Trans Dinarica Cycle Route named Lonely Planet’s “Best in Travel” for 2024

The Trans Dinarica — the first and only cycle route linking all eight countries of the Western Balkans — has been named as one of Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel experiences for 2024. The renowned travel media company, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, will release the 2024 edition of their much-anticipated annual book spotlighting the planet’s most exciting destinations on October 24, 2023.

The Trans Dinarica makes the dream of cycling across this adventure-travel-rich corner of Southeastern Europe a reality for the first time. The route, which is more than 4,000 kilometers, rolls across and connects Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Serbia. Riders will now be able to tackle around 100 stages that prioritize responsible travel, culture, national parks, and UNESCO sites while bringing a sustainable economic engine to communities across the western half of the Balkan Peninsula.

“From the beginning of the Trans Dinarica’s development until today, the idea is to give travelers a way to enjoy the region while moving safely and at their own speed,” says Jan Klavora, one of the route’s designers and a co-founder at GoodPlace: a Slovenia-based, sustainability-travel-focused NGO that works with destinations to develop tourism products and strategies.

This region is perfect to discover by bicycle because of its hospitality and richness of heritage. We are proud and honored that Lonely Planet acknowledges this and has also made a priority of responsible travel.

 

The route, which averages about 50 kilometers per stage (day), follows quiet asphalt roads, forest trails, and bike paths. The Trans Dinarica — supported by USAID’s Economic Development, Governance and Enterprise Growth (EDGE) Project and GIZ’s Sustainable Rural Development in Albania — was created to make it easy for cyclists of all abilities to discover the region on two wheels. To that end, visitors to the route’s website will receive basic information about the trail for free and then pay a nominal fee for all the GPX tracks and information about accommodations and services across the entire Trans Dinarica.

“We hope travelers take advantage of the Trans Dinarica so they can better enjoy themselves on bicycles,” continues Klavora.

But, more than anything, we hope people will feel the magic that we have felt while traveling in this way across the region.

For more information about the route, or to contact the route’s designers, please visit the Trans Dinarica website or write to jan@goodplace.si.

Photo: Matevž Hribar