Bicycle Touring Europe: Croatia, Makarska To Dubrovnik Via Bosnia and Herzegovina | Travelsonabike2

Houses by water

Bicycle Touring Europe: Croatia, Makarska to Dubrovnik via Bosnia & Herzegovina

Cycling Europe, heading for Greece, my latest bicycle touring update from Croatia, on Saturday, the 5th October 2013. Makarska to Dubrovnik. 93 miles. Another hard ride with some pretty big climbs!

Welcome sign in different languages
Yay, a new country

I passed through Bosnia and Herzegovina today, although if I’d blinked, I’d have missed it! I wasn’t even there for an hour! It was only six miles from entering the country to leaving it! And to be honest, it didn’t look any different to any other part of this coast! But then I suppose it was all one country, Yugoslavia, back in the day.

Houses by water
Neum the only town I passed through in Bosnia and Herzegovina

I learned today that the strong winds I experienced further back up the coast happen every year! The winds start in October and last through winter. They tend to spread along the entire Adriatic coast. They’ve just not got down this far yet! Best I get peddling a bit faster before it catches me up!

EU country sign
And goodbye, that was brief!

I’m not too sure about tonight’s hotel. It’s rather posh! From the road, it only looks like a small place. But the hotel is built into the hillside. Reception is at the top of the building to get to the rooms. You go down in the lift! Mind you, it does look out over Dubrovnik, and in the daylight, it’s possibly a good view. I had wanted to go out and explore Dubrovnik a bit tonight, but my leg is just too painful! I ended up sitting in the restaurant looking out over the lights of Dubrovnik and drinking beer, of course!


Tour Information

It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

Follow My Bicycle Touring Adventures

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I continue to travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always buy me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.

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Bicycle Touring Europe: Croatia, Sibenik To Makarska | Travelsonabike2

Island on water

Bicycle Touring Europe: Croatia, Sibenik to Makarska

Cycling Europe, heading for Greece, my latest bicycle touring update from Croatia, on Friday, the 4th October 2013. Sibenik to Makarska. 84 miles. I’ve been cycling with Albert from Sheffield this afternoon and began to wish I wasn’t! It was all me, me, me! He was a triathlete, or so he said! And your typical sporty type! What he hadn’t done, I don’t know.

It seemed he’d done and was good at every kind of sport going! But to be fair to him, he was in his sixties and still looked pretty fit. But didn’t he like to talk about it! Not much!! He also seemed to have very little respect for other road users and would quite happily ride alongside me and get in the way of other road users. And then think it was them who were in the wrong when they tooted him! Even though he was in the middle of the road!

Luckily for me, despite him being such a great athlete! He only cycled about forty miles a day and stopped before I did, as he’d done nearly sixty miles! Thank god for that. I thought I was going to have to spend the night with him (not literally, but you know what I mean!) When we parted company, he thanked me for riding with him. And said it was the best day’s ride he’d had in the two weeks he’d been here! Which made me feel really guilty, considering all I wanted to do was get rid of him! He also said that he didn’t like his own company! If he didn’t like it, why would I!! I only cycled another five miles or so before I stopped myself!


Tour Information

It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

Follow My Bicycle Touring Adventures

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I continue to travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always buy me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.

Follow Garry on his travels

Subscribe to my email and follow me on my travels

Bicycle Touring Europe: Croatia, Karlobag To Sibenik | Travelsonabike2

Small boats in harbour

Bicycle Touring Europe: Croatia, Karlobag to Sibenik

Cycling Europe, heading for Greece, my latest bicycle touring update from Croatia, on Thursday, the 3rd October 2013. Karlobag to Sibenik. 106 miles. Much better day today. Although it was still very blustery. But thankfully, today, the further I went, the more the wind decreased. It’s not been so mountainous as it has been since arriving in Croatia. It’s still been hilly, but nothing to what it has been, and dare I say, my leg is feeling a lot better!

I got a bit carried away today. And could have stopped a lot earlier. I passed loads of places to stay, but thought I’d just go a bit further. Eventually, I reached Sibenik, the town, or rather, the city I was aiming for. But I didn’t see one single place to stop. Whether I went the wrong way or whatever, I just didn’t even see any signs for hotels or campsites!

Houses by water
Pretty village of Tribanj, Croatia

Keep Going

I resigned myself to having to cycle another 20 miles to the next town. I left Sibenik and continued on my way, in the dark now. After about a mile, I saw a sign for hotels and camping, so veered off my route. The hotels turned out to be part of some leisure complex, a bit like Butlins, maybe! With all the different hotels and campsites in the same complex. Thinking I couldn’t be doing with this, I started to head back to the main road just as about five coaches went past me. Full of people on their way to that resort. Luckily I spotted a little pension on the way back, which is where I’ve ended up staying!


Tour Information

It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

Follow My Bicycle Touring Adventures

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I continue to travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always buy me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.

Follow Garry on his travels

Subscribe to my email and follow me on my travels

Bicycle Touring Europe: Croatia, Bakar To Karlobag | Travelsonabike2

Garry McGivern bicycle touring Europe cycling in Croatia by the Adriatic Sea

Bicycle Touring Europe: Croatia, Bakar to Karlobag

Cycling Europe, heading for Greece, my latest bicycle touring update from Croatia, on Wednesday, the 2nd October 2013. Bakar to Karlobag. 75 miles. This whole trip is starting to feel like a real battle of attrition! Every day, there seems to be something. If it’s not the relentless hills, it’s wind and rain and, of course, the ongoing saga of my sciatica! Which I must admit is really starting to get me down now! It’s so annoying and frustrating that I feel fit and fine when cycling. But as soon as I stop, the pain starts, and everything is a struggle, and I’m still not sleeping that well! I think I’ve only had a couple of good days since leaving home!

It’s been another battle with the wind today! Admittedly, not all the time, but there were a few occasions when I struggled to stay on the bike! Which, when you’re cycling on a road with no barrier! And a 100-foot sheer drop next to you! It’s no fun! Luckily, the roads haven’t been that busy. So I’ve taken to riding in the middle of the road! I think the wind along this coast must be a regular occurrence. There were signs here and there saying road closed due to strong winds! So maybe I was lucky to get through!

Sunset over the sea
Lovely sunset, viewed from my hotel balcony

I’m staying at an all-inclusive hotel tonight. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include any alcohol! Maybe my reputation precedes me!


Tour Information

It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

Follow My Bicycle Touring Adventures

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I continue to travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always buy me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.

Follow Garry on his travels

Subscribe to my email and follow me on my travels