Hi all,

Currently on first bike trip through Europe and have decided to go a bit further afield through Slovenia, into Croatia and East to Bosnia.
I'm writing to ask if there's anywhere people would suggest going/staying and if there is any other advice for riding in the area?

Any advice would be excellent.

Thanks, Gibs.

Sounds like a great trip!! I have just come back from that area, (though my bike is still in Sarajevo).
Slovenia is a beautiful pocketsized country. Some tips for there are the
- Soca Valley (beautiful and WW1 history)
- Vrsic Pass
- Bohinj (much less touristy and hidden - nice hostel by the lake)
- Ljubljana (tiny capital, but pretty)

For Croatia
- the obvious dalmatian coast
- Plitvice Lakes (UNESCO site)
- I loved Korcula (an island halfway between Split and Dubrovnic) less touristy than other islands
Croatia in general is very biker friendly, there are heaps everywhere, very touristy, and is getting more expensive

Bosnia has a fascinating recent history, but is also a beautiful country.
- Mostar (stay with Majdas Hostel, they do a fantastic tour, but also stored my bike hidden by their mothers house)
- Sarajevo - Stay at Haris hostel - they have a garage
- Jajce is also a nice small town with an interesting history
Bosnia has only a very small section of highway, otherwise good condition roads. Beware the drivers though, they aren't used to dealing with motorcyclists so much. Some people do silly things, but you get them wherever you go. I got taken out near Sarajevo which is why my bike is there and I am in London.

Can I suggest also Montenegro? I didn't make it there, but I have heard wonderful things. They have a canyon (the second largest in the world), the bay of Kotor and all things in between. Apparently a beautiful country.

As you can tell, I fell in love with the area, and hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did...

Nadine

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Thanks for the quick reply!
In Slovenia we're going to stay in bovec, right on the soca river, hopefully get to do some canyoning, and in Croatia we're staying at a place called KRK, an island off the coast. For Bosnia we'll aim for one of the areas you suggested. I really want to go to Montenegro, it looks amazing, however we don't have enough time to get there and back to the UK in time.
I hope you survived better than the bike!
Thanks,
Graham

Hi Gibs,

I've just got back from riding thru Slovenia, top end of Croatia and Italian Alps (Dolomites).

In Slovenia, Ljublijana, Kamnik, got to go to Crnivec Pass, thru Ptuj to Kog (Jeruzalem) great wine country. Got to stay at B&B winery - Klebec B&B... very cute and the winemaker was very generous in getting me pickled!!

Then we rode back via Rogatec, Sevnica to Otocec (near Novo Mesto). if you can afford it stay at the Hotel Grad Otocec. The rooms were unbelievable....

Then we road via Dvor, Kocevje to Krk Island/Cress Island and Losinj Island. Very easy to put bike on ferry.

We headed up to Brda then to Arabba... well don't have to mention how good the riding was in the Dolomites

We headed back to Bovec. Got to do some white water rafting.... bit tame compared to water water rafting in Queensland/Australia. BUT I did paraglided of Mangart Mountain which is the highest road in Slovenia (great ride on the bike to go up/back for the day). Gorman is the owner of the business and I think he won't forgot me in a hurry....I think he wanted to jump on the back of my bike for the rest of the trip....mmm.

It was really easy riding on the bike thru Slovenia and Croatia just wished I had more time to do the Croatian Coast.

If you want any further information send me a message and happy to share accommodation details..

Good luck.

Kat

Back from Slovenia-Croatia part of our Euro tour. These are excellent countries to ride in. We never bothered with the Vignette as we never required it.
Have a great time.

Hey there -- just a few points!

Re. Krk, it's my humble opinion that you can do much better. The obvious advantage of Krk is that it's linked to the mainland by a bridge, but that's about it. The scenery there isn't nearly as spectacular as what you'll find on islands like Korcula and especially Hvar. (The road running the length of Hvar is one of the great biking roads of the world, in my experience. It's *fantastic.*)

Re. other parts of Croatia -- I rode across the Istrian peninsula about 10 years ago, and it was wonderful. Parts reminded me of Tuscany.

Re. Croatia in general -- note that the big tourist season is around the corner, and both the (rather astonishingly good) inland highway that may go as far as Dubrovnik now, in addition to the scenic coastal road, jams up miserably when the tourist population switches up. That's to say, for some reason all the 1-week vacation rentals in Croatia all go from Saturday to Saturday. Which makes both coastal routes unpleasant to ride on the weekends, when seemingly the entire population of Western Europe is making their way to and from their beach rentals. It's just an infinitely long convoy of Dutch station wagons loaded to the gills, going stop-and-go down the Dalmatian coast.

Re. Sarajevo -- don't forget to eat at Dveri, in the Turkish quarter. Far and away my favourite restaurant in the Balkans!!

JVM