Cycling the Dalmatian Coast

Name: Cycling the Dalmatian Coast
Brand: Exodus
Rating: 4 (314 reviews)

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Cycling

Ways to Travel :

Guided Group, Private Group Adventures

Activity :

Cycling

Activity Levels :

3 out of 10 - Moderate

Group Size :

4 - 16

Ages :

16+

Trip Code :

MVJ

Coastal cycling along Croatia's spectacular Dalmatian coastline

Known to have the clearest waters in the Mediterranean and undoubtedly packed with historical and cultural interest, the Dalmatian Coast is one of the true wonders of Europe. We follow some of the best cycling routes the area has to offer with much of the tour taking place on the long and beautiful islands of Hvar and Korcula, travelling by ferry between the islands. The scenery alternates between seaside villages, tiny medieval towns, and pretty pebble bays. We end our journey in the fascinating UNESCO city of Dubrovnik where we spend two nights soaking up the atmosphere of this uniquely preserved city.

Highlights

Spectacular coastal cycling routes
Explore the mainland and islands on two wheels
Discover the UNESCO city of Dubrovnik

Key Information

4 days cycling (plus 1 optional ride on Mljet) with full vehicle support
90% tarmac, 10% gravel roads
Quiet roads with a good mix of flat and rolling terrain
Group normally 4 to 16 plus leader. Min age 16
7 nights hotels
E-bike hire available on request, supplement from £145,USD $224 or CAD $266

Countries visited: Croatia

Whats Included

All breakfasts
All accommodation
All transport and listed activities
Tour leader throughout
Flights from London (if booking flight inclusive)
Local bike hire

Whats Not Included

Travel insurance
Single accommodation (available on request for 5 nights only)
Visas or vaccinations
E-bike hire supplement

Pace:

Moderate: 13-16km/8-10miles an hour

Terrain:

Low altitude; 90% quiet tarmac roads, 10% gravel roads

Day 3

47 km / 29.2 miles

Day 4

44 km / 27.3 miles

Day 6

45 km / 28 miles

Day 7

18 km / 11.2 miles

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips which improve life for the people and places we visit, and look after the planet we explore. Find out more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice here, and find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation here.

Some sustainable travel highlights of this trip include:

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

The use of a local guide means our customers will be well informed about local traditions, and cultural and social sensitivities.

This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally-owned hotels and restaurants, the emphasis on eating locally produced food and support of other local enterprise.
As a cycling trip, it allows easier access to the local communities and hence, facilitates interaction with locals from visits to local cafes and restaurants as well as markets to purchase traditional gifts and craft and get a real impression of the country. Entrance fees to the historical sites and attractions also goes to the upkeep of the structures.

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels.
By travelling in a small group, led by a local guide, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
Our trips adhere to ABTA’s industry-leading animal welfare guidelines to ensure the best possible practices with regard to working animals and wildlife viewing. Our animal welfare policy can be found here.
We work with our partners on the ground to proactively eliminate or reduce waste, for example eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles and instead providing refills for re-usable bottles.

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.
Wherever possible, we use smaller, locally-run accommodation and eco-hotels, versus big hotel chains which have a bigger impact on the surrounding environments.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

Leave no trace: We do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish behind in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, we’d ask you to consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
Plastic waste reduction: Please bring your own re-usable water bottle on this trip; filtered water will be provided where tap water is not drinkable.
Take the train: Consider taking the train to this trip. Not only will it significantly reduce the carbon footprint of your holiday vs. flying, it also extends your adventure! Read more about which train journeys we can book, or how to book your own, here.

Cycling the Dalmatian Coast with Exodus Travels

Said to have the clearest waters in the Mediterranean, and undoubtedly packed with historical and cultural interest, the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia is one of the true wonders of Europe. Cycle with Exodus Travels through this breathtaking coastline.

Recommended Trips

Cycling the Dalmatian Coast

Itinerary

Include Flights

Start Split; If arrival times allow, there will be time to look around the old quarters of the city and a visit to the UNESCO Diocletian Palace, we may have time for dinner or a snack before we get back to the Split ferry port to take an evening ferry to Stari Grad on the island of Hvar. We then continue by road to Hvar town where we spend the first two nights.

Please note: the ferry leaves at 20.30. The group flight varies per departure and the itinerary will be adjusted accordingly.

Our first day is a circular ride exploring the island of Hvar. We start with a transfer to Stari Grad where we do our bike fitting before we start cycling along an old Roman road to Vrbovska and then follow the coastal road towards the village of Jelsa. Here we take a break before heading back to Stari Grad for an optional lunch. After lunch, we continue our ride back to the town of Hvar. We will cycle up a challenging hill to a viewpoint overlooking the island of Brac with breathtaking views. When we return to Hvar, we will have a chance to wander around the narrow streets of this quintessential Dalmatian town. Rather like a mini Venice, the streets of Hvar are marbled and there are elegant gothic palaces and cathedrals inside the city walls.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Today we start with a transfer to Jelsa and we ride east along the narrow part of the island with views of both coasts as we head to the port of Sucuraj. The road is generally quiet and there are a couple of challenging climbs today to get you warmed up, however, the support vehicle will be available for anyone who doesn’t want to cycle up the hills. Heading east, we have wonderful views of the mountainous mainland and the turquoise waters and we pass small villages, olive groves and tiny vineyards on our way to Sucuraj. From Sucuraj we take a ferry to Drvenik on the mainland, transfer by bus to Orebic, then catch another ferry to Korcula which is the historic centre of the island and on the Peljesac Channel. It is also known for its cultural and historical heritage with a long tradition of seafaring, shipbuilding and stone-masonry, as well as being the birthplace of the adventurer and traveller Marco Polo. Once on Korcula, we have a short 15min transfer to the small town of Lumbarda which will be our base for the next three nights.

From June to September a ferry runs from Ploce to Trpanj, and from here we will take the bus to Orebic and then the ferry to Korcula. This shortens the time spent on the bus travelling from Drvenik to Orebic and makes the journey a bit more fun and picturesque.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Today we have a free day to relax in Lumbarda, go for a swim at the sandy beach on Przina or explore the charming town of Korcula at your own pace. There is an optional visit (with bikes) to the picturesque island of Mijet. Those choosing to explore Mljet and its famous national park will take a boat ride to Pomena, which is also the entrance for the Mljet National Park. Here you can enjoy a very scenic but short ride around the two lakes.

Meals Included: Breakfast

After breakfast, we will start our circular ride on the forested island of Korcula. We start with a transfer to Vela Luka and from here we ride to the pretty village Brna near Smokvica before transferring to Pupnat where we will have lunch. From here we get back on the bikes and cycle all the way back to Lumbarda after a great exploration of the island. Today is a busy day and there are some hills, but we will use the support vehicle where necessary.

Meals Included: Breakfast

After a short ferry ride (approx 20 minutes) to the Peljesac Peninsula, we follow this narrow and rugged finger of land. The route passes through olive groves, quiet villages, and the famous vineyards hugging the steep slopes descending to the clear waters of the Adriatic. We complete our ride along an easy unpaved track to the tiny cove at Zuljana. From here the traffic levels increase so we take our support vehicle to Dubrovnik. En route, there is a short stop at the small historic settlement of Ston, an example of a fortified town and Dubrovnik-style architecture. We should arrive in Dubrovnik in the late afternoon. We spend two nights in a hotel which is a 10-minute public bus ride from the old town of Dubrovnik. This evening we will have a guided tour of the Old Town of Dubrovnik.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Dubrovnik exudes old-world charm. Located right on the Adriatic, the fine religious buildings surrounded by heavily fortified walls and the jumble of red-tiled roofs make this a truly enchanting place. The shelling of Dubrovnik by Serb troops in 1991 and 1992 outraged the world. Fortunately, over the last 15 years, great care has been taken to re-build the damaged parts of Dubrovnik and the city has now returned to its former glory. The old town, or Stari Grad, is filled with cobblestone streets, fountains, churches, palaces and museums — all built from the same light-coloured stone. There are no motor vehicles in the quiet city, but at night the streets come alive as locals and visitors take an early evening stroll along the Stradun, the main street, covered in smooth shiny marble. Dubrovnik is famous for its fine seafood, and what better way to end our Croatian experience than splashing out on a feast of freshly grilled fish within Dubrovnik's city walls.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Trip ends in Dubrovnik.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Essential Info

Visa

UK passport holders do not need visas for this trip. Other nationalities should check with the relevant embassies.

Vaccination

No vaccinations are obligatory.

Eating and Drinking

All breakfasts are included throughout.

For breakfast, you can expect a continental buffet serving a wide selection of food from cold meats, cheeses, bread, and eggs to pastries, yoghurts, jams, and fruit as well as tea and coffee.

Croatian cuisine is a mixture of fine seafood, grilled lamb, pizza, pasta, and salads, with influences from Central Europe, Italy, and other parts of the Balkans.

A popular optional lunch spot in Pupnat (Korcula) is Mate restaurant. Lunch here is often a highlight of the trip. A selection of homemade produce is on offer with a drink and comes to around 155kn/20EUR. Credit card not accepted.

Another highlight in Korcula is an optional dinner on day 5 at an agrotourism. Dinner here is around 200kn/27EUR for their set menu. Credit card not accepted.

Weather

Croatia boasts one of the sunniest climates in Europe, and some regions are well known to be free from rain. Our trips from March through to October, so you should expect some variation in temperature and possibly some rainfall. Temperatures can be high, particularly on the July departures, and can reach the mid to high 30s. Temperatures in March, April, and October are typically cooler.

Weather Charts

MVJ

Is this trip for you?

This tour is classified Road: activity level 3 (Moderate)

4 days cycling (plus one optional day ride) with an average distance of 45km per day with full vehicle support.

The rides mainly follow tarmac roads, but where possible on the islands we will use the quieter older roads that tend to be hard gravel. The roads are quiet and there is less traffic on the islands than the mainland. The route will be generally undulating but there are a few challenging hills that can be tough in the warm weather. The trip is vehicle supported so it is possible to miss some of these harder sections if you prefer. At times the route will follow roads or tracks with a steep downslope to one side. Certain sections will not have a barrier.

No specific cycling experience required but you should be comfortable on a bike and have a reasonable level of fitness.

Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as generally not suitable for persons of reduced mobility. However if you are a regular traveller on such trips, please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.

Clare McDonnell

Reviewed June 2022

Croatia Cycling the Dalmatian coast

My son (23) and I (57) have just returned from this trip and I’m now looking to book another Exodus cycling trip! We have not done a trip like this before and we’re little nervous! There was no need! The group leader Mario was excellent and made sure everyone was comfortable with the pace and really was an exceptional lead and a great ambassador for both Croatia and Exodus. Our group of 11 was mixed age and ability but everyone got on well and had a fantastic time! Amazing scenery, beautiful crystal clear waters and quiet roads. Organisation was brilliant, water, snacks, when and where to break…bus and trailer availability etc. Nothing was too much trouble and Mario really put in loads of effort to ensure everyone had a great holiday. Hotels were good and better than I expected. If you have doubts about whether you should book… just do it! It was fantastic!

Simon Vandyk

Reviewed June 2022

This was my first ever Exodus holiday, and it exceeded all expectations!

This was a very well organised trip, I went in late May so the weather was warm but no too hot. I really enjoyed the cycling and I met a bunch of great people. Our group was 15 big and it being my first Exodus trip I was a little nervous, but as soon as I met the leader and other travelers I felt at ease. I am already looking at booking another holiday with Exodus.

Tony Glaser

Reviewed June 2022

Had a wonderful time

My wife and I very much enjoyed this trip - our 6th or 7th Exodus cycling trip. Croatia was surprisingly beautiful, the food was good, the cycling was just right (not too hard, not too easy), and the group were all fun - and were all of broadly the same fitness levels as cyclists (no super-fit fanatics, no completely unfit laggards)

Paul Green

Reviewed October 2021

It's amazing what you can do in a week!

This holiday was extremely enjoyable. The itinerary is well planned and the route takes you to a variety of destinations. Not having been to Croatia before I didn't know there were so many beautiful small islands and I loved the ferry and catarmaran rides. The coastal route we took was dramatic and the World Heritage sites in Split and Dubrovnik very interesting and worth visiting. The Adriatic Sea was warm, blue and inviting, good for swimming even in October. The hotels we stayed in varied in size from medium to large. I particularly liked the one just outside Dubrovnik as I had a sea view. Tourists were plentiful in Split and Dubrovnik but in the other places we stayed there was an end of season feel and it was quiet on the roads and in the resorts. The food was good and our guide was always able to recommend a nice restaurant for our evening meal. The weather in October was good for cycling - not hot, partly cloudy most days and one day it rained!

Y H

Reviewed October 2021

Lovely Scenery, good cycling

This was the last trip of the season and unfortunately the weather was not the greatest, but this was unusual for the time of year. However this was more than made up for by the excellent tour leader Alan and driver Jadran who looked after us brilliantly. The views are stunning and the cycling not too arduous. I had only booked the tour a couple of weeks before departure and so had very little time to get on my bike and train for the trip, but I made it up every hill, albeit at the back, and for those that did not want to tackle the route there was always a seat on the minibus. Croatia is a beautiful country and the locals are rightly very proud of it. The food is great - a lot of seafood and meat, but not so good if you are vegetarian as there was usually one uninspiring option on the menu, and nothing for vegnas. I would pick start or end of season when there are fewer tourists, as Dubrovnik still felt busy as the season closed.

Daniel Morris

Reviewed October 2019

Croatian Delights

Fabulous cycling on Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast Islands. Lovely roads, unspoilt villages, scenery to die for and good food. Hotels were unfortunately the exception- exceptionally poor.

Rachel Christie

Reviewed October 2019

Excellent

A really lovely holiday a good balance of cycling and relaxing/socieliting time Can’t wait to choose another

Christine Clampett

Reviewed September 2019

Girls on Tour

This trip was a bit too "timed" for me. Whilst really well organised and hosted we seemed to be always on the move with little time for a reasonable lunch or a look around especially the first 2 days. I feel we could have spent more time on the island of HVAR - this is a truly lovely place - and HVAR town especially where we only had an hour. The hotel at Jelsa was in a fantastic location - however, a bit basic and in need of a good upgrade of facilities and a breakfast menu review. Sadly we had a terrible night here with 35 knot winds and shutters rattling. I had to stuff newspaper up the side of the main door to stop the wind blowing in through the large gap. the next day everyone was exhausted from lack of sleep. Korcula was fab - hotel great - and here we had good food and a few days rest electing not to do the trip to Mleet or the ride the following day. My job is a physical one so the lack of sleep had used all my resources up! Last ride to the ferry to Dubrovnik was really beautiful and our stay in Dubrovnik at Hotel Vis was very comfortable. The hotel is right on a beach so we swam and chilled on both days. Best bit here I think was the tour of the City with a super guide and then supper in the old City. The free day is fantastic for a good look around and the cable car ride to view the City and see how it is laid out is well worth the money. Our host Marin was great! Very good at helping when needed and not in any way intrusive. He had great knowledge of the area and kept us on schedule to catch the many ferries needed to get from island to mainland etc.. As a vegetarian I did struggle a bit with the food available. Marin helped immensely as my friend also cannot eat Gluten so we weren't the easiest of guests to feed. The quality of the restaurants booked was really good and everyone was really helpful. The group of people on the trip gelled really well and on the last night on Korcula stayed up into the small hours singing songs from Queen to Ilkley Moor Bar Tat!

Stephanie Haddrell

Reviewed September 2019

Cycling The Dalmation Coast Croatia

We thoroughly enjoyed our first Exodus tour. The cycling was amazing, very beautiful scenery, and excellent bikes. The tour guide Dino and Driver Tommy were super, very attentive, informative, friendly and efficient. The hotels were generally good. However the first stay in Hvar was basic, the shower was not attached to the wall and the fan was noisy- we were expecting air conditioning, and the site was run down with steps to the beach and appartments being hazardous. The breakfast was fine and the location very good for cycling. The two other hotels were fine. The rating for the tour was 3/10. I was a little confused by this as a first timer. I consider myself to be fairly fit and cycle regularly 20+ miles and expected a level 3 trip to be comfortable for me, yet I found the climbs quite challenging. Perhaps there should be more detail in your explanations of grading.

Alia Medniuk

Reviewed July 2019

A fantastic introduction to Croatia

Croatia is beautiful, seriously hot in July when one is out exercising in the midday sun, and the scenery and fabulous coastal roads made for some epic bike rides.

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