600kms of ride along the coastline
It is a breathtaking scenic road. Approximately 600kms long from the border with Montenegro all the way up to Rijeka city in Kvarner region. Fun and interesting ride right on the coastline offering staggering views over the sea, towns along the way, islands on one side of the road and mountains on the other.
The coastal regions of Croatia are comprised of the old Croatian states of Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia. Istria is a charming hilly region of truffles, wine and one of the best preserved Roman arenas in the world. A world for itself in Croatia. A region worth riding down its coast and across the hinterland.
D8 road starts where Istrian peninsula ends and Kvarner region starts, right at Rijeka city. That is also where our dented coastline becomes even more dramatic with over 1300 islands scattered in the Adriatic sea all the way down south to Montenegro. And riding down the road you get to see a good share of islands and islets.
Most of the beaches in Croatia are made of pebble stones and that is what gives the sea its crystal blue colour and makes it so clear. D8 takes you just above the coastline and through small places on the coast. There are a lot of camps along the road, beach bars and restaurants.
The most interesting ride, especially for the fast bikes, is a strech of road from Karlobag to Rovanjska. It has numerous sharp curves, excellent asphalt, right inclinations and not many houses around which makes it safer and more pleasant to ride.
As you ride further south you reach Dalmatia region and the main cities as following – Zadar, Šibenik, Split, Makarska, Ploče and Dubrovnik as the last urban gem on this trip. It is said that the most beautiful beaches are the one just between the city of Split and Ploče!
In 2022 Croatia got Pelješac bridge so you don’t have to ride through Bosnia and Herzegovina anymore to get to Dubrovnik. You read it right – Dubrovnik and the surrounding area are physically split from the rest of Croatia with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 20kms of exit to the sea. Another interesting story from Croatia’s past.
In medieval times Dubrovnik was a rich republic on their own and to keep it that way they gave away a tiny tract of land on its northern tip to the Ottoman Empire, to give itself a buffer against Venice. Dubrovnik was so afraid of a Venetian attack that that fateful decision made Neum a permanent part of the region’s Ottoman-ruled provinces: Bosnia and Herzegovina. When Yugoslavia broke up in 1991, the newly independent Croatia was now split in two. Twelve miles of Bosnia-Herzegovinian coastline separate the Dubrovnik region from the rest of Croatia to the north making it the second shortest coastline in the world!
And this is just the top of the iceberg of unusual stories from Croatia’s past and presence!
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