Istria from Green to Blue

We want you to have the best experience in Istria, so it’s important to be sure that this is the perfect mountain bike adventure, with the right level of challenge, for you.

You ride your mountain bike on average once per week, and would be comfortable riding a variety of trails including: rooty singletrack through forests; gravel double track climbs; steep, flowing descents; rocky trails on the coast and islands. Read more on our intermediate skill level.

Does this sound like you? Your vacation time is precious and we want to be absolutely sure that you’re making the most of it, by finding the perfect adventure for you. Be honest with yourself, if this adventure isn’t right for you, we have other tours that may well be a better fit for your mountain biking experience and ability.

Please note: The skill level required reflects an overall rating for the trails on the trip but you should expect to find sections and obstacles that push your ability levels.

Skill level: Intermediate

• You have been mountain biking regularly for at least two years
• You can brake, use gears and corner with confidence
• You have good bike handling skills, and are confident riding rough double track and non-technical singletrack
• You are competent at riding undulating trails with moderate climbs and descents on both double and singletrack, but tend to get off and walk technical singletrack sections
• You mountain bike approximately once a week throughout your biking season

Fitness level: 4/7

• You have a reasonable level of mountain bike fitness, exercising at least twice a week for one hour or more, throughout the whole year
• You can ride a mountain bike for up to five hours per day at a moderate pace, with snack and photo stops, for three consecutive days
• You are capable of tackling one or two moderate mountain bike climbs per day, of up to 400 metres each

Typical trails you’ll be riding

• Double track: undulating forest and coastal tracks made up of hard-packed dirt, gravel, and rocks of varying sizes – some loose, some embedded
• Singletrack: rooty singletrack through pine forests; open, flowing singletrack across plateaux and on the coast; rocky, rough singletrack climbs and descents
• The trails in Istria are largely old hiking paths, with some purpose-built mountain bike trails. The trails are mostly very dry, sometimes loose

The ideal bike for the Croatian trails is a good quality full-suspension mountain bike with 29” or 27.5” wheels, dropper seat post, and 120mm -140mm of travel front and rear. Tyres must be tubeless for Croatia to stand up to the thorns and sharp rocks.

When travelling with your own bike, you must ensure that it has been properly serviced before the trip, and we have some tips for packing your bike for travel.

If you would prefer not to travel with your own bike, we have a great fleet of Pivot Switchblade 29″ full suspension mountain bikes available to rent for your MTB tour in Croatia.

We only run small group mountain bike tours to ensure that everyone has the best experience possible, and we can take a maximum of 10 riders in each group. The minimum number of people we require to run this MTB tour of Croatia is four.

Our mountain bike tour in Croatia caters for a wide age range; typically between 30- and 60-years-old. Regardless of age, you must have the appropriate level of physical fitness and mountain biking skills to participate in this adventure. Please refer to clause 14 of our terms and conditions of booking to find more information on rider age.

This European mountain bike tour Croatia is a guided mountain bike tour, ideal for intermediate mountain bikers. The terrain you’ll be riding on consists of double track and singletrack through pine forests, medieval villages, and rocky coastal trails on the mainland and islands. You’ll encounter some steep climbs and more technical rocky sections, as well as fabulous, swooping descents.

The distances we cover each day range from 20km to 40km, in accordance with the technical difficulty of the trails and height gain/ loss on each stage.

Each evening your guides will chat with you about the following day’s mountain biking and give you an idea of the sorts of trails you can look forward to. If there’s anything you feel anxious about, your guides will be happy to discuss it with you.

No, you only need to carry a 16 litre back pack with you whilst riding. We have your large kit bags transferred to your next accommodation as required, and have it ready and waiting for your arrival.

Your guide will be very happy to give you some bike skills help during your trip to help improve your confidence and your enjoyment of your MTB tour of Croatia.

If there is a section that you would prefer not to ride, then you can simply hop off your bike and walk. You won’t be the only one to walk certain sections and it’s not a competition in biking ability; it’s a mountain bike holiday!

Your mountain bike guides are local to Croatia and experienced professionals who have a real passion for mountain biking and for the culture and landscape of Croatia and surrounding Balkan countries.

Your safety is their number one priority, closely followed by your enjoyment of the tour. They will always be on-hand to answer any questions or requests you may have throughout your mountain bike tour Croatia. Meet your mountain bike guides in Croatia.

On this MTB tour of Croatia you will be staying in small, locally-owned accommodation, varying in look and feel as we ride our way through the green mountains, to the turquoise coastline and islands of the Adriatic.

You’ll stay two nights in a beautiful mediaeval hilltop hotel, with wellness centre and swimming pool; two nights in a hotel in a coastal village, also with spa; and three nights in a beachfront hotel on Krk Island.

All breakfasts are included in the price of the tour, and you’ll enjoy fantastic breakfasts at your accommodation which will set you up well for each day in the saddle.

Whilst lunches and dinners are not included in the tour price, so that you can choose what you wish from the dinner menu, we will eat together as a group each mealtime.

You should budget around 60€ per day for meals.

The ideal bike for the Croatian trails is a good quality full-suspension mountain bike with 29” or 27.5” wheels, dropper seat post, and 120mm -140mm of travel front and rear.

We have a fleet of high quality full suspension mountain bikes available to rent in Croatia.

Read the full kit list to find out what you need to pack for your mountain bike tour in Croatia.

Yes, there are laundry facilities at your accommodations.

Sure, it is your mountain bike vacation. Chat with your guiding team and they will gladly advise you on what else you can do that day.

Unfortunately not. We are working hard to provide each and every customer who rides with us an unparalleled mountain bike experience in every destination we ride. This takes years of experience, riding and planning to get right, and a drone adds a very real danger to the group’s riding experience and health & safety.

To travel to Istria we recommend arriving in Zagreb, Croatia which is served by Franjo Tuđman Airport Airport (ZAG). Airlines flying to Zagreb include: Lufthansa, Qatar Airways and British Airways.

Visas

US, Canadian, New Zealand, Australian, and European Citizens do not require visas to visit Croatia. You must have your passport as proof of citizenship.

You should check the relevant government website to satisfy yourself of the requirements for travelling in and out of Croatia from your country.

Arrival and departure details 

Your MTB tour in Croatia will start and end in Zagreb, Croatia. You should arrive at least one day prior to your tour start date and spend a night or two in Zagreb, ready for your guide to meet you on day 1 of your adventure. We have created this handy guide to spending 24 hours in Zagreb before the start of your Croatia adventure.

If you are driving to/ from Zagreb, you can park your car securely at Petrinjska or Langov trg.

Your local guide will meet you in Zagreb at around 09:00 on the first morning of the tour at the train station.

On the final day we will transfer you back to Zagreb train station or airport, which is a 2.5 hour drive, so you should book your return flight departing no earlier than 2pm that day (if flying out of Zagreb).

Our mountain bike guides in Croatia are of the highest level. They are qualified in first-aid and they have the knowledge and experience to lead a group safely in these wild and beautiful parts of Croatia.

Our guides have years of experience in the saddle on the trails around Istria and will be able to enhance your holiday with facts and fables on local history, flora and fauna. They’re also genuinely nice people and will do their best to make sure that everyone in the group has a great time.

We aim to use the best, locally-run accommodation in each country, and accommodation that is traditional to that specific area, whether it be city or mountain.

On our mountain bike tour of Croatia you’ll be staying in traditional hilltop hotels in medieval villages, and a beach-front hotel on Krk Island, all with spectacular views of the mountain or coast.

Your first two accommodations have the added bonus of a beautiful spa and wellness centre, which you can take advantage of to pamper yourselves post-ride!

You will enjoy fabulous, home-made, locally-sourced dishes in Istria, with some of the key ingredients including truffles, seafood, wine and olive oil, depending on whether you’re inland or on the coast.

Whilst lunches and dinners are not included in the tour price, so that you can choose what you wish from the dinner menu, we will eat together as a group every evening.

We suggest budgeting around 80€ per day for lunches and dinners (excluding alcohol), with certain dishes, for example fresh fish in Rovinj, costing slightly more.

No vaccinations are required for visiting this part of Croatia.

You can drink water from the taps (faucets) in Croatia.

Also, please let us know if you have any special food requirements, allergies or pre-existing conditions your guides should know about.

You should always consult your own doctor or physician before travelling to new countries to seek their advice on matters concerning your health abroad.

Your health and safety on tour is our top priority and when you travel with us you will be covered by Global Rescue emergency medical and evacuation services

The official currency of Croatia is the Euro EUR and is the only currency that will be accepted. ATM machines are available in most towns.

Tipping

It is not compulsory to tip your guides or drivers in Croatia, but if you feel that you have had a tremendous experience on your MTB tour of Croatia, you can tip at your discretion; as a rough guide, around 5% of your tour price for your guiding team.

It is not compulsory to tip in restaurants, however should you wish to tip your servers, 10% of your meal cost would be acceptable.

We work with Global Rescue whose policies are specially designed for adventure travel and you can arrange your insurance cover directly with them.