Croatian Coast Road

[El Capitano]

Hi,

Can I pick your collective brains about the coast road in Croatia?

We're heading to Dubrovnik in mid September and will be travelling from Tolmin down to Rijeka then on to Starigrad (near Zadar) via the coast road in one day, about 210 miles. Then following the coast road down to Dubrovnik the next day, about 240 miles.

Looking at replies to other threads it seems that the coast road can be busy - are our plans reasonable or will we struggle to make the distances without going on the motorway?

We do tend to stop to take pictures / drink coffee / kick tyres / etc but 200+ miles a day is not unknown territory for us.

Anyone stayed in or near Starigrad? any suggestions for a good place to stay?

Cheers,

Colin

 

[JPR]

Morning Colin,
The coast road can be very congested ,and youll be riding thru built up areas,where the speed limits can be as low as 31KPH.
Speed limits are strictly enforced,with on the spot fines of around £100 (If memory serves me correct)
Ride above the posted limit,and youll stick out like a sore thumb.!
Good luck,and enjoy.

 

[JayC]

Just a few days back I did Togir to Makarska, after a previous failed attempt to make good ground along the coast from Split to Omis, albeit in a van, but scoots weren't covering ground much quicker - total nightmare and so peeled off at Makarska to take a neat (as in impressive!) mountain road route , with tremendous views en route to Vrgorac.

 

[paintman]

We traveled back from Greece along the Croatian coast road last September in a motorhome, by this time of year the holiday traffic had subsided, in fact some of the campsites were already fixing to close for the year. We took our time and stopped in several sites along the road, Dudrovnic, Primosten etc, but progress was slow due to all kinds of hold ups and coffee breaks, we had planned to visit Mostar but ran out of time in the end we got on the motorway to crack off a few hundred miles. I think you can probably ride the road in a couple of days, but equally you could take a week, it all depends on whether you want to get it done as quick as possible or have a little look around and get a feel for the place and the people.

 

[The Grey One]

Hi,

Can I pick your collective brains about the coast road in Croatia?

We're heading to Dubrovnik in mid September and will be travelling from Tolmin down to Rijeka then on to Starigrad (near Zadar) via the coast road in one day, about 210 miles. Then following the coast road down to Dubrovnik the next day, about 240 miles.

Looking at replies to other threads it seems that the coast road can be busy - are our plans reasonable or will we struggle to make the distances without going on the motorway?

We do tend to stop to take pictures / drink coffee / kick tyres / etc but 200+ miles a day is not unknown territory for us.

Anyone stayed in or near Starigrad? any suggestions for a good place to stay?

Cheers,




Colin

I think you might like to re check your distances. We are going the same way at the beginning of October taking two overnight stops to get to Dubrovnik. According to Mapsource Starigrad to Dubrovnik by the coast road is more like 320 miles. It will be our first time too so I can't comment on speeds on this road but looking at the map I can't imagine average speeds will be much different from those here in the Alps. That will make 320 miles a very long day.

The run from Tolmin should be fine, we are actually stopping little south of Starigrad on our first day starting from here in Maltatal. We will be using the Motorways for the first couple of hours to enable us to get there comfortably in the day. We are then stopping over in Split for a night. Ok we could do our place to Dubrovnik with just one stop but this is our holiday at the end of a busy season!



John

 

[wideparting]

http://www.jakirusa.com/en/1/jakirusa-bay/

stayed here a couple of times. nice place and people. j

 

[patzx12]

We had a bad experience leaving Split heading north, absolutely the worst wind i ever encountered. One guy was blown off his bike, we had to stop and wait for it to subside. Other than that Croatia was good. Nice country and people.

 

[Alan R]

Stayed in Pension Roli in starigrad 10 days ago. €50 for B&B twin room. Clean, good food/beer. This is the view from our room. Alan R

 

[El Capitano]

Thanks for all of your replies.

It sounds like progress will be slow. We would like to spend more time on the trip but our plans mean that we have two days to get from Tolmin to Dubrovnik.

I've re-checked the distance between Starigrad and Dubrovnik using TYRE (Google Maps) and it's still coming out at about 240 miles?

Jakirusa bay looks great but is probably too far South for us to get to.

I've seen some posts about the Bora wind and done some research - not very predictable so we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed!

Pension Roli looks just the job but we probably won't book in case we don't get that far.

Best plan appears to be to see how we get on going down the coast road from Rijeka to Starigrad and jumping on the motorway on day 2 if we think we won't get to Dubrovnik.

Cheers,

Colin

 

[The Grey One]

Thanks for all of your replies.

It sounds like progress will be slow. We would like to spend more time on the trip but our plans mean that we have two days to get from Tolmin to Dubrovnik.

I've re-checked the distance between Starigrad and Dubrovnik using TYRE (Google Maps) and it's still coming out at about 240 miles?

Jakirusa bay looks great but is probably too far South for us to get to.

I've seen some posts about the Bora wind and done some research - not very predictable so we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed!

Pension Roli looks just the job but we probably won't book in case we don't get that far.

Best plan appears to be to see how we get on going down the coast road from Rijeka to Starigrad and jumping on the motorway on day 2 if we think we won't get to Dubrovnik.

Cheers,

Colin

Looks like there are two places called Starigrad along that coast, Mapsource comes up with four in Croatia but dear old Google only shows one. Another reason not to trust Google maps. So if you are staying in the only one that Google finds it will indeed be around 240 miles.

Have a great trip wherever you stay

John

 

[GADGET]

Enjoy your trip John, I'm taking the train down to Koper, arriving this Saturday, so will be way ahead of you, but i'm carrying on down the coast into Greece., Nothing booked, so seeing how it goes, Not back at work until 15th October, so I'm just hoping for some great weather. Still intending to revisit yours, sometime, perhaps on the way back. How long are you away? john

 

[The Grey One]

Enjoy your trip John, I'm taking the train down to Koper, arriving this Saturday, so will be way ahead of you, but i'm carrying on down the coast into Greece., Nothing booked, so seeing how it goes, Not back at work until 15th October, so I'm just hoping for some great weather. Still intending to revisit yours, sometime, perhaps on the way back. How long are you away? john

We are having to get back by the 8th October because of all the work going on here. The place will be closed from the end of September but if you want a bed for a night or two from the 9th onwards just turn up. There will be lots of DIY going on but as long as you don't mind that there will be no problem. We are here until the end of October.

John

 

[Roberto]

Colin, just saw the thread and replied to your PM.

Have fun! R.

 

[El Capitano]

Update following our trip

Short answer to ‘can we do it?’ is – yes we could!

Heading south from Tolmin in Slovenia we joined the coast road just south of Rijeka – not very inspiring to start with but once south of Senj we had the road to ourselves and it’s more or less non stop corners all the way down to Starigrad Paklenica. Stopped at the Pension Roli, €30 for a single en-suite, room was fine but breakfast wasn’t up to much.

Next day cut the Zadar corner off and rejoined the coast road at Sibenik – OK down to Split but a nightmare to get past and for about 20 miles further down the coast. Top tip would be to pick up the motorway just south of Starigrad and rejoin the coast road at Brela.

The road from Brela down to Dubrovnik is good and for us was quiet but the nearer you get to Dubrovnik the busier it gets. No bother getting through the Croatian / Bosnian / Croatian borders in either direction and not asked about insurance. My bike insurance, holiday insurance, breakdown insurance and, as far as I know, my EHIC didn’t ‘work’ in Bosnia so it was a four mile leap of faith in each direction. If you can’t cope with this then put a lot of effort in before you go.

Dubrovnik itself was great but busy and quite expensive as you would expect for a major tourist destination. We stayed at the Jele Rooms, €50 a night for a twin en-suite but no breakfast. It isn’t easy to find but has off street parking and is a good place to stay.

On the way back we followed the coast road up to Brela then jumped on the motorway up to the Sibenik turn then headed inland. The motorway is empty and costs peanuts. Inland Croatia is very different from coastline Croatia and well worth a look. We stayed at the Pension Roli again and then headed north on the coast road to just shy of Rijeka then headed inland again to Slovenia. Coast road on both days virtually empty and brisk progress was made.

On the coast road the speed limit seems to change every 100 yards so it’s almost impossible to stay legal. We kept to the posted limits in the towns, villages and long straights but rode the bendy bits like they should be ridden. We saw a couple of speed traps but had no bother.

Most places in Croatia will take Euros, even the motorway toll booths, but all the garages we called at would only take cards or Kuna.

We had no issues with the Bora winds and the weather for us was hot and sunny but we were told that there had been three weeks of rain in August.

Top trip and well recommended.

 

[The Grey One]

We are off at 9am tomorrow having spent two hard days moving things for our big winter works. Just the most fantastic weather for the last few days,perfect biking weather in fact. Hopefully the weather will be kind over the week. If I have time i will try to posy a ride report with a few pictures.

John

 

[GADGET]

Have a good trip john, I'm booked on the Patras-Ancona ferry tomorrow, then a straight ride to the Channel tunnel, as unfortunately I have not been too well the last few days, so reckon I'm being prudent making my way back to Blightly earlier than planned. john

 

[The Grey One]

Have a good trip john, I'm booked on the Patras-Ancona ferry tomorrow, then a straight ride to the Channel tunnel, as unfortunately I have not been too well the last few days, so reckon I'm being prudent making my way back to Blightly earlier than planned. john

Sorry that you are not too good, take great care riding back to the UK and I hope we will see you at our place next year

John

John

 

[The Grey One]

Morning Colin,
The coast road can be very congested ,and youll be riding thru built up areas,where the speed limits can be as low as 31KPH.
Speed limits are strictly enforced,with on the spot fines of around £100 (If memory serves me correct)
Ride above the posted limit,and youll stick out like a sore thumb.!
Good luck,and enjoy.

You need to try it in early October! We are in Split, leaving for Dubrovnik soon and so far there has been almost no traffic on the D8. Yes lots of speed limit signs, must have missed the 31 KPH one though. Thus far we have seen only two speed traps, both clearly visible so no problem. We have been able travel at our own pace for most of the way except for a very windy stretch around Karlobag. Having said that it's not the sort of road I would want to race along. The road hugs the coast most of the way which means it is both scenic and twisty. The surface though good does not appear to have quite the same levels of grip as we are used to in Austria. At least it is better than the slippery stuff they use in the towns.

Next stop Dubrovnik, I hope the road is as good.

John

 

[GADGET]

Sorry that you are not too good, take great care riding back to the UK and I hope we will see you at our place next year

John

John

Enjoy your trip John, I left on the 17:30 ferry from Patras to Ancona Thursday and have just arrived home, I'd forgotten the Italians charge the same for bikes, as cars on the toll roads, must have cost me about €100 in toll money, just to get out of Italy! Next time it will have to be Trieste and back via Slovenia/Austria/Germany