Croatia: cycling heaven, and also cycling hell

John Clayton is a UK citizen who has been living in the coastal city of Rijeka for 15 years. Following on from his previous post about The Sound of Rijeka, John talks here about his experiences of cycling in Croatia – and what’s great for cyclists in the country, what’s not so good and what’s awful!

Cycling in Croatia can be truly incredible – discover picture-perfect beaches, ride the dramatic mountain with endless forest on one side with stunning views over the islands on the other. In so many ways it’s idyllic, but, and it’s a big BUT, the driving is highly bicycle unfriendly and cycling infrastructure is totally missing.

I find it hard to write about cycling in Croatia. There is so much great to say, yet the negatives are very real. Having said that I cycle most weekends, I feel highly privileged to have such incredible places to cycle on my doorstep and I am still here to tell the tale.

Cycling in Croatia: the good

So here we go, let’s start with the good. Of course, the biggest draw is the unbelievably beautiful landscape. With a bicycle, it’s possible to escape the crowded beaches – even in the height of summer – and put up a hammock at an idyllic hidden beach with crystal clear water. Perhaps even better but less well-known is the riding in the mountains. Croatia has wild mountains, particularly Velebit (just north of Zadar). These are truly wild in a way that is increasingly difficult to find in Europe outside of the Nordic countries.

The mountains provide so many excellent cycling options for any style of riding, and almost always you’ll be the only cyclist. This autumn we did a two-day mountain bike trip through Gorski Kotar (the mountains between Rijeka and the Slovenian border) and until we accidentally joined a mountain bike race near Platak we didn’t see a single other cyclist. In fact, in that one hour, we saw more cyclists than we had ever seen in Croatia over the last 15 years. To this day I’ve literally seen more bears than mountain bikers in Croatia (5 vs 3 if you’re interested). By the way, while there is a need to be bear aware in Croatia, drivers are a much, much bigger risk.

Another advantage of cycling in Croatia is that outside of July and August very good value accommodation can be found. One of our favourite weekend rides from Rijeka is to cycle across the island of Krk to then spend a night in the ever-so-cute town of Cres. We usually pay between €35-45 for an apartment. Eating out in winter is also cheaper, and we can prepare our own coffee and breakfast in the morning. In Croatia, we can afford to travel light and to be credit card tourers. In fact it’s often cheaper than camping – more about that in a minute.

Cycling in Croatia: the bad…and the ugly

So that was the good, how about the bad and the ugly?

Unfortunately, there is quite a lot. Firstly, the driving. Croatians are not known for their considerate driving, pedestrian crossings here are merely seen as a suggestion, and in no way an obligation. Accordingly, the vast majority of Croatian drivers will overtake cyclists immediately regardless of whether it is appropriate or not. Expect drivers to pass just inches from your left hand, usually holding a mobile phone in one hand and a cigarette in the other. There is not much that can be done about the driving, but we avoid bigger roads where possible and always wear helmets and yellow T-shirts.

The other major issue is the lack of infrastructure. Basically, there isn’t any. Rijeka, my home town, doesn’t have a single official bicycle rack. And forget about bicycle lanes. While a few sections do exist in random places, they are short and not linked together. Istria may be the best area of Croatia for cycle infrastructure but do not expect anything like Italy or Slovenia.

On top of this, very few trains carry bicycles to the coast (inland Slavonia is much better). There is just one a day between Zagreb and Rijeka, and none between Zagreb and Split apart from the overnight train that runs for a few weeks in the summer. In theory, buses carry bicycles, for a fee of around €10. However, it depends on space being available and the mood of the driver. These conditions make it impossible to book in advance so it cannot be relied on to return from a one-way trip along the coast for example. The bus companies even warn that getting a bicycle on a bus in summer is highly unlikely, I could add that Friday and Sunday afternoons/evenings all year round are also best avoided. Designing a circular route is the best option, or use the ferries between Italy and Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik for one-way routes.

The main ferry company in Croatia, Jadrolinija, only allows bicycles on their car ferries, for the same fee as a passenger. But please be aware that the passenger catamarans (listed as “brzi brod”) do not carry bicycles. Every year I see many cyclists in Rijeka being refused boarding as it is far from clear on the official information that bicycles are banned.

There is a reason for this misleading information – while both local and national tourist boards appear to encourage cycling, they clearly assume that every cyclist also has a car. It certainly isn’t necessary to have one (I don’t) but it does mean that information is presented based on this assumption. I also guess that no one working for these organisations has ever ridden a bicycle. Other catamaran companies operating in Dalmatia do carry bicycles – someone at Jadrolinija really doesn’t like cyclists!

Cycling in Croatia and camping

Similarly, campsites in Croatia are not at all geared up for cyclists, or, ironically, any kind of camping. Motorhomes now dominate the market and campsites have been designed accordingly. Campsites are usually floodlit at night, have rock-hard ground, and are shockingly expensive. They also charge a registration fee of about €2 per person for the first night – effectively a tax on cyclists and hikers, in contrast to Slovenian campsites that give discounts to cyclists.

There is a much better option to official campsites. A free, quiet, dark at night, option. Of course, I mean wild camping on one of the many, many isolated beaches in Croatia. The only problem is that wild camping is illegal in Croatia. The choice is yours. However, it might be worth bearing in mind that almost everything is illegal in Croatia and you will probably be breaking the law approximately every 5 minutes.

I just recently discovered that when there is no bicycle lane at a pedestrian crossing, cyclists are obliged to dismount and push their bikes across. As there is never, ever a bicycle lane I have already broken this law literally thousands of times. Just to make things worse, when cycling I do stop at crossings for pedestrians yet the cars behind me keep going, and somehow I am the one breaking the law.

To cycle or not to cycle…

I think I forgot to mention that Croatia is hilly, always! This is not a complaint, just an observation. Croatia would not be anywhere near as beautiful if it were flat. Make sure you have low climbing gears. My other advice, wear a helmet and bright clothing, avoid busier roads if at all possible, and don’t plan on using public transport on the coast.

So yes, Croatia may be way behind almost every other European country when it comes to cycling but, there is amazing cycling to be discovered here. I am still exploring, always finding new and amazing places. It can be really, really beautiful. It is by far my most common weekend activity so take my concerns as forewarning and come cycling in Croatia.

Thank you so much for your very interesting piece, John. Some truly excellent advice for anyone interested in cycling in Croatia.