A Slow Adventure | May-August 2025
See full screen
Inspired by early 2024 news of the forthcoming Transdinarica (TD) route from Slovenia to Albania which neatly overlaps the end of our last European tour seven years ago, we couldn’t resist extending that journey to see if we can bike/train/ferry to Istanbul. The TD starts in northern Slovenia and skirts the Croatian coast so we’re going to fly into Florence, bike over to the coast, ferry to Croatia, cycle up through the islands, and join the TD route at Crikvenica, almost at the same latitude as Pula where we ended the last tour.
I’ve recently come across the term “Slow Adventure” which very neatly describes how we travel and why. We’ll be doing it in at least 6 languages, with maybe a few dialects thrown in, so we’ve pre-loaded Google Translate with these ones at least:
Italian: Avventura lenta
Bosnian: Spora avantura
Albanian: Adventure e ngadalte
Greek: Argí peripéteia
Turkish: Yavaş macera
A quick plug for the TD creators: their official tour notes are excellent with turn-by-turn directions and plenty of bike-travel-focused insights. I followed their journeys last year as they meticulously researched every kilometer, and I hope the route won’t be overcrowded with early adopters this season – watch this space and find out.
The Broad Plan
- Start in Florence, bike across to Ancona on the east coast
- Ferry to Croatia, bike/ferry up the islands, and join the TD at Crikvenica
- Follow the TD south to Albania
- Bike across northern Greece, or maybe down through Greece and Island hop across if we can find a convenient ferry to Istanbul
- Finish in Istanbul. Total distance: approximately 2,500–3,000 km
Our Rules
- Off-road wherever possible
- No state highways unless absolutely necessary; the best roads have gravel and a grass strip down the middle
- No vehicular assistance except ferries (and probably trains)
- Avoid towns and cities where possible (except for cafés and accommodation!)
- Prioritize comfort and enjoyment: aim for 60–80 km/day