The first regional cycling trail to cross borders in the Western Balkans, the new TransDinarica route (www.transdinarica.com), has opened its first segment. Travelers can now cycle over gravel and mountains from Slovenia through Croatia and on to Bosnia and Herzegovina on challenging, remote track through areas of the Balkans that haven’t seen many tourists.
The project, which aims to economically assist isolated mountain communities by including them in the vacation industry, began in Slovenia with the development and implementation of remote track by outdoor adventure travel operator Good Place.
Right now, TransDinarica allows cyclists to ride 50–60 km (31–37 miles) per day, with 1,500 m (6,330 feet) of elevation gain each day. At that pace, each country can be completed in seven to 10 days.
Once the concept proves itself and its eastern segments are commissioned, it’s hoped that TransDinarica will eventually run alongside the existing Via Dinarica long-distance hiking trail that stretches 1,930 km (1,200 miles) through Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Albania.
Guided tours with the added convenience of luggage transfers are already being sold by local operators, including Good Place in Slovenia; VMD Adventure Travel in Croatia; and Green Visions in Bosnia. Most visitors will start their trips by flying into the capital of the country where they most want to explore the trail: Ljubljana, Slovenia; Zagreb, Croatia; or Sarajevo, Bosnia.
Self-guided GPS-based routes are now listed on Bike GPS, an online resource for traveling cyclists to find trail coordinates and directions.
Pictured: The TransDinarica in Zavizan, Croatia
