6 days in Croatia
 

Hey Hubbers,

My Wife and I are planning a 6 day trip to Croatia in early September '13 and I was hoping you may have some advice. We only have 6 days before heading to England to visit friends and we are hoping to hit the highlights and a few hidden gems along the way. My wife is new to travelling on a moto and we will be riding pavement from Zagreb to Dubrovnik, but a little gravel won't hurt my feelings :mchappy:. The tentative plan is to fly out of Dubrovnik if a one way rental is available. Outside of that we are open to idea and opinions.

As I mentioned we'll have to rent so any feedback on rentals would be greatly appreciated. If someone has a bike available around this time (rental) I'm open to that as well, and I'll be hunting around the Hubb for availability.

Thanks for any advice in advance and we'd love to meet up with others along our little way...

30Helensagree

The coast road down to Dubrovnik is well worth a run, stopping off at a few places could easily fill 6 days (Zadar, Split and the islands). Dubrovnik is a mega tourist trap but worth visiting despite that (Hotel Vis was good). Overall Croatia had a bit of a "touristy" feel, nothing too overbearing but just lacking a bit of reality in my opinion. I spent a few days next door in Bosnia and really rated the country.

Please be aware that the coast road used to be (back in 1996) constructed of limestone surfacing material, probably quarried from those big hills/mountains near the coast.
This material is notoriously slippery and especially so when water is added to the surface. In the UK, limestone cannot be used for road surfacing for this reason plus the fact that it becomes worse with wear, being polished by the traffic.

The Via Adriatica, coast road, is now tarmac all the way. I rode it in 2011.

It is not that simple
 

Nevertheless, the aggregate in use on that road surface back in 1996 was limestone.
The material to which you refer is the binder which has very little relationship to the "slipperynish" of the highway surface, especially after a few days, or weeks (depending on the physical properties of the binder), of running traffic.
Search for "polished stone value" if you wish to know more.

This is a primer for the subject from which it can be seen that "tarmac" is a misnomer.
Pavingexpert - AJ McCormack and Son - Tarmacadam, Bitmac and Asphalt

I thought you were refering to the "White Roads" which are common in the Balkans and constructed of compacted hard-core. I suppose due to the ready source of available material that most of the roads in the Balkans and Eastern Europe are of similar construction. I didn't find the road holding of the bike unduely affected but it wasn't wet at the time, it was 35 to 40 degrees but I suppose that could make things slippy too?

I rode part of the coast road in 2006 and it was tarmac. It was also way too busy for me so I took the inland minor road that runs more or less parallel - that's why I only did part of the coast road!

If you see nothing else you have to see the Plitvice Lakes. It's worth spending a day here just to take it all in. There is a campsite nearby which has cabins - these worked out better for us than two bikes and pitching a tent.

Thanks for the info everyone, we appreciate it.

Do you think 6 days is enough to see the north east as well as the coast. We're hoping to only ride 2-3 hours a day and enjoy the sites. That being said, I'm assuming road conditions are good and quick travel will not be a problem.

Thanks again,
30Helens

As you're going to Dubrovnik and will have your own transport go to the old cable car station on Mt Srd which overlooks the city. Hopefully this (http://www.foggi.co.uk/trail/trailtr...000127_raw.jpg) will take you to a photo I took from there in 2006.

I would think six days is OK (although in a perfect world we'd always like more!). The coast was beautiful but personally I preferred the interior. One coast always seems to end up pretty much like another and a bit too touristy for me.
Having said that, the Peljesac Peninsular was worth visiting - particularly Mali and Mali Ston where there is a salt works and the old walls from the Ragusan Empire still line the hillsides. We also found a hotel on the seafront offering 10% discount to motorbikes and a fantastic seafood restaurant. Seven years ago now though - will it still be there?!

Have a great trip!

Plitvice are inland (it's a place to visit), but you have Slapovi Krke (waterfalls on Krka river) just above Šibenik. "Overall Croatia had a bit of a "touristy" feel, " that's for coastal area, inland is more "natural" .
If you don't mind some gravel you can combine coast road with "Velebit" national park (severni Velebit/ north Velebit).

Whatever, it's definitely not "tarmac".
 

35-40, centigrade presumably, is hot but that should make your tyres a bit more sticky, all other things being equal; it can also melt the bitumen which is what is used nowadays in place of "tar".
Anyway, I didn't want to get too much into highway design and construction but just to say that the coast road from Split to the south of there used to be notorious for the skidding of landrovers-painted-green back in those days; maybe there has been some money spent on it by now to improve the skid resistance of the surfacing.
Gravel roads of limestone should not be an issue, there being a lot, lot less grip, by definition of gravel in the top surface.

I rode south along the coast (as part of a euro trip) about 7 years ago and it pished of rain the whole journey.
The roads were slippier than a slippery nipple and I spent half my trip avoiding dead dogs on the road, half my trip wishing it was dry so I could get my gloves on and off, and the other half wishing it was warm and dry so I could perv at the old German ladies on the nudey beaches.
My one fond memory of Coatia is a bridge in Zadar which was lit up at night time, and also I was in a grocery shop and noticed the workers had their full names on their wee name badges, one of the girls was called Erika Perika........... lolololololol, where's the smiley faces when I need them?

What time of year were you there? We are going to be riding the first week of September and my Croatian friends say the rain should not be a problem.

'twas around the end of May.
To be fair it looked as if it probably would've been gorgeous if the cloud wasn't about 8 ft above my head.

Enjoy and ride safe, and if you get onto the nudist beaches, post some pics of hot German chicks for us ;-)

I was there during the first and second weeks of September 2011, it was at least 32 degrees (centigrade) every day. We then crossed into Slovenia and had a thunder storm during the night and one day of heavy rain then back to sunny all the way home.

Good news, looks like we will have 10 days in Croatia! Should be plenty of time now.

We are thinking about looping up into the north east to Osijek, does anyone have any "must see" places or recommended hotels?

The coast road labelled 8 has got to be one of the best roads in Europe to ride.

Be careful because at one point the signs will direct you to a dual carriageway but this is for trucks so ignore it and then the roads get even nicer.

Over 100 miles of twisty roads. Bliss.

I'll go with that. When I have been over there I have noticed that the road's are quite light in colour. Look's to me like a lot of silica is used in the road making. And that stuff has no grip. But it don't melt in the heat. So it's a case of non melting road's against grip. So in the wet be carful.
John933

Hi John933, forget about NE Croatia, nothing really interesting there, so even the locals are moving away. ;) Except if you're into running on straight highways and secondary roads that are straight as well. Simply stick to the area close to the coast (well, don't forget about the Plitvice lakes). I'm surprised that almost nobody's mentioning a fantastic coastal road from Rijeka via Karlobag to Zadar. Istria is also a very pleasant place to visit.

For rentals, check this link: Motorcycle, motorbike tours Europe | Mototrip Tours Europe

Thanks for the info on the North East DesertSoul. We're debating on skipping the "inland" portion as it will open up a day or two for some beach time and a little extra at the lakes :Beach:.

It is also one of the longest trafic jams in the known Universe, went through last year (south - north), and I was almost going crazy at the end of it.

Stunningly beautify though.

Why is it so common not to have a place to stop the places where the good photo opportunities are... grr..

Casper

Amazing how a few years can make a difference. I was very travelling at warp speed. Traffic jams. Never.

Coastal road IS one of the best roads to ride. Just stick to the road from where you can see the sea and you'll be OK.
It is not very busy because nowdays most people use highway, but be careful because it goes through small towns and many tourists are crossing the road where they shouldn't. Slow down when you are passing through areas with houses built next to the road :)
Southern part is like that, but when you pass Sibenik, towns are mostly "under" the road (road is moved away from seaside) so you can increase speed from there.

"White roads" are the thing of the past mostly, because road has been mostly repaired and now they are black :) Trust me, I ride there all the time. Especially northen part.

I suggest you forget NorthEast part of Croatia, because compared to the coastline - there is nothing to see. In the summertime especially.


If you dont like touristy places, better skip Dubrovnik - there is so much tourists there that you will not be able to see the city. Prices are outrageous...
Go north and stop in Split if you want to see the islands (I strongly suggest that. You may walk around old part of Split, very nice place to see.
Island Brac is 2hrs ferry drive away. Island Hvar also.
Island Vis is best in my opinion, but it's 4hrs away and expensive to take the bike on the ferry.

From there go to Krka falls (Slapovi krke), and from there you can go to Zadar, beautiful little city, which you can explore by foot.

From there go to Plitvice lakes (Plitvicka jezera), and after you are done with it head on to Rijeka.
Rijeka is not so beautiful city, but from there you can explore Istria (Istra) which is in my opinion the best part of Croatia, and most tourist-friendly, with best food, affordable accommodation and everything you are looking for.
Roads are also nice and there are many sights to see there. Try to plan your trip in the way that you spend most of the time in Istria...
Istria is all what is west from Rijeka.

If you decide to go inland, from Rijeka it is close to go to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia... and from Zagreb, Varazdin is close - there is amazing castle near Varazdin (Trakoscan) so make sure you see that if you decide to move away from the seaside.

There is a map, I marked the places which I mentioned above.

If you need any more info just ask :)

For Krka falls (slapovi krke) you will loose half day if you get there early, so I suggest after that go to zadar and enjoy romantic evening with your wife in Zadar. Spend the night there.
Tomorrow go for Plitvice lakes (plitvicka jezera). That will take more time than Krka, but if you finish early enough you may reach Rijeka by sunset and spend the night there.

I definitely recommend Plitvice lakes, absolutely stunning!

Rent
 

you still looking for a bike to rent?

deleted

Sorry missed your post Stray Dog.

Hope you had a great time.

P


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