Istria cycling holidays

This is a busy corner of Croatia, with lots of continental visitors. More recently, a wider audience has discovered the area’s ‘quieter than Dubrovnik’ appeal, and its gastronomic advantage. It’s best to cycle in spring or autumn to help the area extend its season. Go for between five days and just over a week to get a proper taste of the area.

Istria’s landscape undulates in waves of green as far as the eye can see. As you look across, you’ll spot silver-grey towns capping the occasional hilltop. You can bet you’ll be cycling up to visit many of these: it’s where you’ll find your lodgings and your dinner – and beautiful views. It sounds clichéd, but the sunsets in this part of Croatia are particularly beautiful. The sun peers, orange, through the arched openings in the bell towers. And you on the hilltop, with your trusty two wheels under you, will feel like you’ve truly earned the view.

The Istrian peninsula is 90% Croatian, but if you want to cover it in its entirety, you’ll also have to pass through Slovenia and finally a little slither of Italy. Trieste, Italy is a good starting point for your Istria trip, though it sits just outside the region itself. Once you get into Croatian Istria, you’ll find it split into two parts – inner and outer. The outer part, known colloquially as ‘Blue Istria’, is comprised of pretty coastal resort towns many with ferry links to Venice. These are pretty, but Pula and Porec can get very busy in high summer. Inland, in ‘Green Istria’, there are charming hill towns. Two of the most attractive, Motovun and Grožnjan, are found in the large Mirna River Valley. To make the most of ‘Green Istria’, most cycling trips follow the Parenzana Railway at least some of the way; it nips inland and back out again to connect 33 cities from Trieste all the way to Porec (formerly known as Parenzo – the railway’s namesake).

Some of the most popular cycling routes around Istria involve border crossings into Slovenia. These are normally issue-free, you’ll just need your passport to hand. You can also easily get to Italy from Croatian Istria by heading towards Trieste, or getting a ferry to Venice from one of Istria’s port towns.

Most trips include bike hire, but you often need to bring your own helmet – and any other gear you want to use, like a different saddle or different pedals. Cycling shorts are a great idea, even if you’re not a serious cyclist, as after a couple of days in the saddle your ‘sitting bones’ might start to ache. This can be alleviated a bit by doing a few bike rides before you go. Other preparation you might want to do before you embark on a bike trip is basic bike repair: learn to fix a puncture and replace an inner tube.