Adriatic to Greece Explorer motorcycle tour

Welcome to Split, our journey starts here, in Croatia's second-largest city. Split (Spalato in Italian) is a great place to see Dalmatian life as it’s really lived. Always buzzing, this exuberant city has just the right balance between tradition and modernity. Step inside Diocletian’s Palace (a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world’s most impressive Roman monuments) and you’ll see dozens of bars, restaurants and shops thriving amid the atmospheric old walls where Split has been humming along for thousands of years. To top it off, Split has a unique setting. Its dramatic coastal mountains act as the perfect backdrop to the turquoise waters of the Adriatic and help divert attention from the dozens of shabby high-rise apartment blocks that fill its suburbs. It's this thoroughly lived-in aspect of Split that means it will never be a fantasy land like Dubrovnik, but perhaps it's all the better for that. 

Off we go towards one of the most beautiful islands in the Adriatic. We will be heading south along the coast to the ferry port of the southern acces to the island and a short ferry ride will take us to the island of Hvar. We will be spending a wonderful day riding the southern shores and later in the afternoon the inlands of Hvar before reaching the very center of this stunning town. Ending the day in one of its iconic streets and restaurants next to the harbor will fulfill all the senses of this day.

Fantastic ride across Pelješac Peninsula overlooking the sea and ride between green areas and vineyards, a must stop is oyster tasting and some amazing authentic Mediterranean food. The magnificent day will end in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Dubrovnik is a city in southern Croatia fronting the Adriatic Sea. It's known for its distinctive Old Town, encircled with massive stone walls completed in the 16th century. Its well-preserved buildings range from baroque St. Blaise Church to Renaissance Sponza Palace and Gothic Rector’s Palace, now a history museum. Paved with limestone, the pedestrianized Stradun (or Placa) is lined with shops and restaurants.  

Its time to rev your engines and start the beautiful morning ride along the shores of Adriatic and Montenegro coastline. We will be passing the beautiful Kotor bay and have a great riding day before arriving to the lake and town of Shkoder. Albanian city of Shkoder on the shores of a beautiful lake Shkoder (one part of the lake belongs to Montenegro and another to Albania). Shkodër is the most historic town in Albania. The oldest wall of the Shkodër castle dates from the 1st millennium BCE. The Roman historian Livy cited the town as the capital of the Illyrian king Gentius, who surrendered to the Romans in 168 BCE. The town was subsequently held by the Byzantines, Bulgars, Serbs, and Turks, again by Illyrians and Venetians.    

Today we will be riding one of the most stunning coastal roads there is and less known hidden gems of southern Adriatic. The route combines hills of Albania with stunning views to the Greek island of Corfu. The road is so fantastic that you simply can not stop riding. The smells of nature of the hills and mountains on one side and the views and smells of sea and coastline once reaching its shores simply makes your lifetime experience you will never forget and wish to come back again just to ride this road; that's how magnificent it is. Come and see for yourself. A plenty of stunning photo opportunities, old bunkers from historic Albanian times, old houses and small mountain villages on the way. Simply amazing. We will be passing the southern coastal town of Sarandë in the late afternoon before heading into inlands of Albania where we will spend the night in the beautiful old historic town of Gjirokastër. 

Its time to ride further across beautiful, green, exotic and hilly inlands of Albania before reaching Greek border and entering Greece. 

The Meteora  is a rock formation in the regional unit of Trikala, in Thessaly, Greece, hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, second in importance only to Mount Athos. The six (of an original twenty-four) monasteries are built on immense natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that dominate the local area. Between the 13th and 14th centuries, the twenty-four monasteries were established atop the rocks. We will enjoy the afternoon visiting the area and taste delicious local Greek specialties and spend the night in the Greek town of Kalabaka. 

Today we will choose to spend the rest day in Meteora, or visiting monasteries on the cliffs, a truly unique experience, so we can combine either to rest or ride or ride  + explore, so there is options depending what you would like. A truly unique sight and unforgettable experience.

Today we will having another great riding day passing through the inlands of hilly Greece before entering the North Macedonia. Lake Ohrid is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of Europe's deepest and oldest lakes, with a unique aquatic ecosystem of worldwide importance, with more than 200 endemic species. A truly stunning beauty of this area will fulfil the day by tasting some of the famous and very delicious North Macedonian specialties.  

From beautiful Ohrid lake to historic ancient town of Krujë. 20km north of Tirana, is a historic town deeply rooted in Albanian identity. Once the capital of the Principality of Arbër and later the Kingdom of Albania, it’s famed as the stronghold of national hero Skanderbeg, who successfully defended it against Ottoman sieges for decades in the 15th century. Today, visitors can explore Krujë Castle, the Skanderbeg Museum, and a national ethnographic museum showcasing local traditions. The town also boasts a rich religious history with both Orthodox and Bektashi influences, and continues to be a vibrant cultural center.

Our ride continues across stunning mountain landscapes of North Macedonia, crossing back to Albania and riding again one of the stunning roads and hidden gems of Balkans we will be coming down towards Montenegro and beautiful historic town and bay of Kotor.  

Today we will spend a rest day in beautiful Kotor, a historic Kotor is a fortified town on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast, in a bay near the limestone cliffs of Mt. Lovćen. Characterized by winding streets and squares, its medieval old town has several Romanesque churches, including Kotor Cathedral. It's also home to the Maritime Museum, which explores local seafaring history.

One more day of riding up the mountains and now we are heading up the mountains of Bosnia. A breath taking landscapes and truly adventurous riding day through some of the best roads of Bosnia, again we are in bikers paradise before coming down back to our starting point and beautiful Split for a dinner and inevitable recap of this breath taking adventure and planning already the next one. 

After breakfast, depending on your flight departure from Split airport, you might use some time to take a walk around the old town and its famous Diocletian palace. In case you will spend some days after the tour in Split you can as well take a short ferry ride to the island of Brač or Hvar and enjoy the island extraordinary beauty of Adriatic in nearby archipelago. Stay well and have a safe journey back home. See you on another motorcycle adventure!