Why this ride
Repeated coastal bends, headlands and frequent viewpoint stops. It also links naturally to Velebit Nature Park.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Adriatic Highway North
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 175 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 32
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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.
Access context
Check bora wind, seasonal traffic and ferry schedules. Specific flag: bora wind; summer traffic.
Seasonal context
Apr-Jun; Sep-Oct
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 sits at 0 km, early in the day. 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 48 km in. 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
At least 105 km in you reach Karlobag. Next is Starigrad.
4. Starigrad
Starigrad lies on the Adriatic shore beneath the grey wall of the Velebit mountains, a long strip of pebble beach, pine trees and low stone houses squeezed between the sea and the rock. Locals know it as Starigrad-Paklenica, after the national park that begins at its back door, where two gorges, Velika and Mala Paklenica, cut deep into the limestone. Sheer cliffs rising hundreds of metres make it a magnet for climbers, and the sound of ropes and carabiners at the foot of the walls is part of the village soundtrack in spring.
Read the complete Starigrad write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Starigrad, late in the day.