The coastal road of Croatia

 Sat - Mon 16th - 18th Sept

Travelling by Google Maps with ‘avoid motorways’ selected, is a nice un-hurried way and we were happy to do just that. From Tolmin we made our way towards Rijeka at the coast, with the route taking us through small vineyards, mixed farming and pine forests. In some parts it was similar to the heathlands of southern England.

We saw the sea soon after crossing into Croatia at another lonely border.

For us Brits this is an important border because whilst Croatia has been a member of the European Union since 2013, it has only been in the Schengen zone since January 2023. We had been expecting to show our passports but they weren’t required. In fact the surprise continued because the border currency kiosks were unmanned - a victim of the move to the Euro, which happened at the same time. So our travelling life stayed simple.

Shortly after that we got to Rijeka where Google Maps took us right through the middle, onto the docks and then somehow out of there and onto the coast road that runs all the way to Split and Dubrovnik. 

For miles and miles this sweeping road hugs the cliffs and turns in towards inlets and ravines, with tight sweeping bends. It’s a biker’s dream road and many of them were here to have a taste of the exhilaration. The road stretches on and on and it is quite a task to drive with a manual gearbox and impatient drivers and bikers.

In the main, driving a slower Land Rover is not as troublesome as one might expect. There are plenty of other slower drivers. However getting past these in our slower Defender isn’t usually feasible. Patience is usually rewarded, as there are many places to stop for the view. Fortunately the driver of UK plated ‘Doris’, a converted Transit camper-van, did just that but not before time. 

We were consuming the kms as best we could but at the same time, trying to pinch ourselves at our good fortune (and a lot of planning). Here we are in mid-September, retired, travelling south-east, with no immediate plans, except to get home by the end of October.

Then it almost went wrong. Descending into another tight turn, the motorbikes dropped in between the various vehicles as usual and I dropped to third. As I approached the bend, a car hurtled down the outside of everyone and almost drove the tyres off their rims, as it scratched for traction in front of me.

Then, right on the bend with a car coming towards me from the other side, a biker followed but I didn’t know, as I was steering through and then saw him alongside the passenger door, tucking in to make a gap to the oncoming car. We both held our line thankfully before he was off, maybe to chase the car. It was a close shave. What stupidity that was rather than exhilarating driving.

After a fair drive on this scenic road we were ready to camp and after rejecting one or two sites (they are all squeezed between road and sea), we found one with two pitches left. (Camp Šibuljina) We chose one pitch, near the entrance and not very glamorous but the site has a lovely beach about twenty strides away and walkway along under the pines.

The bikers continued to hurtle past, close to us but then it all went calm and the night was still, oh so still and quiet.

The view over the sea is to various islands, the water is warm and the temperature in the 20s even at night. That’s why it is still busy. Actually the whole of Germany’s retirees are on this coast and we are in the land of unnecessarily large wohnmobile.  The one next to us, the Flair from Niesmann - Bischoff is around 9m and the latest model will need £200-£300K of your readily available money, depending on the fittings that you deem necessary.

We relaxed for a whole day and spent a second quiet night, listening to the low murmur of the Germans, as they have their early evening meals and then retire to watch tv. It gets dark early but with the continued warmth this is a lovely experience. There is little change in the shade temperature and we sit and eat, then clear up under candlelight. The rear work light on the Landy is rather too intrusive for extended illumination.

The following day we continued towards the south east.