Riding in Croataia
 

Hi Everbody,

Going to a ride from Istanbul-Greece-Albania-Montenegro-Bosnia-Croatia-Slovenia-Italy at May.

I want to make ride at coastal area especialy in Croatia. Biker friends in Croatia says not take coastal roads between especially Makarska - Split because of heavy traffic but _take the parallel road (route 62) Kozica - Katuni - Dugopolje. I really like to sea coastal road but if it is really going to be an awful heavy traffic I can give a try route 62.

My question is: Which road is much more enjoyable and worth to see more? I like nature, nice villages, historical buildings and like photography.

Any info and advice is highly welcome and apprecaited.

Where/What is worth to see and must in that route?

Best,

Samy

The problem with Split-Makarska ("Jadranska Magistrala") is that in tourist season (Jun-Sept month) the road is packed with cars and that is the problem if you are in one, but if you are on motorcycle it is not that bad.

"Jadranska Magistrala", goes along Adriatic coast, it is a very nice trip and there is a lot of nice places to see, but problem here is that there are so many beautifull thing to see and not all of them are on the coast which is by the way and the most expensive (eat, sleep).

Take Lonely Planet guide for Croatia and see for yourself in what you are the most interested, and make your own rute.

Bok!

Nikola

I rode from UK to Montenegro via Czech Republic and Croatia last August on my BMW R1200 RT.

I rode down on the coast road via Split & Dubrovnik, on a bike the traffic is not too bad until you try and get into Dubrovnik, which seemed to be in a permanent gridlock of traffic.

Here are a few photos I took.

http://bp2.blogger.com/__tOq5d2QolQ/...0/IMG_0071.JPG

http://bp0.blogger.com/__tOq5d2QolQ/...0/IMG_0067.JPG

http://bp3.blogger.com/__tOq5d2QolQ/...0/IMG_0077.JPG

You can see my blog on Euro biker road trip

Have a great trip


Jeremy

I rode the coastal route from top to bottom of Croatia just a couple of years ago and at times the traffic was pretty heavy but far from being so heavy that it would ruin the ride.(I was there in early August) In my opinion sticking to the coast is a good thing and you would miss some amazing scenery on the way down if you didn't. There is also a couple of really nice towns not overpopulated with tourists where you see locals outside their houses selling Olive Oil and stuff. If you get some of the younger ones that speak good English they can guide you to some good local spots to see.

If you are in Dubrovnik don't miss the chance to ride to Mostar via Medugorje. Mostar is an amazing city which is very friendly and cheap and Medugorje is like a religious disneyland full of predominantly Irish and other religious people from around the world. apparantly there is still daily appearances of the virgin Mary on the mountain there. I am not religeous myself but it really is a spectacle and not to be missed. If I remember rightly all of this is no more than about 45 mins or so from Dubrovnik itself.

Oh and if you learn even three words of Croatian you will get a wonderful reaction from a lot of the locals, in Bosnia too.

This is a great route! Here few tips:

- don't miss the canyon of river Tara in Monte Negro. It's stunning and
very nice with deep clifs. Also, the coast is very nice (Kotor, Herceg novi...).
- mind the coastal road from Makarska to Split. You'll get stuck in
heavy trafic and there's nothing really to see. Instead take the
parallel road (route 62, Kozica - Katuni - Dugopolje).
- Trogir is worth seeing - very small but also very nice, UNESCO world
herritage site
- Sibenik also - small and cozy with an great old town
- the coastal road from Zadar to Karlobag, Senj and Rijeka is just
plain great! It winds along the coast, the tarmac is very good and
the trafic isn't heavy due to new highway built in the inland.
Especially beautyfull is the part from Zadar to Senj)
- mind Rijeka - it's an industrial town.
- in general, the traffic around Rijeka tends to be very, very thick.
Opatija is made for guest with a lot of $$$ in their pockets but it can
be nice to have a stop for a coffe. Bare in mind that the traffic
around Rijeka and Opatija is very, very heavy, even for a motorbike and
you could end up spending even one hour to get to Opatija.
- the peninsula of Istria (the triangle Rijeka - Pula - Trieste) is
very nice with a lot of private pensions, family restaurants and
domestic food. If you don't have the time to visit the inland of
Istria, at least have a stop in Groznjan on the way to Portoroz and
Slovenia. Groznjan is a very nice little town for maybe few hundret
people based on a top a small hil. It's very scenic.
- regarding Trieste, if you do plan to continue to Alps, then this is
ok. If you just want to reach Austria, take into consideration to mind
Trieste and to ride through Slovenia as the west of Slovenia and the
Julian Alps with lakes Bled and Bohinj are beautyfull...

One final tip for Montenegro and Croatia:
whenever you come, you'll have a great time but, is possible, try to
re-shedule your trip to June or September. The coast is a touristic
place and it does get very crowded during July and August. The traffic
gets heavy, especially with mindless touristic people and it might
influence your holiday.

go on
 

go for the coastal road.

beautiful places around there,
and who cares about heavy traffic?
we got 2 wheels!

there's no point of being stuck on nasty motorways.

my only advise is:
take it easy, safe and slow, overtake all the cars... enjoy the gorgeous views,
breath the air, stop by the sea :)

enjoy!

hallo Samy,

Since you will be here in May, coast road should not be very busy. Truth is that you can find some heavy traffic on the road between Makarska and Split, but August is most critical period, with thousands of Italian tourists. In May, no problem.

Since I live in Split, I am offering you a drink or two, or any help you may need. Just send me a mail.

:welcome: