Part 2: Island Hopping & Biking Croatia's Dalmatia Coast
Click here for Part 1: Split & Trogir, Croatia
Click here for Part 3: Dubrovnik, Croatia & Bay of Kotor, Montenegro
In Trogir, we boarded our boat, the Magellan, to begin our island hopping and biking adventure for the week. The boat is chartered through Island Hopping Croatia (which was brokered by 57 Hours). There are 17 staterooms on this boat. On this trip, there were 23 people and 9 staff, a nice size...not too big or small.
The group on our boat for the week was from all over - Seattle, San Francisco, Michigan, Vermont, Florida, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, and Croatia. It was fun getting to meet everyone and make new friends.
Most days was half-board, meaning we ate breakfast + lunch or dinner on the boat, and we had lunch or dinner somewhere on the island of that particular day. A couple days we had full board, all three meals on that particular day on the boat. The boat's chef and his assistant did a great job and the food was excellent.
Our above deck bedroom was naturally small, but comfortable, big enough for a queen size bed, a closet and a small bathroom.
Everyone was on e-bikes for the week, supplied by Island Hopping Croatia. I, however, opted for a regular gravel bike since that option was available. It turns out it was the same model as the one I ride at home (Trek Checkpoint) but a different year and slightly bigger size/geometry. I felt a little weird being the only one on a regular bike, but our lead bike guide, Bubi, was happy to have someone else to ride a regular bike with although I couldn't keep up with him most of the time.
I was getting passed by most everyone on their e-bikes on the big climbs but was able to easily stay with the group on the flats and downhills. There were definitely some good climbs and rolling hills throughout the week making for some fun, scenic, and challenging (for the regular bike) riding.
The weather we experienced in early May was mostly really good. We definitely experienced the wind the Dalmatia Coast can be known for but the high air temps were very comfortable in the 60s/70s with no humidity, perfect biking weather. Low temps overnight were in the 50s. You'll see in the photos we had mostly sunny days, then it got cloudy towards the end of our week on the boat with a rainy & windy last day.
Here was the biking mileage/elevation gain stats for the week for each island:
Vis - 19.3 miles, 2,057 ft elevation gain
Korcula - 37 miles, 3,114 ft elevation gain
Hvar - 12.3 miles, 1,348 ft elevation gain
Brac - 18.4 miles, 1,985 ft elevation gain
Solta - 12.9 miles, 1,040 ft elevation gain
Ciovo - 11 miles, 1,053 ft elevation gain
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| Bon Voyage! |
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| Aboard the Magellan and under way |
Our first destination was Vis but it was very windy and choppy that afternoon out in the open Adriatic Sea leading to the outer lying island of Vis. So out of an abundance of caution, the captain decided to dock in the tiny town of Milna on the island of Brac overnight and then we would cross over to Vis the next morning in lighter wind conditions for our first bike ride.
Milna, on the island of Brac
A church in Milna, Brac
Vis
The next morning, we got underway to make the crossing over to the island of Vis, which was to be the longest crossing since the island is the furthest out in the Adriatic Sea of the ones we visited. The wind had decreased by then but there was still some leftover rolling wind swell from the night before, making it a bit of a rough ride. I got queasy with some seasickness unfortunately...the only time during the week that happened (I took dramamine for a couple days after this then stopped).
So my first bike ride of the week started with an empty stomach, dehydration, and my head still in the clouds. Not ideal but I wasn't going to miss out on the bike riding. After an hour of riding (including a big climb right out of the gate) and getting some food and electrolytes in me, I came back to life.
Entering the town of Komiza by bike, on the island of Vis
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| One of my favorite photos of the trip. Love the colors. Komiza, Vis. |
Komiza, island of Vis
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| Our coffee break view |
Looking down on Komiza after biking out and up for another climb
Looking down on the town of Vis, on the island of Vis, before descending.
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| Church of St Jerome on the Prilovo Peninsula |
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| Kris and I before descending into town |
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Church of Our Lady of Spilica, Vis |
Wandering around Vis
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| Kris and Charmaine |
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| An old Croatian pay phone. It wasn't working. |
It can get very windy along the Dalmatia Coast - saw a couple of windsurf foilers out enjoying the breeze in Vis with the Church of St Jerome as the backdrop. Saw other windsurfers on the water other times during the week, which was good to see. Croatia certainly has the wind for it.
Korcula
The next morning, we boated to the island of Korcula for what would be our longest bike ride of the week. The island's main attraction city is also named Korcula, which is a gorgeous medieval old town. It's also the birthplace of Marco Polo.
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| Approaching the island of Korcula, and the port of Vela Luka |
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our boat, the Magellan |
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| A bike break along the south coast of Korcula |
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| I couldn't pass up an opportunity to swim during a bike break - a few of us took the plunge. The water was still chilly, probably 65 degrees but it was warm and sunny out so it was refreshing. |
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| Smokvica, Korcula |
A wine tasting at Grosic Winery in Smokvica, island of Korcula
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| A typical wildlife sign on the Croatian islands. We didn't see any wildlife. |
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| You can barely make out a couple bikers on that road at the bottom of the photo. This was in the middle of a big climb. |
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| Vineyards |
A bike break at the top of a big climb - island of Korcula
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| Our fearless bike guide leader, Bubi. |
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| Kris and I overlooking the town of Korcula, before our descent into town. |
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| The old medieval town of Korcula, on the island of Korcula |
Relaxing in the port of Korcula
A couple of group photos from the day's big ride
Korcula might be our favorite town and island of the week.
Wandering around the old town of Korcula
Hvar
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The crossing to Hvar |
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The town of Hvar on the island of Hvar |
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| our boat, the Magellan |
Hvar
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| Charmaine & Kris |
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| Spanjola Fortress, Hvar |
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| A bike break on our route between Hvar and Stari Grad |
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| Looking down on the town of Stari Grad before our descent into town |
Wandering around the town of Stari Grad, on the island of Hvar
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| Kris & Charmaine |
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| Kris & I |
Brac
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| The port of Milna, on the island of Brac - getting ready for the day's bike ride. |
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| Lozisca, island of Brac |
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| Nerezisca, Brac |
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| Cappucino break in Nerezisca, Brac |
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| We were treated to a tour of a real operating olive oil farm and greeted with a shot of black olive liquor. |
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| Demonstrating the old way of pressing for olive oil. It was a fascinating tour and we learned some new things about how olive oil is made. |
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| The olive oil farm dog |
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| Entering the town of Postira on our bikes |
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| Looking across the channel at the town of Omis and its surrounding cliffs. |
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| It seemed like the entire town of Postira turned out for a lively soccer match. |
Wandering around the town of Postira, island of Brac
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| Old style slate stone roofing - no cement, no adhesive, no tile glue, nothing else holding it together - it apparently works great with no leaking whatsoever. |
Postira, Brac
Our trusty boat, Magellan
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| Myself, Kris & Greg |
Walking around Postira at night after dinner
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| Greg, Kris and I |
Solta
The original plan was to boat over to Omis for a bike ride, then dock in Split for the night for a free night out to tour Diocletian's Palace then dinner in old town Split, but the combination of high winds and Split port construction forced the captain to pivot, so we went to the island of Solta a day early for our next bike ride. We were disappointed not to be able to see Omis and then visit Split again.
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| Preparing for our bike ride on the island of Solta |
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We were treated to a fascinating tour of an operating beehive farm. |
Maslinica, island of Solta
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| Cappucino break at Maslinica Beach, Solta |
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| After the bike ride on Solta, we went ahead and crossed over from Solta to Trogir/Ciovo that afternoon since the weather was turning. The clouds set in and it got very windy. |
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| Approaching Trogir |
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| We wandered around old town Trogir some more |
Ciovo
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Our last day was a rainy one but most of us still opted to ride. Bubi took us on an hour long 11 mile ride on the island of Ciovo, across the bridge from Trogir. The wind and rain didn't deter us. |
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| Our last night on board the Magellan - we toasted the boat's excellent staff. |
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| Greg, Charmaine, our lead bike guide Bubi, Kris and I |
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Ana, our other fearless & super friendly bike guide who had sweeping duty all week, bringing up the rear of the bike group. A smiling face and fun vibes from her all week long.
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| Our final night on the boat in Trogir |
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