Currently, i am bikepacking the Balkan and just arrived in Mostar, Bosnia after cycling in Croatia (first the coast, later the midlands). In the last couple of days i cycled quite long hours on busy roads/‘highways’. I do not enjoy this, nor think its safe. This made me have second thoughts on my route to Tirana. Initially my plan was to go straight to Dormitor national park in Montenegro and then straight to Tirana (500km/6000hm). However, after having ridden on the busy roads I am considering to do the Ciro trail instead. After the trail, i follow the coastal roads which offer more options for cyclists (400km/3500hm). See screenshots of Komoot of both options.
Any of you have any recommendations what routes to take to have good views but no busy roads (more bicycle friendly)?
Other things that are worth noticing are: i am not camping, just staying in hostels/guesthouses. And i need to be in Tirana by Monday. So my initial plan via Dormitor is also my maximum capacity in terms of km/elevation per day on my gravelbike. Thank you in advance!
by Barneclu
3 Comments
I spent a bunch of time on the Ciro trail last summer, that’s a great bit of track. I took it from Mostar to Dubrovnik and back.
In the first 50km there’s an incredible bridge that an Italian firm is erecting. If your into bridges, it is massive and breathtaking.
The route to Mostar was quite difficult due to the heavy traffic, but after that, things improved for us. We headed straight to the mountain biking section of the Ciro trail. It’s absolutely worth it and was one of the best parts of our 40-day trip from Germany to Greece. Just keep in mind that it’s a long trail, and if you don’t have a tent and don’t finish it in one go, there aren’t many places to sleep along the way. After completing the Ciro trail, we went straight to the coast (Dubrovnik and Herceg Novi), but it was quite expensive and very touristy, which wasn’t what we were looking for. So, we decided to head back to the mountains, and that turned out to be a much better experience. If you’re interested, I can share my Strava with you so you can see our route, along with some information and pictures from our adventure. We were also headed towards Tirana.
I haven’t cycled those routes so take my comment with a pinch of salt.
Crna Gora is just lovely, and I wouldn’t skip it if I passed that way again.