- HANOI/HCM – SPLIT (CROATIA)
Pick up at hotel, check in, rest
Final announcement about the schedule and regulations, driving rules in Eastern Europe
Pick up, check the car before joining the welcome party at a traditional Croatian restaurant
- SPLIT – ZADAR – PAG ISLAND – SENJ – PLITVICE, 380km
Our journey begins by driving along the coast with the first stop in Trogir, one of the most beautiful towns in Croatia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site then to Primošten, a small picturesque town very famous on a peninsula. The Adriatic Sea coastal road, and the islands with breathtaking scenery.
Our next stop is Zadar, the ancient capital of Dalmatia with medieval relics still preserved quite intact.
Pag Island with its rocky landscape is dotted with vineyards and herds of sheep.
In the afternoon, a beautiful 60 km mountain pass awaits us, listed as one of the most beautiful biker routes in Europe. Next, the Velebit Mountains to the Lika region and a stop at Plitvice National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- NP PLITVICE – LJUBLJANA (SLOVENIA),
In the morning, we spend time visiting the wonders of Croatia’s Plitive National Park, where streams flow through the white limestone mountains over thousands of years, creating natural lakes, caves and beautiful waterfalls.
The next journey is to Slovenia, a country known as a hidden gem in the European crown. The small, beautiful villages with wooden houses look no different from the primitive villages of the Northwest – Vietnam. The farmers here are as hard-working, diligent and especially hospitable as the ethnic minorities of the Northwest.
Stop by the Postojna Cave, one of Slovenia’s biggest tourist attractions and the most visited cave in Europe.
- SLOVENIA – ITALY – AUSTRIA
Today we will explore 3 countries on a route in the eastern part of the Alps.
Explore the city of Udine, the namesake of the ancient castle in northeastern Italy, perched on a hilltop, home to many museums and art galleries featuring works by Tiepolo and Caravaggio. From here we can enjoy panoramic views of the city and the surrounding mountains. The central Piazza della Libertà square features Renaissance buildings, including the pink and white marble Loggia del Lionello and the clock tower. However, we will only spend a little time here because the most attractive destination is the Slovenian-Italian-Austrian border trijunction covered in white snow waiting for us ahead.
Next is the journey to the South of Austria from here we will conquer Peč peak at a modest height of 1,508m and at this location is the Slovenian-Italian-Austrian border trijunction. To get here we will run up to the village of Arnoldstein and take the cable car up to the border trijunction. There is a wonderful view of the mountain peaks in the Alps.
Before sunset, we run to Bled Castle located next to the beautiful lake of the same name and then return to Ljubljana, free to explore the capital of Slovenia in the evening.
- LJUBLJANA – ZAGREB – PLANINA VLAŠIČ, 430km (SLOVENIA – CROATIA – HERCEGONIA)
This morning we follow the Sava River, the longest river in the former Yugoslavia, for 990km on beautiful winding roads, through countryside with medieval castles left in the east of Slovenia. After crossing the border back into Croatia, we stop in Kumrovec, the birthplace of Josip Broz Tito, the dictator who ruled Yugoslavia for decades.
Continuing our journey towards Bosnia & Herzegovina, we stop in Sisak, one of the oldest settlements in the area. A great place to take a break, enjoy a coffee in one of the many cafeterias in the old town and then cross the border into Bosnia. Here we will see the difference with many mosques and especially the people here are more friendly and gentle.
- PLANINA VLAŠIČ – SARAJEVO (SERBIA)
After breakfast, we drive to the Olympic city of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. Visit the tunnel built during the war, it was built under the airport runway during the siege of Sarajevo 1992-1995.
The next stretch of road is really attractive with curves in a total of 250 km of winding roads and not much traffic. Before going to Serbia, we stop in Višegrad to visit the Mehmed Paša Sokolović bridge built during the Ottoman period, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is also the bridge in the Nobel Prize-winning work of Ivo Andrić in the novel “The Bridge on the Drina”.
After crossing the border, we stopped at a traditional village that Serbian film director Emir Kusturica built for his film Life Is a Miracle.
Continue eating crabs and it is not until the last 90km leading to the capital Sarajevo that the road becomes wider and straighter
- BELGRADE (Day off)
Belgrade is the capital
