Croatia by Motorcycle: Split, Brac, Bol

Cavalese - Senj km 420

We set off at dawn at 9:00..... we go back up the Fiemme valley to Moena, then over the San Pellegrino pass, toward Falcade, and on to Belluno where we get on the highway, which we leave after Trieste for Basovizza to reach the Italo-Slovenian border crossing of Lipizza and we are in Slovenia. After a few km. we leave Slovenia, to enter Croatia, Croatian roads certainly don't shine for their maintenance... and the asphalt has a very limited consistency and grip... let's hope it doesn't rain... We pass Rijeka (which Italians know better as Fiume), we continue on the beautiful coastal road passing through Crikvenica, we arrive at Senj, a beautiful town with a characteristic small harbor... We decide to stop here for the night, we find a "soba", that is a room for rent, not far from the town center.

Senj Plitvice Lakes Split km 288

Today's destination is the Plitvice-Jezera nature park, we leave the sea, to take a steep road with many bends and hairpin turns, which climbs into the mountainous region of Senjsko Bilo....

We continue briskly, toward the park...which we reach after 81km around 10, We walk along the beautiful paths among ponds of clear water, small waterfalls, and lush nature, We climb up to the top of the hill, where the streams that feed the ponds rise, the spectacle is thrilling.

To avoid having to retrace the same route downhill, there is a small train in service made up of a strange convoy, pulled by a large Mercedes Unimog, we get on the train, which takes us back to the starting point, on a very narrow sloping road...

On the largest lake (Kozjak), a boat is in service to reach the southern part of the basin, we take advantage of it, and we sail gently to discover this wonderful place.

We finish the visit around 16:00, and decide to head toward Split. The road runs along the border of Bosnia Herzegovina, in these places, the signs left by the 1990 conflict are still evident, you can see the machine-gun marks on the houses, and the craters from mortar shells, this must be a very poor region, we see no signs of progress, it feels like we've gone back in time.

There are many improvised stalls along the road, where elderly women covered with the characteristic black scarf, put up for sale honey, and the few products they manage to grow.

We need gas for the motorcycle and there are no gas stations in sight... we cover quite a few km. We are lucky, and we find a service area, probably the only one in the surroundings, in fact we wait in a long line, behind tractors, cars and vehicles of every kind, before we can refuel our Africa Twin.

We continue our journey southward, over the Gorica pass, passing through Pecane, Udbina, and Gracac, a fairly large center, here the road forks, the main one leads toward the sea and Zadar, the other continues inland toward Knin. We decide to continue toward Knin which is 50 km away.

We begin to feel the fatigue, but we don't see great possibilities for accommodations for the night, so we continue, grinding out the last 85 km. that separate us from Split.

We are lucky, we don't enter the city directly, but continue along the coast southward, where in a nice little town we find a nice room to sleep.

Split Supetar Bol Brac Island Km 36

We quickly visit Split, Diocletian's palace, the church of St. Domnius and the beautiful historic center, we reach the port, to find out the schedules to reach the island of Brac.

The first Jadrolinija ferry leaves at 12:45, in about half an hour... we buy the tickets and board.

The crossing lasts about an hour, we disembark at Supetar the island's capital, we cover 35 km, and we are at Bol, a lively tourist center, famous for its Zlatni Rat beach, a long tongue of fine, very white pebbles that juts into the crystal-clear waters, changing shape according to the winds and currents.

We rent a room, which we find without difficulty, and we make our way to the beautiful sandy beach, a short distance away.....first swim in the warm waters of the Adriatic

Stay in Bol Brac Island

One of the largest islands of the Adriatic. Known for its white marble quarries, it is characterized by a karst landscape with valleys, immense pine forests and vineyards. The small capital Supetar, located on the eastern coast, is a wonderful little town with old houses clustered around the small harbor in a splendid green inlet. Bol the beach called "Zlatni Rat" (Golden Horn) extends in a wedge shape toward the sea and its shape varies according to the sea currents.

We spend some wonderful days in complete relaxation, under the blazing sun, feasting on the good Croatian cuisine...

Bol Brac Island Supetar Split Crikvenica Km 336

You know how time flies on vacation... and the days we have left are almost over...

We board to return to the mainland, leaving this beautiful island with regret.

From Split we continue slowly north, in fact the weather has turned bad.. and the wet roads call for caution.. On the coastal road, in the direction of Zadar, the traffic is light, and the sun has come out again. We continue quickly to Crikvenica, a nice tourist town, where we stop to sleep

Crikvenica Cavalese Km 379

We leave Crikvenica and retracing the road we took 10 days ago we arrive home.....covering the last 20 km. in a thunderstorm...

Croatia is beautiful, surely sooner or later we'll be back..