Croatia is arguably the most popular cycling destination in Eastern Europe. Emma and Justin from Rolling Tales share some insights into why everybody’s flocking to this beautiful coastal country.
Reason #1
Post cycle swimming in the Adriatic. Also pre cycle swimmng in the Adriatic. If you’re lucky lunchtime swimming might also be on the cards.
Reason #2
The coastline boasts 1246 islands. Take a ferry out to one of the bigger ones for a few days of idle pedalling where you can detour into tiny bays to swim, sit outside small cafes for the afternoon and stealth camp in olive groves. Just remember that food and particularly water may be scarce on islands so stock up before you go.
Reason #3
Open air art on Zadar’s waterfront. Stay a night in Zadar so you can laze for an afternoon on the promenade listening to the Sea Organ or visit at dusk to people watch as the solar powered Greeting to the Sun comes alive.
Reason #4
Tiny campsites. End your cycling day under the shade of a fig tree with the lap of water against the shore, and only a handful of other campers to share your tranquility. Stay another day. Wonder if you’ll ever get any cycling done.
Reason #5
Quiet inland cycling. Whether you take a detour through the Cetina gorge to escape the coastal road for a few hours or turn inland to explore one of Croatia’s national parks, take some time out from the developed coastline to cycle through stark landscapes on deserted roads.
You too can be part of the A-Z of Bicycle Touring project. Get in touch and share your impressions of one of the world’s many great bicycle touring destinations. Contact us at worldbiking@gmail.com
Have you cycled Croatia? Please share your experiences in the comments section and encourage others to get on their bikes and ride!
I’ve cycled Croatia and loved it, absolutely loved it. There is so much beautiful coastline and the architecture is stunning.
The only drawback is all the other tourists. I thought Croatia was an ‘out of the way’ destination. Not at all. There are bus loads and bus loads of European tourists at the main destinations.
Can definitely recommend Croatia for anybody who wants to see another side of Europe.
We spent 5 weeks cycling through Croatia last year with our 2 kids. October to November were off-season so with mild temperatures (still just warm enough to swim), deserted roads, islands and campgrounds, we had many places to ourselves and felt like we’d stuck gold!. We experienced three of the most powerful thunderstorms we’d ever encountered, which meant we had to desert our tent in the night but amazing camping facilities provided us with a great back up (amazingly clean ablution blocks, chalets etc). See our blog for more pics, stories and our route.
Hi,
we cycled Croatia last year, following EV8 route, and we loved it… this was peak of tourist season so it was lot, and I mean a lot of traffic so my suggestion is to avoid coastal road and cycle inland of Croatia, the weather is better, temperature is lower, prices better and small camping sites on the way are just brilliant. We stayed in Camping Biokovo for 2 days and really loved it (this is the only camping site in rural part of Dalmatia so remember the name, because in Croatia camping outside of camping grounds is forbidden)
Dubrovnik area was breath taking, and again the traffic was horrible so we took a ferry to Pelješac peninsula, stayed in small Airbnb and then Mljet for few hours and after Dubrovnik to avoid traffic.. Dubrovnik was expensive, but we managed to find small camping just outside – camp Matkovica which was great for our needs.
Croatia is a must cycle destination for sure.
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences bicycle touring in Croatia.