Why this ride
From Karlobag it runs 181 km to Šibenik; allow about 3 h 13 of riding. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Croatian Adriatic Highway: Karlobag to Sibenik
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 181 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 13
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Karlobag
Karlobag is a small port squeezed between the mountain and the sea. Behind it, the grey wall of the Velebit range rises almost straight from the water, and in front, across a channel that is often hammered by wind, lies the long, bare, moon-coloured island of Pag. There is little flat land at all, so the houses of the town hug the shoreline in a thin strip, and the old harbour, with its boats, cafes and a baroque church, is a cheerful gathering place after the emptiness of the coast road.
Read the complete Karlobag write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Karlobag is where the day begins. Next is Zadar.
2. Zadar
Alfred Hitchcock is supposed to have said that Zadar has the most beautiful sunset in the world, and the people of the town have taken him at his word. The city sits on a narrow peninsula on the Dalmatian coast, with the sea on three sides and the island of Ugljan across the channel, and the sun drops into the water in a long fire of orange and pink. The best place to watch is the waterfront promenade at the end of the old town, where a pair of modern works of art, the Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun, turn the shoreline into an instrument and a light show.
Read the complete Zadar write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zadar comes up about 92 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sibenik.
3. Sibenik
Šibenik is one of the few Croatian Adriatic towns not founded by the Greeks or Romans but by Croats, first mentioned in the eleventh century, and it still has the feel of a place that grew from the hillside rather than from a plan. It climbs steeply from a natural harbour, protected by the long channel of St Anthony, with stone houses, steps and lanes arranged like a staircase up to the fortress of St Michael. At the foot of the slope stands the Cathedral of St James, a UNESCO-listed building constructed entirely of stone, without any binding material, between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Its dome is a vaulted shell of carefully fitted slabs, and a frieze of seventy-one carved faces runs around the apses, said to be portraits of ordinary townspeople.
Read the complete Sibenik write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 181 km.
Leg by leg
Karlobag to Zadar
Karlobag → Zadar is 92 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Zadar to Sibenik
Zadar → Sibenik is 89 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.