Adventure Croatia Gravel Bike Tour

The adventure begins in the town of Čavle near Rijeka in the northern point of Kvarner Bay. It’s the perfect starting point for your cycling adventure. Check your tires, tie bags and stock up on snacks for the day. The real excitement begins tomorrow.

The bike tour starts out relatively easily, it crosses small towns above the Bay of Bakar and follows the roads above the busy Adriatic Road. You’ll ride past Lake Tribalj and then on a pleasant macadam cycling road along the river Dubračina to the seaside town of Crikvenica. It is a well-known resort and spa town in the Kvarner region with a pleasant climate, clean sea and long pebble beaches. At the end of the stage, you can relax on the beach or maybe take a boat trip to the island of Krk, which lies opposite. Every year on August 15, a swimming marathon is organized there – yes, people swim from Krk to Crikvenica. You don’t have to try it yourself. You better save your energy for the days ahead.

65% road
35% gravel

Leaving Crikvenica, you’ll be heading towards the slopes of Velebit and enjoy the views of the islands of Krk, Goli otok (the ‘naked island’), Rab, and others.  After quite challenging first part (you better have had a strong breakfast), you can expect a perfect cycling gravel romance, riding parallel to the rugged coast of the Adriatic Sea somewhere below on your right. The scenic day will end with an adrenaline-filled road descent to Senj, the oldest town in the northern part of the Adriatic. If you still have some strength in your legs, drive to the 16th-century Nehaj fortress to see the magic sunset, although you will also see the impressive fortress the next morning when you leave Senj. Dinner at the Bura Hotel is excellent, if you would like to walk a little through the narrow streets, we recommend the Tropicana Inn and pizzeria.

60% road
40% gravel

We hope you are ready – one of the most challenging climbs is ahead of you, as you will have to cycle from zero to over a thousand meters above sea level. Sweating will be rewarded with the most beautiful views possible. Because when you are on the seashore, you have a few square meters of beach – but when you are on the southern slope of Velebit, the whole kingdom of islands in the big Adriatic blue is all yours. This is what makes cycling in Croatia so unique and unforgettable. At the end of the stage, in the village of Krasno, we recommend a visit to the Velebit House, where you will get to know this exceptional nature reserve from a more professional perspective. Be sure to try the local cheese before dinner; if the weather is not too hot, we also recommend a piece of it for a snack for the next day.

70% road
30% gravel

The stage will be all about the forested Velebit asphalt and macadam roads – thanks to the foresters, they are in good shape and nicely passable. Make sure you have enough food (did we mention the local cheese?) and drink with you, as there are also no shops or restaurants. Once you reach Alan Pass with the mountain hut, the ground under the wheels turns steeply downhill. It’s probably redundant advice to do sightseeing and photography BEFORE the wild descent towards the coast begins. After you reach the Adriatic Highway, there is a good 10 kilometers of the main road, which is considered one of the most spectacular roads in the world, but it can also be quite busy (depending on the season), so push the pedals to the ferry that will take you to the moon. At least it will look that way from that side. In the evening, enjoy the island life, treat yourself with some seafood or local lamb, and relax – for the next two days you will observe the mountains from afar.

80% road
20% gravel

The stage on Pag Island is very altitude-friendly but spectacular. Most of the time, you will avoid the main road and enjoy getting lost among the dry-stone walls, pastures with sheep, among the raw stone landscape full of sage, rosemary and other aromatic plants that spice up the salty air. We recommend a coffee stop in the town of Pag, a calm renaissance town known for sea salt production and Pag lace. Only the last few kilometers will run on the main road, over the spectacular bridge that connects Pag to the mainland. You’ll spend a night in the village of Rtina, which is considered the northernmost point of the Dalmatian coast.

70% road
30% gravel

Cycling on this day will be relatively easy. If we have any climbing enthusiasts here – the entrance to Paklenica NP, a paradise for climbing, is only 10 kilometers away from today’s route. You will cross the Maslenica Bridge over the canyon that connects the Novigrad Sea with the Adriatic Sea. Later, we recommend a short detour to the viewpoint above the canyon of the Zrmanja river, which gives a completely different picture than the waterfalls where you will spend the night. You have a swimsuit with you, right? You won’t get the chance very often to have waterfalls massage your tired shoulders.

95% road
5% gravel

Get ready for one of the most beautiful roads just made for this gravel tour. The famous ‘Majstorska cesta’ (Master’s Road) was built in 1832 under the Habsburg Monarchy to connect the inland with the seaside, two regions that were previously almost impassably separated by the Velebit. And if horse-drawn carriages were able to climb it back then, so can you! After a longer asphalt climb, the route to the Mali Alan Pass at 1.045 meters offers an epic ascent past limestone walls and with a view towards the Adriatic Sea. Snap a victorious selfie at the top, turn the bike and head back to the Zrmanja, where you’ll be tempted to jump under the falls once more (depending on the time of year).

70% road
30% gravel

After breakfast, we’ll load the bikes and drive along the panoramic Adriatic highway cut between the coast and Velebit. During the van drive, you will get to know the places you admired from a height from a different perspective. It was a great adventure, wasn’t it?