Adriatic Cost road (A1?) trip

[RJM123]

Hi All. ive got this idea of a trip down to the Adriatic coast and while I'm there taking time out to visit the old communist monuments - ending in Albania and then across to italy via ferry and back up through Italy home. I'm thinking about 2 weeks. Not worried about using motorways to get to the start (Zagreb area?) and then making the most of the roads and scenery to my various points of interest. Any suggestions/experiences of this route/journey ?

Cheers

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Moved from Trip Reports.

Richard

 

[RJM123]

And, is it best to do the adriatic coast north to south so to speak? I just assumed this was the best direction!

 

[Wapping]

I'm thinking about 2 weeks….

That very much depends on you, how long you intend to spend looking at ‘stuff’, what time you start each day and end it and whether you have any full days off….. and, perhaps to some degree or another, how frequently the ferry runs.

As you apparently start in Broadstairs, at least you’ll save the potential day (or longer) flogging from Inverness and back, just to cross over onto mainland Europe.

 

[RJM123]

Yes, living 30 mins from dover ferry is very convenient for Europe! my intention is to get to the Adriatic highway relatively quickly and then make the most of the roads and visit some places along route. probably take 7 days to get to Albania, then down to Greece and ferry across to Italy. Strasbourg day one (motorway), then non motorway to Salzburg ish day 2, and then Pasjak area Croatia Day 3.

Your help here would be appreciated , i'm thinking taking the non motorway route Germany though to Croatia is a better option but does anyone have an actual route for this (or part of) that makes the most of the great roads and the scenery etc even if it does add more miles? I want to see things not just blast down there - hence why i'm allowing two days for the Strasbourg to Pasjak Croatia section (not sure if im contradicting myself there is two days enough?}

 

[GADGET]

I’d say 2 weeks is not enough, I did much of this trip Germany Austria Slovenia Croatia Montenegro Albania Greece to most Southern point of Peloponnese on my Honda Crosstourer back to ferry to Italy then direct route back to U.K. and that was 5 weeks!

 

[ChasF]

The A1 is the motorway which runs through central Croatia although it does get close to the coast road in places.

For the coast road you’re best heading for Trieste then Rijecka, the most scenic part is south of Zadar all the way to Kotor in Montenegro - fantastic road even with the frequent signs reminding you that it is a ‘challenging road for motorcycles’ and lots of bent armco. We used the Dubrovnik to Bari ferry, the standard of driving is Southern Italy is horrendous.

Calais - Calais will be around 3k miles staying on the route so 2 weeks will be tight even if using some motorways.

 

[wessie]

then non motorway to Salzburg ish day 2,

optimistic

it's over 5 hours riding if you do it on the motorway https://maps.app.goo.gl/6AM24kp5pt7zV71x7 and that assumes there won't be endless miles of contraflow as is common on German autobahns.

click the non-motorway tit and it rises to 8 hours riding, no stops for fuel, food or sightseeing taken into account.

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

maps.app.goo.gl

the rest of the trip is similarly optimistic in the 2 weeks if your desire is to see things rather than just target fixation on Albania.

 

[Wapping]

i'm thinking taking the non motorway route Germany though to Croatia is a better option but does anyone have an actual route for this (or part of) that makes the most of the great roads and the scenery etc even if it does add more miles? I want to see things not just blast down there - hence why i'm allowing two days for the Strasbourg to Pasjak Croatia section

Strasbourg to Pasjak is 900 km / 560 miles going direct.

You want a route that uses ‘great roads’ (doesn’t everyone) and things to see and do along the way (doesn’t everyone, again). You want to do this in two days.

Just as the answer to your “Is two weeks enough for my entire holiday?” question is: who knows? Whether two days is enough for you to ride the 560 miles Strasbourg to Pasjak section, if it’s to be ’great roads’ and ‘seeing stuff’ all the way, is entirely in your hands. Spend half a day each day looking at ‘stuff’ will mean a day lost overall. Two days, less one day is one day.

Maybe arm yourself with a map (even Google maps will do) and look at the roads, motorway and non-motorway. Then think to yourself, if I were to go 550 miles from Broadstsirs to Dundee, how would I do it over two days, including stopping to see and do ‘stuff’ along the way?

 

[Mad Hatter]

I've just done a trip that went through that area and my advice, as you only have two weeks, would be to take the fastest motorway route you can down to Trieste and then get off the motorway at that point. The coast road is OK and the views are spectacular in places but it's busy. The inland roads are interesting, comparatively empty and in my view give you a better feel for the countries you are travelling through. I think you are better plotting your own route through the countries you want to visit otherwise you're just following a line on the GPS with no real idea where you are or why. Accommodation is plentiful and varied, fuel is easy to find so no worries there. It's an interesting trip that makes you appreciate just how culturally varied Europe actually is.

 

[Tonibe63]

We did UK Midlands, Germany etc to Kotor Bay and back over 3 weeks and it was very rushed, now I would want at the very least 4 weeks.

 

[Blue]

Have done that exact trip a lot of great riding if you dont use motorways but no chance in 2wks, would be bit of a rush even using a lot of motorway, ferries Albania to Italy are quite often and no problem.

 

[John Armstrong]

I went to Kotor a couple of years ago, this was my itinerary after getting off the Ijmuiden ferry:

Limburg - 4 hours riding
Lienz - 6 hours riding
Karlobag - 6 hours - some coast road
Mostar via Knin - 6 hours - stopped for two nights. The Red and Blue lakes at Imoski are stunning.
Kotor - 5 hours - two nights
Dubrovnik - 6 hours via Cetinje, Pavlova Strana Viewpoint, Niksic and Trebinje - three nights
Sibenik - 5 hours - coast road heading north.
Pula - 6 hours - two nights - mainly coast road via Senj etc
Munich - 6.5 hours
Trier - 5 hours
Ijmuiden - 4 hours

If I was to do it again, now there's a plan, I'd miss out Dubrovnik and spend the extra nights in Montenegro.

 

[Mike_E]

Could ride over to Dusseldorf and get on the Urlaubs express overnight train with the bike and arrive at 8am at the Slovenian border. It's not cheap, and I think it's a bit old and run down but you could be in Slovenia 24hrs after leaving your home in the UK. Saves 2 days on the motorway each way and the fuel/tyres/accomodation.

They run every 2 weeks to Villach so you could get the return home if you really want to maximise time in Croatia/Albania.. also goes to Innsbruck more often I think.

 

[Wapping]

this was my itinerary after getting off the Ijmuiden ferry:

Limburg - 4 hours riding
Lienz - 6 hours riding
Karlobag - 6 hours - some coast road

There you have it OP.

You’ll be starting from Calais, not Ijmuiden, but it gives a rough idea. Karlobag is about two hours south of your destination of Pajack, so not entirely different.



Google estimates the time taken as ninteen-and-a-half hours, going direct. John Armstrong shows his total time as 16 hours, so within the Google estimate, making an allowance for some leeway. Either way, it looks like three days from Imuiden, possibly dictated by when the North Sea ferry arrived to explain the (comparatively) short four hours of riding on day one.

John Armstrong doesn’t say which roads he took, nor if he stopped to see and do ‘stuff’ along the way. We might though guess, given the time taken it was reasonably direct, so not so much of the ‘great roads / stuff to see and do’ along the way.

 

[RJM123]

The A1 is the motorway which runs through central Croatia although it does get close to the coast road in places.

For the coast road you’re best heading for Trieste then Rijecka, the most scenic part is south of Zadar all the way to Kotor in Montenegro - fantastic road even with the frequent signs reminding you that it is a ‘challenging road for motorcycles’ and lots of bent armco. We used the Dubrovnik to Bari ferry, the standard of driving is Southern Italy is horrendous.

Calais - Calais will be around 3k miles staying on the route so 2 weeks will be tight even if using some motorways.

Yes, that's the road I'm taking the Adriatic Coast Road. Yes I've met Italian drivers on the amalfi coast road, not clever! I think I need 3 weeks plus at least!

 

[RJM123]

Strasbourg to Pasjak is 900 km / 560 miles going direct.

You want a route that uses ‘great roads’ (doesn’t everyone) and things to see and do along the way (doesn’t everyone, again). You want to do this in two days.

Just as the answer to your “Is two weeks enough for my entire holiday?” question is: who knows? Whether two days is enough for you to ride the 560 miles Strasbourg to Pasjak section, if it’s to be ’great roads’ and ‘seeing stuff’ all the way, is entirely in your hands. Spend half a day each day looking at ‘stuff’ will mean a day lost overall. Two days, less one day is one day.

Maybe arm yourself with a map (even Google maps will do) and look at the roads, motorway and non-motorway. Then think to yourself, if I were to go 550 miles from Broadstsirs to Dundee, how would I do it over two days, including stopping to see and do ‘stuff’ along the way?

0

 

[Wapping]

I think I need 3 weeks plus at least!

That’s progress, at least.

 

[RJM123]

Time isn't really s problem for me, my crazy 2 week idea was stupid! I suppose I'm not worried about the drive down to the start of the adriatic coast road (3 nights to get there from calais ) it's the adriatic coast that I really want to see and explore, spending a few days down to Albania. So let's see if 3 days to get there, 7 days to get to the ferry in igoumenitsa (?) Greece enjoying stuff on the way, then up through Italy home, another 7 days? If takes what it takes, I want to enjoy it, even I had no real understanding of how long I need, but thank you all for your brilliant advice!

 

[John Armstrong]

Google estimates the time taken as nineteen-and-a-half hours, going direct. John Armstrong shows his total time as 16 hours, so within the Google estimate, making an allowance for some leeway. Either way, it looks like three days from Ijmuiden, possibly dictated by when the North Sea ferry arrived to explain the (comparatively) short four hours of riding on day one.

John Armstrong doesn’t say which roads he took, nor if he stopped to see and do ‘stuff’ along the way. We might though guess, given the time taken it was reasonably direct, so not so much of the ‘great roads / stuff to see and do’ along the way.

Apart from cutting the corner off the German autobahns to see Nordlingen and it's meteorite crater it was motorway to Kufstein, and motorway all the way back from Kufstein apart from the Trier to Liege hop. Ijmuiden ferry get away tends to be around 11am so trying tno to push it too far on the first night, though fell foul that logic hen they seemed to go on a go slow at Ijmuiden a couple of years later. Motorway past Udine to Trieste as well and vice-versa. I was happy with that compromise, as my goal was to get to Kotor in the two weeks I had. Others might want to avoid every mile of motorway between their port and end, but I learned in Switzerland the cheap / non-motorway way can be the worst option for me.

Bike was a 650 V-Strom, so I was cruising at around 75mph on the motorways, and most days I prefer to get somewhere, out of the bike kit, and look around rather than trying to do it in the midday sun in the bike kit.

The Jadranska Magistrala is a road where you have to lean the bike over, be prepared to "make progress", not be upset with other road users eg Dutch caravans using it, seeing stunning views around most corners and to do it once. For me, the roads in the interior are much more scenic and relaxing, though the road up from Karlobag to where Nicolia Tesla was born was done a couple of times. All in all, I'm very glad I didn't have a pillion on the back when I did it.

YMMV.