Continental Croatia Bike Tour

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Continental Croatia

BIKE TOUR An

rt of Croatia

e green hea th h g u ro th y e rn u jo unforgettable

Tour introduction

Overview

Taking in the best that continental Croatia has to offer, our Heart of Green Croatia bike tour will be a journey that you’ll never forget. The sights, smells and flavors of this rich part of Croatian countryside so famous for its high-quality wines, will surprise and thrill you, making you wonder why you hadn’t visited sooner.

From metropolitan Zagreb to medieval Karlovac, continental Croatia’s towns and cities have architecture that will amaze and fascinating pasts. The rolling green hills of Zagorje and its quaint villages offer a unique insight into life as it once was while the incredible wetlands of Lonjsko polje Nature Park will provide unforgettable vistas and wildlife galore.

This 12-night bike tour takes travelers through the heart of green Croatia, calling at lively cities, historic towns, quaint villages, and breathtaking parks in the continental mainland. Travelers will get the chance to sample renowned Croatia wines, taste delicious authentic local dishes and stay in quaint villages surrounded by picturesque nature.

The route will visit famous sites such Trakoscan Castle, Medimurje’s renowned hot springs and also allow you the chance to explore the magnificent wetlands of Lonjsko Polje and Kopacki Rit Nature Park.

Cultural Highlights •

Ozalj and Trakoscan castles

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Cigoc, the first European village of Storks

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Visit to Marija Bistrica, catholic pilgrimage site

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Eco-museum of Lace and Lacemaking, Lepoglava

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Guided tours of Zagreb, Karlovac, Varazdin, Vukovar, Osijek

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Medimurje hot springs

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Croatian Naive Art

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Ludbreg town, ‘The center of the world’

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Croatian Sahara in Durdevac

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Wine tasting at Sontacchi Winery and Ilok Old Wine Cellars

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Lonjsko Polje and Kopacki Rit nature parks, two of Europe’s most attractive wetlands

What to expect This tour offers mostly flat terrain with easy routes. On a couple of days, you’ll have moderate rides with short difficult distances on rolling hills.

Our support vehicle and guide are there to support you should you need it on the hilly sections of the route.

Average daily mileage: 43 km Average daily biking time: 4 hours

Climate Continental Croatia has a warm temperate humid climate. The average high temperature for Zagreb between May and October ranges from 20 to 15 degrees Celsius, with a peak of 27 in July and August.

Average high/low temperature (°F) - Zagreb: May 68°/50° June 73°/55° July 81°/59° August 81°/59° September 72°/50° October 59°/45° Average precipitation (mm) - Zagreb: May 86 June 104 July 72 August 79 September 66 October 54

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CONTINENTAL CROATIA BIKE TOUR Dates: May, June, September and October Duration: 13 days, 12 nights Start/end: Zagreb/Zagreb Activity level: Easy to Moderate Average Daily mileage: 43 km Average Daily biking: 4 hours Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner included

Continental Croatia Bike Tour

Day 1

Zagreb

Your adventure begins in Zagreb, Croatia’s vibrant capital and there’s no better way to kick off a tour of continental Croatia than a guided walking tour of the city.

Guests join our expert local guide on a city discovery tour including Zagreb Upper Town, Lotrscak Tower, St. Mark’s Square, Parliament Building, Stone Gate, and Strossmayer Promenade. The small town of Zapresic is our next destination, where we will visit the Luznica Castle dating back to the 18th century and the home of nobleman, Ban Josip Jelacic. Dinner at the hotel.

Overnight in Zagreb at Hotel Puntijar.

Zagreb SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS: St. Mark’s Church | Croatian Parliament | Stone Gate | Luznica Castle

Day 2

Jastrebarsko and Plesivica Wine Roads

Today the tour departs to the Jastrebarsko region where the group will explore the Plesivica Wine Roads. We’ll call by the villages of Volavje and Sveta Jana, stopping to see the watermills and hot springs before a trip to the Etno Museum in Sveta Jana. Lunch will be enjoyed at Kolaric Vineyard in the Forest Court summer residence which dates back to 1656. In the afternoon we continue on towards Plesivica, enjoying a wine tasting on the way before our evening meal at hilltop restaurant Karlo which has spectacular views.

Overnight in one of the wine roads’ guesthouses.

SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS: Erdody Castle | Etno Museum Sveta Jana | Kolaric Vineyard

Daily mileage: 30 km Daily biking: 3.5 - 4 h Difficulty: Easy to moderate

Day 3

Krasic-Ozalj -Karlovac Following transfer to Slavetic village, we will journey towards Krasic and Ozalj, where the group will visit the town’s castle, museum and strangely beautiful hydroelectric plant, located on the Kupa River. A delicious traditional lunch will be served at Restaurant Žganjer before we ride through several villages on our way to Karlovac. On arrival, we’ll explore this Renaissance town, built in the shape of a six-pointed star, on a guided walking tour. In the evening, a group dinner at the hotel will round off a busy day.

Overnight in Karlovac at Hotel Korana.

Daily mileage: 58 km Daily biking: 5.5 h Difficulty: Easy

SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS: Ozalj Old Town | Ozalj Hydroelectric Powerplant | Karlovac Old Town

Day 4

Cigoc Stork Village and Lonjsko polje Nature Park We’ll start our day’s cycling from Topolovac in the city of Sisak, heading towards our first stop, Lonjsko Polje Nature Park. This park is the largest protected wetland in Croatia and where we’ll visit Cigoc, the first European village of storks. Tradicije Cigoc will be our host for lunch, which will be fabulous traditional food. Afterwards, our route will take us through the village of Lonja and on to Krapje, a historic village of beautiful wooden houses. We’ll take a boat trip through the wetlands of the Lonjsko Polje park, a great opportunity to bird watch and take panoramic photos.

In the evening we’ll dine at Kezele Rural Tourism Estate, a quaint restaurant in nearby Popovaca. Here, you can explore the vineyard, cellars and family’s ethno collection.

Overnight in Ivanic Grad.

SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS: Cigoc, first European stork village | Krapje village | Lonjsko Polje | Nature Park boat trip | Kezele Rural Tourism Estate

Daily mileage: 50 km Daily biking: 3 – 3.5 h Difficulty: Easy

Day 5

Hrvatsko Zagorje

Today is for exploring the Zagorje region, an area renowned for its thermal springs, spectacular vistas and top-notch wines. We’ll ride along rolling hills through Breznicki Hum and Vinski Vrh before reaching Marija Bistrica, a famous catholic pilgrimage site and our destination for lunch. Our afternoon will take us to Gusakovec village in the green valley between Marija Bistrica and Gornja Stubica. Here, at Lojzekova Hiza you can sample traditional Zagorje cakes such as gibanica and zlevanka. Our circular route passes by modest houses, many orchards and vineyards before bringing us to Gornja Stubica, where we will visit the impressive Monument to the Peasant Rebellion of 1573 and only surviving object from that time, the Gupceva lipa tree. We’ll return by transfer to Marija Bistrica for the evening.

Overnight in Marija Bistrica.

Daily mileage: 52 km Daily biking: 5 - 6 h Difficulty: Easy to moderate (rolling hills)

SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS: Marija Bistrica pilgrimage site | Monument to the Peasant Rebellion | Gupceva lipa tree

Day 6

Lepoglava Lace & Trakoscan Castle Our route today takes us to a host of interesting sites including Gaveznica fossil volcano and Ivanscica quarry where we’ll make a short stop to take in the view. At Gallery Jamnic, we’ll see fantastic wooden statues before our picnic lunch at Dragecova Stara Hiza. In the afternoon we’ll head to Lepoglava, home of UNESCO protected Lepoglava Lace. After our trip to the Eco-museum of Lace we’ll call by Lepoglava church and then make our way to the fairytale-like Trakoscan Castle and lake where we’ll tour the castle and grounds and learn about its fascinating history dating back to the 13th century.

Overnight in Trakoscan or Varazdin.

SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS: Gaveznica geological site | Gallery Jamnic | Ivanscica Quarry viewpoint | Leopglava Etno Museum of Lace | Trakoscan Castle

Daily mileage: 34 km Daily biking: 4 – 4.5 h Difficulty: Easy to moderate

Day 7

Varazdin and Medimurje Our morning gets off to the perfect start with a guided walking tour of Varazdin, known as Croatia’s ‘Little Vienna’. We’ll explore the city’s Baroque architecture, its rich history of music and art, and museums before our lunch at Terbotz Restaurant where we’ll be served traditional cuisine from Medimurje. Our afternoon’s cycling takes us to Mlin na Muri watermill and several villages. After lunch we’ll enjoy a group wine tasting session before cycling to our final destination of the day, Terme Martin na Muri where the group can enjoy the health benefits of the hotel’s hot springs.

Overnight in Terme Sveti Martin.

Daily mileage: 40 km Daily biking: 3-4 h Difficulty: Easy (some rolling hills)

SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS: Varazdin, Cakovec and Terbotz castles | Mlin na Muri watermill | Hazic Wine House

Day 8

Ludbreg – Koprivnica – Hlebine- Durdevac Did you know that if you layout a map of the globe, flat, that a town in Croatia would be the center of the world? We get the chance to visit it today, the quaint town of Ludbreg. We’ll then make our way to Koprivnica, a bicycle friendly city. Podravska Klet is our destination for lunch after which we cycle to Hlebine, the birthplace of Croatian Naive Art and where we’ll have an interactive tour to learn all about the movement that began in the 1930s. In Durdevac we will visit the sand dunes, a protected botanical area known as the Croatian Sahara. We may even swap mode of transport for a while to a camel back ride! Our transfer will take us to the spa town of Daruvar where we’ll enjoy dinner and stay in a hotel overnight.

Overnight in Daruvar.

SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS: Center of the World – Ludbreg | Koprivnica – Bike friendly city | Josip Generalic Atelier and Gallery | Croatian Sahara – Durdevac | Old Town Durdevac

Daily mileage: 60 km Daily biking: 4.5 - 5 h Difficulty: Easy

Day 9

Kutjevo and Grasevina Wine Roads In the morning we’ll transfer from Daruvar to the city of Požega where we will go on a guided tour. It’s then time to hit the trails of Baron Trenk in the Golden Valley, calling by his castle and the medieval fortress, Kaptol. In the green village of Vetovo we will enjoy lunch. With famous wine growing area Kutjevo just a short ride away, we will take the Grasevina Wine Roads to our wine tasting session at Sontacchi Winery and along the way, we’ll see the stunning Jesuit Castle. At the vineyard, we’ll learn all about the long history of winemaking in the Sontacchi family and see the world’s largest wine bottle made of stone.

Overnight in Kutjevo at Sontacchi Winery.

Daily mileage: 41 km Daily biking: 4-5 h Difficulty: Easy

SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS: Pozega – Guided walking tour | Castle Baron Trenk | Kaptol – Medieval fortress | Jesuit Castle, Kutjevo | Sontacchi Winery wine tasting

Day 10

Slavonian Forests

Our morning transfer takes us to Caglin from which we make our way to Sovsko Lake, 14 km away. Here, we'll enjoy a picnic lunch on the shores of the lake as well as having the chance to explore on foot. The afternoon takes us into the Slavonian oak forests on Dalj mountain and the surrounding rural villages where we get a glimpse of life as once was in this agricultural region. With the day’s cycling complete, our transfer takes us to Dakovo, where we will have dinner at a traditional Slavonian restaurant that prepares delicious food.

Overnight in Đakovo.

SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS: Sovsko Lake picnic | Dalj Mountain | Slavonian oak forest | Slavonian villages

Daily mileage: 30 km Daily biking: 3.5 – 5 h Difficulty: Moderate (rolling hills)

Day 11

The Heart of Slavonia (Dakovo) Today is for discovering the city of Dakovo, home to the State Stud Farm where the famous Lipizzaner horse is bred. On our guided walking tour, we’ll visit city’s stunning St. Peter’s Cathedral built in 1886, as well as the Dakovo State Stud Farm, one of the oldest in Europe and where we’ll be treated to carriage rides before a picnic lunch. That afternoon we transfer to Tovarnik to begin our route along the Danube, making our way to the famous wine producing town of Ilok. We’ll visit the Old Wine Cellars for a wine tasting session and learn all about the winery’s rich history on a guided tour.

Overnight in Ilok.

Daily mileage: 32 km Daily biking: 2 -2.5 h Difficulty: Easy

SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS: Dakovo - Guided walking tour | Dakovo stud farm | Ilok Old Wine Cellars

Day 12

Vukovar and Kopacki Rit Nature Park This morning we transfer to Vukovar for our cycling and walking tour where we’ll visit the city’s most notable landmarks including Homeland War Memorial Centre, the Water Tower. We then cross over at the point where the Vuka enters the Danube and continue on to other sites relating to the Homeland War before a coffee break in the town center where we will see the magnificent Baroque Eltz Castle. We transfer to Kopacki Rit Nature Park where lunch is served in the village of Kopacevo. We’ll be taken on a short walking tour post lunch and then cycle through the park’s villages, taking in the incredible nature of what are some of Europe’s largest and most attractive wetlands. That evening we will be treated to a performance of traditional Slavonian Becarac songs, (UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage) during dinner at our accommodation on a farm in Karanac.

Overnight in Karanac.

SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS: The Memorial Centre of Homeland War – Guided walking tour | Vukovar Water Tower | Vukovar Hospital Place of Memory | Memorial Hall for Croatian Defenders | Eltz Castle | Kopacki Rit Nature Park | Becarac song performance

Daily mileage: 54.5 km Daily biking: 3-4 h Difficulty: Easy

Day 13

Osijek Our final day begins with a transfer to Osijek for a guided walking tour, taking in its beautiful waterfront promenade, grand buildings and 18th century fortress built under Hasburg rule as a defense against Turkish attacks.

Osijek’s Europska Avenija is the city’s most beautiful street with a string of secession palaces; the perfect place for a coffee stop. When we finish the tour, we’ll make the journey back to our start point in Zagreb where it’s time to say goodbye to new friends and head home.

Transfer to Zagreb Airport.

Osijek SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS: Osijek fortress | The church of St Peter and St. Paul, Osijek’s co-cathedral | Europska Avenija

13 day

Continental Croatia bike tour map

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Option 2 7-day Continental Croatia Bike Tour Our seven-day itinerary offers the chance to see continental Croatia’s most beautiful parts in a week.

Each day’s schedule is the same as the matching route in the 13-day itinerary.

Day 1: Zagreb Day 2: Jastrebarsko and Plesivica Wine Roads Day 3: Krasic – Ozalj - Karlovac Day 4: Cigoc Stork Village and Lonjsko polje Nature Park Day 5: Ludbreg – Koprivnica – Hlebine- Durdevac Day 6: Medimurje and Varazdin Day 7: Varazdin/Trakoscan- Zagreb *This is the only day of the tour that differs to the 13-day itinerary. If the group has afternoon flights from Zagreb then there is time to cycle in the morning. The group can then decide whether the route will be in Varazdin or Trakoscan and there may be time to include a tour of the beautiful Trakoscan Castle. We then depart for Zagreb where we say goodbye to our new friends.

OPTION 2

7 day

Continental Croatia bike tour map

Destination Management Company | Dr.Ante Starčevića 45, 20000 Dubrovnik, CROATIA | T +385 20 400 586, F +385 20 400 587 | adriatic@AdriaticDMC.hr | www.adriaticDMC.hr