Why this ride
A 128 km one-way ride from near Rijeka, about 2 h 09 of riding. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Croatian Adriatic Highway: Rijeka to Karlobag
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 128 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 09
- 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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Rijeka
Rijeka is a port city that does not try to be pretty, and that is its charm. It lies at the head of the Kvarner Gulf, where the mountains come down steeply to a deep harbour, and it has been a trading city since Roman times. Under the Habsburgs it was Fiume, Hungary's sea gate, and between the wars it was Italian, briefly the plaything of the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, who occupied it in 1919 and ruled it as a self-styled commandant for fifteen months. Today it is Croatian, and it is the third largest city in the country.
Read the complete Rijeka write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rijeka is where the day begins. Next is Senj.
2. Senj
Senj is the town of the bura, and you should know about the bura before you get there. This cold, dry wind falls off the Velebit mountains onto the Adriatic coast in sudden gusts that can exceed a hundred and fifty kilometres an hour, and Senj sits in the worst of it, in a gap where the wind funnels straight down to the sea. Lorries get blown over on the coast road, the authorities close it to motorcycles and high-sided vehicles, and local houses have stones on the roof tiles. If the sea looks white and the flags are flat out, wait it out in a cafe. The bura usually blows from autumn to spring, and in summer it is much calmer.
Read the complete Senj write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Senj comes up about 64 km into the recorded legs. Next is Karlobag.
3. 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
The route ends here after 128 km.
Leg by leg
Rijeka to Senj
Rijeka → Senj is 64 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Senj to Karlobag
Senj → Karlobag is 64 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.