Croatia: The Dalmatian Coast

Zadar to Dubrovnik, let Ciclismo Classico show the way!

Join expert guides, on our whole new adventure in Croatia

Destination

Croatia

Activity

Biking

Level

Intermediate

Duration

9 days / 8 nights

You love cycling in Europe but particularly love riding coastlines, visiting sleepy fishing villages, and evening seafood feasts with Mediterranean sunsets.

From $$6,655 PP, 9 days / 8 nights PP Create your own private tour! To learn more, call 1-800-866-7314.

Book Now

Schedule A Call

Download Itinerary

You love cycling in Europe but particularly love riding coastlines, visiting sleepy fishing villages, and evening seafood feasts with Mediterranean sunsets.

Asia and Europe met and clashed in Croatia for centuries, from the Greeks to the second World War, but the Mediterranean nature and culture continue to offer hidden gems to worthy travelers.

We’ll pedal along the beautiful Adriatic coast passing through ancient villages full of history, from Roman to Venetian to Hausburg to Italian and back to the modern time.

Tour Essence

Discover a secret side of this Adriatic coast and the view on the hundreds of islands
Explore the masterpiece that is each small town
Follow your expert guides, who will show you the connection between art and history, the people, and their traditions
Enjoy several stops to visit ancient sites along the ride with a special touch of the Game of Thrones

What to Expect

Terrain

Rolling with a few hills

Start Location

Zadar, Croatia

End Location

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Mileage

Average Daily: 38 Total: 305,5-317,5 miles

Once you have a trip confirmed, we will feed you a steady diet of additional pre-departure information that includes: How to train, prepare, pack and all the wonderful, inspirational and practical things you want and need to know before you go! Our Travel Advisors will be available to help plan your pre- and post-tour travel.

What’s Included

3 cultural visits with local guides
Van support
Expert, bilingual guides
2 tastings of local specialties

What’s Included

Use of a carbon road bike
Ciclismo jersey
Ciclismo Classico water bottles
Garmin Edge GPS
Handlebar bag
Tire pump
Combination bike lock
Gel-padded saddle
Choice of pedals
Card with your tour leaders’ mobile phone numbers

Pedal Options

Flat pedals
Half-toe pedals (without straps)

What’s Not Included

Helmet
Optional: clipless pedals with shoes
Optional: your own saddle

All breakfasts, 2 lunches, 7 dinners
All accommodations

We’ll pedal along the beautiful Adriatic coast passing through ancient villages full of history, from Roman to Venetian to Hausburg to Italian and back to the modern time.

Itinerary

Download Itinerary

Start Location

Zadar, Croatia

Fly Into

Zadar (ZAD)

End Location

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Fly Out Of

Dubrovnik (DBV)

Download Itinerary

STYLED MAP

Day1

Zadar - warm-up ride

Meet the group by the lobby at 12:30 pm for a Ciclismo Classico intro lunch We begin our tour in Zara, a city that has seen a number of different civilizations. Founded in the 9th century, the city was passed to the Romans and Byzantines. Then in the 11th century to the Venetians, then the French, under Napoleon, before being taken over by the Austrians until the modern time. After the ride and a little rest our guide will introduce you to the tour before dinner.

Meals Provided

Lunch, Dinner

Average Mileage

11 miles

Elevation Gain

325 ft

Riding Terrain

Flat along the coast

Meals Provided

Lunch, Dinner

Accommodations

Teatro Verdi Hotel

A short walk from Sea Gate (Morska vrata), Teatro Verdi Boutique Hotel provides a boutique accommodation.

Guests can reach Zadar Cathedral within a 5-minute walk. The property is set 10 minutes’ walk from Zadar center. A cathedral and a church are about minutes’ walk away.

Luxury Level4 stars

Day2

Zara to Tisno

Today we pedal the 1st section to Gazenica Port to Ferry to Preko and to ride onto the 2 islands connected by a small bridge to ferry again in Tkon. The last section will take us to Tisno along a wild and untouched area.

Meals Provided

Breakfast, Dinner

Average Mileage

52,2 miles

Elevation Gain

1950 ft

Riding Terrain

Rolling

Meals Provided

Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodations

Hotel Borovnik

Luxury Level4 stars

Day3

Tisno to Trogir

Today will ride to Capocesto where we will regroup and stroll into a small island to visit Sveti JuraJ (Chiesa di San Giorgio). We will ride along the boarder between Spalatino-Dalmatia and Sebenico and Tenin Region, crossing the border right before Marina to continue along the coast entering Trau’.

Meals Provided

Breakfast, Dinner

Average Mileage

61 miles

Elevation Gain

3050 ft

Riding Terrain

Rolling

Meals Provided

Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodations

Bifora Heritage Hotel

Luxury Level4 stars

Day4

Trogir Loop Ride

We will have a small ride for those interested, the rest can take a relaxing stroll into town. The city, which was created by the Greeks, was chosen as the premium place to lay veterans to rest by the Roman Emperor Claudio. You can still see signs left behind indicating the Venetian domination and French period.

Meals Provided

Breakfast

Average Mileage

11/23 miles

Elevation Gain

570/1800 ft

Riding Terrain

Flat along coast then hilly

Meals Provided

Breakfast

Accommodations

Bifora Heritage Hotel

Luxury Level4 stars

Day5

Trogir to Split

Today, we will ride along the Tyrrenium coast riding around the Suma Marjan Park right before the end in Split. Split is the second-largest city in Croatia, and the largest city of the Dalmatia region. It lies on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea and is spread over a central peninsula and its surroundings. An intra-regional transport hub and popular tourist destination, the city is linked to the Adriatic islands and the Apennine peninsula.

Meals Provided

Breakfast, Dinner

Average Mileage

29 miles

Elevation Gain

1900 ft

Riding Terrain

Rolling along coast

Meals Provided

Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodations

Cornaro Hotel Split

A seamless fusion of traditional and modern, affiliated with a passion for complete professional service, creates an experience that is truly exquisite.

Luxury Level4 stars

Day6

Split to Makarska

We start right before entering Zelenka and then climb up to Panorama. This section will be challenging because there is about a mile that has grades between 8-13%, but it’s worth it. The views from Panorama are breath-taking. After the deserved stop at the top of Panorama, we will ride down to town with some extra short climbs where we will see small coastal towns and ports and the wilderness of the coast with the typical “macchia mediterranea”. The center of Macarsca is an old town with narrow stone-paved streets, a main church square where there is a flower and fruit market, and a Franciscan monastery that houses a sea shell collection featuring a giant clam shell.

Meals Provided

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Average Mileage

44 miles

Elevation Gain

3800 ft

Riding Terrain

Rolling with some climbs

Meals Provided

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodations

Hotel Park Makarska

The location of the Park hotel is quite characteristic. Apart from being situated on the most beautiful part of the Adriatic coast – Dalmatia where the azure sea splashes over the long sunbathed pebbly beaches, the Park hotel among the first ones introduced completely intelligent accommodation capacity, therefore you can rightly consider it as your best choice.

Luxury Level

Day7

Makarska to Neum (border crossing)

The Bosnia and Herzegovina coastal strip of Neum cuts off the southernmost Croatian territory from the rest of Croatia. This is a result of the Treaty of Karlowitz of 1699. With its admission to the European Union, Croatia had to apply EU regulations at its border crossings, including the passage through the Neum section. The construction of the Pelješac Bridge, which would bypass Neum entirely, has significance for Croatia’s integrity and also for its future Schengen Area membership and the EU as a whole. It would significantly improve traffic flow and the traffic connection of Dubrovnik (Ragusa) to the rest of mainland Croatia, avoiding crossing the external borders of the EU at Neum, negotiating long, costly queues and strict customs checks twice within the span of 20 km.

Meals Provided

Breakfast, Dinner

Average Mileage

56 miles

Elevation Gain

3400

Riding Terrain

Rolling with some climbs

Meals Provided

Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodations

Grand Hotel Neum

Luxury Level

Day8

Dubrovnik

Originally named Communitas Ragusina (Latin for “Ragusan municipality” or “community”), in the 14th century it was renamed Respublica Ragusina (Latin for Ragusan Republic), first mentioned in 1385 (it was nevertheless a Republic under its previous name, although its Rector was appointed by Venice rather than by Ragusa’s own Grand Council). In Italian it is called Repubblica di Ragusa; in Croatian it is called Dubrovačka republika. The Croatian name Dubrovnik is derived from the word dubrava, an oak grove by a folk etymology, the Turks corrupted this into Dobro-Venedik, meaning “Good-Venice”. It came into use alongside Ragusa as early as the 14th century. The official change of name from Ragusa to Dubrovnik came into effect after World War I. It is known in historiography as the Republic of Ragusa.

Meals Provided

Breakfast, Dinner

Average Mileage

41 miles

Elevation Gain

2500 ft

Riding Terrain

Rolling with some climbs

Meals Provided

Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodations

Hotel Dubrovnik Palace

The Croatian name Dubrovnik is derived from the word Dubrava, an oak grove by a folk etymology, the Turks corrupted this into Dobro-Venedik, meaning “Good-Venice ‘’. It came into use alongside Ragusa as early as the 14th century. The official change of name from Ragusa to Dubrovnik came into effect after World War I. It is known in historiography as the Republic of Ragusa.

Luxury Level5 stars

Day9

Dovidenja (Goodbye)

We say goodbye today! Hope you had an amazing adventure!

Meals Provided

Breakfast

Meals Provided

Breakfast

Accommodations

Aerial view of cliffs at Dubrovnik, Croatia

Croatia: The Dalmatian Coast

Luxury Level

Meet Our Guides

Sergio Porcellotti

Guide Since 2009

Gian Paolo Fosco

Guide Since 2002

Henrick Murphy

Guide Since 2006

From the Blog

Visit The Blog

Destinations

Top Photos from Tuscany and L’Eroica

Lauren Hefferon

Destinations

Southern New Hampshire: The Best Cycling in New England

Lauren Hefferon

Destinations

Pedal Your Passion

Lauren Hefferon

Visit The Blog

North America

Italy

New! Ciclismo Close to Home

By Collection

By Activity

By Ability Level

2022 Tours

2023 Tours

North America

Italy

New! Ciclismo Close to Home

By Collection

By Activity

By Ability Level

2022 Tours

2023 Tours

Croatia: The Dalmatian Coast

Zadar to Dubrovnik, let Ciclismo Classico show the way!

Download a Detailed Itinerary

Destination

Activity

Level

Duration

Tour Essence

What to Expect

Terrain

Start Location

End Location

Mileage

What's Included

What’s Included

Pedal Options

What’s Not Included

Bianchi C-Sport 2.5

Bianchi Intenso

Bianchi Manhattan

Bianchi Vertigo

Cannondale MT 800

Cannondale Road Tandem 2

Co-Motion Periscope Torpedo Tandem

Honey Bikes Tandem

Itinerary

Start Location

Fly Into

End Location

Fly Out Of

Zadar - warm-up ride

Meals Provided

Average Mileage

Elevation Gain

Riding Terrain

Meals Provided

Accommodations

Zara to Tisno

Meals Provided

Average Mileage

Elevation Gain

Riding Terrain

Meals Provided

Accommodations

Tisno to Trogir

Meals Provided

Average Mileage

Elevation Gain

Riding Terrain

Meals Provided

Accommodations

Trogir Loop Ride

Meals Provided

Average Mileage

Elevation Gain

Riding Terrain

Meals Provided

Accommodations

Trogir to Split

Meals Provided

Average Mileage

Elevation Gain

Riding Terrain

Meals Provided

Discover the charms of Italy’s rustic southern region. 9 days/8 nights.