Day 1: Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic

Individual arrival to Dubrovnik’s Cilipi airport, which is about 13 miles (21 km) away from the Dubrovnik Old Town. After checking in the hotel, we set out to explore the old town and the ancient walls surrounding a myriad of cobbled alleyways lined with beautiful stone houses and an occasional church and museum.

Accommodation: Overnight stay in Dubrovnik
Meals: Welcome dinner in the Old Town.

Day 2: The Blue and Green Colors of the Konavle Valley

Today’s first cycle tour is in the Konavle valley, located about a 20min drive away in the southernmost region of Croatia. Bordering Bosnia and Herzegovina to the east and Montenegro to the south, Konavle is known for its pine and cypress forests, vineyards, olive groves, and old watermills.
We’ll cycle along small quiet and narrow asphalt roads dotted with many small villages. It’s a perfect start of our trip with great riding along the valley, tasty local fare, and an opportunity for a late afternoon swim in the clear blue waters of the Adriatic. Let our Dinaric Alps adventure begin in style. We end the day in Cavtat, with a short transfer back to our hotel in Dubrovnik and dinner in the bustling old town of Dubrovnik.

Moderate ride / 4 hrs cycling / 45 km/28mi / Ascent: 560 m / Descent: 700 m / 100% Asphalt

Accommodation: Overnight stay in Dubrovnik
Meals: B,L,D

Day 3: The winemaking roads of Eastern Herzegovina

From the busy region of southern Dalmatia we head to the quiet foothills of the Dinaric Alps to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our transfer to the Bosnian border will take us about 30 minutes, after which we begin our ride along Popovo fields. This area flooded regularly in the past and as a result, most of the old villages are located up on the sides of the dry limestone mountains and ridges. We cycle along old train tracks repurposed as village roads. The sun is high as we settle into our lunch spot at the entrance of Vjetrenica, one of Herzegovina’s largest underground limestone cave systems. After our tasty picnic lunch, we explore the first 500m/1600ft of this stunning and cool cave system. Having cooled off we set out for wine tasting in a family-owned winery. Having sampled the wine and mezze, traditional savoury finger food, we end the day in Trebinje, Southern Herzegovina’s unofficial capital.

Moderate ride / 4hrs cycling / Ascent: 500 m / Descent: 515 m / 40km/24mi / 100% Asphalt

Accommodation: Overnight stay in Trebinje.
Meals: B,L,D

Day 4: Conquering Mostar and it’s sleeping giant Velez

This is our first cycling day with a serious climb. From the old trading town of Nevesinje we steadily climb up to the plateau of Podvelezje at the base of Velez mountain (1,969m / 6,460ft). Velez is named after Veles the Slavic god of earth, waters, forests and the underworld and overlooks Mostar like a sleeping giant. We are now entering the Dinaric Alps and the staging point of many Roman roads deep into the dark interior of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We enjoy a light traditional lunch in one of the villages on the plateau, before setting out on an exhilarating descent down to Mostar and the famous old bridge. The views of Mostar are stunning and with each completed hairpin turn the city offers a new perspective of its ancient secrets as one of the main trading posts in the Mediterranean. Taking your bike across the bridge at sundown and under the call of prayers of the many mosques in the city, we are gently reminded that this day too, however fabulous and full of impressions, must come to an end.

Moderate ride / 4hrs cycling / Ascent: 655 m / Descent: 1,485 m / 50Km/31m / 100% Asphalt

Accommodation: Overnight stay in Mostar.
Meals: B,L,D

Day 5: The Caravan Route

We conquer and explore Mostar sites in the early morning hours before setting off to Boracko lake, a Glacier lake situated at the foot of the Bosnian Himalayas. Here we start our ride along the old now paved caravan road over Prenj, Visocica, and Bjelasnica mountain ranges. The day is long and hot, with a steady and strenuous climb to the pass over Visocica. We pass medieval tombstones, monuments of Bosnia’s medieval history, and a reminder of what once was a Kingdom stretching all the way to the Dalmatian coast.
At the end of the day, we have one last short climb before we roll into the village of Umoljani. A place teeming with history and legends, watermills and good hearty highland fare. You have arrived in the heart of the Dinaric Alps.

Challenging ride / 5hrs cycling / Ascent: 1,870 m / Descent: 1,000 m / 52Km/32mi / 90% Asphalt / 10% Gravel

Accommodation: Overnight stay in Umoljani
Meals: B,L,D

Day 6: Ride the 1984 Olympics to Sarajevo; a ride through recent history

Today’s ride is full of highs and lows. We cycle below Bjelasnica’s highest peak which hosted the 1984 winter Olympics men's events. The area is now a favourite winter sports destination for locals waiting to be discovered by the rest of the world. From the open rocky plains and peaks of Bjelasnica mountains, we head down the thick pinewood forests of Igman. Igman too hosted several winter Olympic events, including the ski jump and cross country. Igman, however, was also the only lifeline into Sarajevo during its 1000-day blockade in the conflict raging through Bosnia and Herzegovina at the beginning of the 90s. We will take the exact route over Igman into Sarajevo as many Sarajevans did. We will also cycle, time to permit, directly to the tunnel which connected the mountains with Sarajevo proper.
This will be a time of reflection on the days we cycled from the Adriatic into the heart of the Dinaric Alps. A day for taking stock of all the cultures of the region and why the Western Balkans is a truly wonderful destination in Europe. A day to stand still at the resilience of the region, its people, and this ongoing feat of reconciliation and development.

Moderate ride / 4-5hrs cycling / Ascent: 450 m / Descent: 1,586 m / 50Km/31mi / 75% Asphalt / 25% Gravel

Accommodation: Overnight stay in Sarajevo
Meals: B,L,D

Day 7: Sarajevo Discovery and free time in the afternoon

Bosnia has a lengthy, tumultuous history. One of the most oriental and culturally diverse cities in Europe, Sarajevo spent over 400 years under Turkish governorship until the Austro-Hungarians arrived in the late nineteenth century. Fifty years later, the empire collapsed when Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated here, hastening the outbreak of the First World War. In the late twentieth century, Sarajevo hosted the Winter Olympics (1984), only to crumble once again a few years later in a 4-year siege by Serb forces amidst the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.
Our tour of the major historical, cultural and war sites in the city will help you to piece together its complex and fascinating history. Sites we will see include:

Accommodation: Overnight stay in Sarajevo
Meals: B,L,D

Day 8: Sarajevo Departure, transfer to Sarajevo International Airport

Depending on your departure time, you will be transferred to the Sarajevo International Airport.
 

Meals: B