbing or electrical skills, car/bicycle/machinery maintenance.

* Worked or interned at Bolara 60 before.

* Able to commit to a 6 month placement, or longer (permanent post), starting in early May.

* Has EU citizenship.

“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)

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.

Working here 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.

Our past team members report many benefits from their time with us. Here are those often cited:

* Developing personal skills, such as confidence, social skills, multi-tasking, team-working and a range of management skills.

* Gaining hospitality sector experience, raising own hospitality and housekeeping standards, and learning how rural farm-to-fork hospitality works in practice.

* Learning a lot about food, wine, cooking, baking and preserving, including cooking extremely seasonally and with minimal waste, using up gluts from the garden, and making everything from scratch.

* Gaining knowledge and experience with gardening, agriculture and foraging.

* Learning about the region, including its excellent wines and olive oils, culinary cultures, fascinating history and multiple languages.

* 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.

* Insight and inspiration for taking on a similar project somewhere in the world one day.

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.