europe in june any info/routes for croatia
 

Hi, I am planning a trip to europe starting in june and have been thinking of heading for croatia, can anyone give me some advice on routes to take, places to visit and what the people are like?

thanks...

Lee.:cool4:

Croatia
 

Hi,Depends on how much time you have to get down there on which way you go.If you want to get down there ASAP best to 'google map it', would be easier than me writing the route down here.
I headed down to Korcula in 2007 and stayed on a small campsite in Lambarda.Really liked the place,so did girlfriend and she is hard one to please.
Last year ended up on Rab, campsites were big and full to brim which we weren't prepared for.Both times were early July.
When we left Rab after getting off ferry there was a small turn off heading up to a national park which was a nice change(too narrow for motorhomes and car boat trailer combinations):clap:

People friendly enough and plenty of seafood on the menu.
Although not in EU yet it feels very much like Euroland from the start as you enter a more relaxed,welcoming and cash free border as opposed to say Bosnia for instance.
There will be plenty of info on places to see and roads to ride on here shortly if not already if you do a search.

Good luck !

thanks thats great, I'll have a look on google earth and check out the campsites:thumbup1:

The coastline is one of the favourite stretches of road i've driven down in my life. I went from split down to budva in montenegro.

Dunno what sort of accom you are looking for. The coastline is obviously dominated by tourists for large stretches over it. Heaps of pensions etc. but also busy and good amount of traffic at times.

There are a few other posts which talk about routes through here, so do some searching, plenty of tips. I'd suggest seeing Ston, down south. Also, do a side trip up to mostar in bosnia (sarajevo too if you have time).

Are you looking for on/off-road, both?

Hello Lee:

Do consider riding around the coastline of the Istrian peninsula, which is located in the very North-West of Croatia. It is not a quick ride, but there are some very beautiful areas, and the city of Pula at the end of this peninsula is worth looking at.

There is a high-speed motorway down the middle of the peninsula, so, if you wish, you can take the pokey roads going south, then the motorway back up.

I usually enter Croatia from Trieste, which means a short ride through Slovenia, then I go down the west side of the Istrian peninsula.

All in all, Croatia is a pretty stress-free country to travel in. Lots of ATMs, gas stations take your credit cards, relaxed, friendly people, no security problems to speak of (other than the usual headaches that you would find in any big city, if you go into the big cities).

Michael

I rode down form Budapest to Zagreb and Split last year. It has changed immensely - for the positive - since I last rode there 31 years earlier.

If you visit Split, get yourself down to Trogir - 25km east of Split on the coast. Fantastic old fortress city, beautiful location, and party central even for a 54 year old. :thumbup1:

Garry from Oz.

I will be camping to cut down on costs, I will be in croatia only for a few days and then moving on to italy, I have a triumph legend so I can't really go off road,

does anyone have some info about getting a ferry from croatia to italy,
eg. prices and ports to use, I was thinking split to pescara maybe,

thanks

I did Ancona-Split - wasn't cheap, like 110 quid or something? That was overnight with a cabin, am sure it would be cheaper if you do the couchette thing. Cannot for the life of me remember the name of the ferry-line, but I think it was the croatian company (jadrolinja??).

Service was fine, they even let us on when we were waaaaay late, i.e. we rolled aboard and they started lifting the gate:)

Make time for the 'Motocamp' just inland from Porec on the Istrian peninsula -- PanEuropean is quite right to recommend -- cheap camping, good company, free moonshine and, at least when I was there, free entertainment: a couple of pretend-Hell's Angels from Germany going round with a clipboard making notes like "No broadband.. washing machine, no dryer.. adequate baby-changing facilities.." because they were coming back with their whole gang the following summer. How very rock'n'roll.

And if you have time or inclination to head south of Split, you have the beauty of Montenegro and Albania to look forward to. IMO, the east coast of Italy from Gargano all the way up to Venice is dull and ugly.

I went Split to Ancona, there is daily ferry during the peak summer season. I can't recall the price, but it was a day voyage boarding around 9 and arriving around 7.

Garry from Oz.

Agreed - Italy is a bit of a dump IMO.

how about the west coast what's that like? I woudn't mind checking rome out and then heading north to the alps..

Always bearing in mind that the east coast from Gargano southwards [and Venice itself in the north] are incomparably beautiful, the coast north and west of Rome is lovely.

Orbetello [which I can only remember as Ortobello, after 20 years living in Ladbroke Grove] is worth a day or two;

take time to nip inland to Lucca even if you're not spending more time in Tuscany;

but the jewel of the northwest coast is Liguria. Once you're passed La Spezia slow down and breath in some spectacular views.. check ot how wiggly the road is from there past the cinqueterra towards Rapallo, snobby Portofino -- don't expect to find a parking space for a bike with panniers -- Camogli, with good places to stay, and Genoa, which has acres of history and a very good feel.

Nb the drivers get progressively more pyschotic as you head north. Be warned.

--Mike

Croatia, Istria
 

First visited Croatia in 2005, we camped at Dragans Motocamp just inland from Porec, We found the people so friendly warm and welcoming that we bought an appartment,Its in the small fishing town of Novigrad.
We now ride to Novigrad every year , use the appartment as a base and then go of to bike rallies, meetings and out onto the islands, we are friendly with the local bike club, The Novigrad Pirates, and have made some great friends.
The climate is typical mediteranean hot and sunny but not so hot that you cant sleep,swimming in the clear warm sea after a long ride across Europe is
Number one on my list , the winters are a little chilly with the Bora, ( wind )
from the Alps cooling things down a little.
The coast road down to Dubrovnik is spectacular as is the old city, i can also recomend Mostar in Bosnia but you will need insurance (green card )
Generaly the roads are OK, but the old roads can be slippy even in the dry,
The new motorway network is very good (toll) .
A Great Destination.
Richard Nottingham:Beach:

Visit Trogir if you get chance, spent a couple of days there last year whilst sailing in the area. Great town. When are you going? Wife n I are booked on the Hull Rotterdam ferry second week in June for a tour of the Black forest and Alps on our Triumph Sprint.

I am planning to go 1st june (monday I think) from harwich to hoek van holland, I used to work in den haag and I have friends there so that's the first stop.

I am planning to go to the black forest on my way back up via italy and the alps, I have heard the d 901 in france is a great road for bikes so I want to try and go that way too, its a bit of a zig zag rout like

maybe our paths will cross along the way :scooter:

Sorry to hijack the thread but if you were doing this trip in a truck (a 10 ton 4x4 Merc 9 metres long) are there reasonable park up places, places you can't get to etc? Where would go if you were in a truck like this?

Any info gratefully received

Thanks

Q

We are travelling sins 1985 thru Europe and did make a lott of small movies. You can watch them on Life Is Joy - Home

Holland, Germany, Belgium, UK, Schotland, Italy, Swiss, Austria, Spain, France, Luxemburg, Monaco, Corsica, Hungary, Roemenie, Bulgarie.
Also movies about our holidays in USA, Australia and Azia.

Enjoy!

Definitely go and see the Plitvice Lakes - pretty spectacular but get there early to avoid the worst of the crowds. There is also a campsite about 5 minutes ride away that has cabins if you fancy a change from the tent. In fact for us, with two bikes and two people, it worked out about the same cost but the bed was better!

Personally I'd avoid doing too much of the coast road. Too much traffic and too many tourists. The smaller roads inland are far more interesting - steer clear of minefields!

If you have time it's worth going to Mostar and Sarajevo is highly recommended - fantastic place.

Hia Quintin
10 tons...9 meters... a lot of campsites get quite unhappy with large vehicles in a lot of campsites in EU unless dedicated caravan ones.
I have seen a few getting turned away. Tricky .

If you are autonomous, you can pull up and camp wild - there are many 'cut outs' and farms so you can go and ask permission from the farmer and often get invited to dinner too! in exchange for a few 'zeuros'

On the south coast of France, there are 'no camper vans' signs on beach parkings- can't use them during the day but at dusk, as if by magic, all the campervans arrive and line up!

Have you downloaded Ulrich's fabulous campsite database?
It is well worth having as are topographical maps and binoculars- his friend also has made a small program tat enables you to save the google earth caches then view then when there is no web connection! saves a lot of fuel hunting around-
Are you in smokey town anytime soon? One cerveza awaiting!

Did a trip to Croatia/Bosnia last summer.

My planning here worked fine. Legs 5 to 9 may be of help to you? People were friendly at all our stops.

Ray