Trans Dinarica cycling in Slovenia: your complete guide
Let’s introduce the Slovenian part of the Trans Dinarica cycling route, which opened in 2024. This long-distance route winds through eight Western Balkan countries, starting in Slovenia near Tolmin. Here, the Alpine world ends and the Dinaric world begins, making it the perfect starting point.
The Dinaric Alps are the common thread of this cycling route across Balkan, which you can undertake in three different ways: on your own, in an organized ‘self-guided’ way, which includes accommodation, a customized route plan and transport to the start and end of the adventure, while the third – and the most comfortable – way to explore the Trans Dinarica is a guided cycling tour with a local guide. Regardless of which option you choose, at the Visit GoodPlace agency we offer the possibility of renting bicycles and e-bikes for the Trans Dinarica. Let’s briefly describe all three options:
Trans Dinarica on your own
On the official Trans Dinarica route’s website, you will find free maps and technical descriptions of the route, and a paid navigation package is also available. In both cases, you need to prepare well for the cycling tour and take care of accommodation, food on the way and local logistics yourself. The bikes will be a bit heavier and slower due to the luggage you will be carrying with you.
Note: The Trans Dinarica cycling route exists only in digital form, so don’t expect tables or signs along the route.
Trans Dinarica as a self-guided / supported cycling tour
At the Visit GoodPlace agency, as co-creators, we know every centimeter of the Trans Dinarica cycling route, so we decided to offer a package in which everything is taken care of (well, almost everything): we will arrange transport from the airport/hotel to the starting point of the route, for local, family-owned accommodations along the way, where you will be welcomed by friendly hosts, for luggage transportation on stages and for a personally tailored navigation package that will bring you right to the door of each of these accommodations on the way. Finally, we will take care of transporting you and your (or ours, if you decide to rent-a-bike) bike back to the airport/starting point. To make your self-guided adventure as seamless as possible, each guest will get a live video call with our itinerary specialist prior to the tour.
Guided Trans Dinarica cycling tour with a local guide on a bicycle
If you add a bicycle guide to the contents of the package from the second point, the recipe for a carefree bicycle adventure through Slovenia and Croatia is complete. Our guides are licensed tour guides, specialized in bicycle tours and excellent experts of the local environment. This means that they will not only know how to safely guide the group, which is limited to eight riders, but also advise whether to choose ‘štruklji’ or perhaps ‘frika’ at dinner and explain the difference between local ‘teran’ and ‘refošk’ wines (which comes from the same sort of vine, btw).
What bike to choose for the Trans Dinarica, is it possible to ride with an electric bike?
The route is designed to be ridden with as wide a range of bikes as possible. Both trekking/fitness and increasingly popular gravel bikes are suitable. It depends more on what kind of bike you are comfortable with and how you will take care of your luggage on the way. In case of support from our Visit GoodPlace agency, luggage transportation will be taken care of at each stage. For an even better idea: the entire Trans Dinarica section in Slovenia consists of 67 percent asphalt and 33 percent gravel/macadam. All gravel parts are easy manageable. Someone with a bit of courage could also conquer it on a racing road bike, although we don’t recommend that (nor do full-suspension mountain bikes). We also have electric bikes in our fleet; from our experience, there have never been any problems with empty battery and charging along the way.
Best time to ride the Trans Dinarica?
The route is designed to be ridden with as wide a range of bikes as possible. Both trekking/fitness and increasingly popular gravel bikes are suitable. It depends more on what kind of bike you are comfortable with and how you will take care of your luggage on the way. In case of support from our Visit GoodPlace agency, luggage transportation will be taken care of at each stage. For an even better idea: the entire Trans Dinarica section in Slovenia consists of 67 percent asphalt and 33 percent gravel/macadam. All gravel parts are easy manageable. Someone with a bit of courage could also conquer it on a racing road bike, although we don’t recommend that (nor do full-suspension mountain bikes). We also have electric bikes in our fleet; from our experience, there have never been any problems with empty battery and charging along the way.
