Cycling in Croatia guide
Most cycling vacations in Croatia are hop on, hop off trips. Hop onto your saddle, hop island to island, and then hop off at copious Croatian coastal watering holes, or indeed, into its crystalline waters. With an archipelago of over a thousand islands, and peninsula after peninsula of cycling gems, it is actually impossible to know where to start. With the local aficionados, that’s where. Who know the ferry times, the cycle routes where you can escape cruise ship crowds, the vineyards that do tastings en route, and the secret beaches that entice with their turquoise waters, as you pedal through pine scented woodland, seeking that cooling reward.
This is a country for putting padded shorts on your posterior and swimming shorts in your pannier. There is a swim at the end of every trail, be it a lake, a cove or a waterfall.![]()
You can choose guided or non-guided, the latter offering a bit more independence and your bags are transported for you. With the local experts’ top tips tucked into your pannier, however, you will pootle your way around all the places that are close to Croatians’ hearts.
Is a cycling vacation in Croatia for you?
Go on a Croatia cycling vacation if…
Don’t go on a Croatia cycling vacation if...
Cycle the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia
Split to Dubrovnik is one of the most beautiful coastlines in Europe
From
US $1880 to US $2470
8 days
ex flights
Trieste to Pula cycling tour, self guided
From Trieste to Pula wonderful bike expercience
From
€930 to €1090
8 days
ex flights
Self guided biking tour in Croatia
Explore the amazing island's coasts, medieval towns on bike
From
€930 to €1090
7 days
ex flights
Self-guided cycling Bosnia, Montenegro & Albania
Cycle the Balkans - Three country cycling adventure
From
€990
8 days
ex flights
Istrian Peninsula biking vacation, Croatia
Cycling along the green inland of Istrian Peninsula
From
€990 to €1190
8 days
ex flights
Self guided biking vacation in Croatia, Istria
Explore the Istrian peninsula by bike
From
€590 to €680
5 days
ex flights
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Croatia cycling or need help finding a vacation to suit you we're very happy to help.
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Best time to go on a Croatia cycling vacation
We spent Halloween half term cycling around the Roman hilltop villages of Istria. No tricks, just treat after treat![]()
If you can go outside July and August, the prices drop significantly, as do temperatures. Last week of Aug is good in terms of crowds, though, as local schools have started back. The end of Sep marks the end of the season on some islands, with restaurants and bars closing for winter. Booking through a tour operator ensures that you are heading to the right island at the right time. May is also gorgeous with temperatures around 23°C but the winds along the coasts are less predictable at this time, and storms can happen. It’s pac-a-mac in pannier time.
Croatia Weather Chart
MIN °C
MAX °C
RAIN (mm)
JAN
1
8
83
FEB
2
10
68
MAR
4
13
74
APR
8
17
66
MAY
12
22
65
JUN
15
26
54
JUL
17
29
40
AUG
17
28
69
SEP
14
25
93
OCT
10
20
120
NOV
6
14
134
DEC
2
10
102
More Croatia cycling articles
Our highlights page presents our top places to pedal in Croatia with everywhere from Istria to Konavle Valley displayed on our interactive highlights map alongside travel advice and tips from people who've already been.
There are some 500 km of biking trails mapped over Istria. This network connects you from hilltop towns to glistening harbours, from vineyard to vineyard and from restaurant doorstep to hotel terrace.
What’s great about the routes on the Dalmatian Coast is that you don’t have to take the biking all too seriously. Instead, you'll find unintimidating distances, lots of vineyards, and plenty of opportunities to pause for breath on the pretext of taking a stunning photograph.
Croatia presents some really enjoyable, straightforward cycling, but we know it can be daunting to commit yourself to a big biking trip in a new place. That’s why we’ve asked our expert tour operators for their top tips.
