Haven't been to Rabac yet, but to Istria. What I liked best is MOTOVUN, a small town buikt on top of a huge rock - or maybe a tiny mountain. It is located in the centre of Istria, which has declined for many years, since all the tourism (and the money) is concentrated in the coastal area. Just a few hundred meters from the sea you will find derelict houses etc. But since Motovun is especially lovely and the heart of the peninsula grew cheaper, various artists started to take over the town and today it is in quite good condition. The coastal area is rather expensive, but very nice. It is touristic for a long time now and always has plenty of guests, since it is the "nearest" location for swimming hoidays of you come from the north. Still it is cheaper than Italy. I once spent a week in November in Trieste, but slept in a hotel in Koper, which is in Slovenia, i.e. EU. Almost every city on the Istrian seaside is worth visiting, with beautiful old parts of the towns. You might well got to Trieste in the north and Opatija in the east. Both have a special flair preserved from the Austro-hungarian empire.