Bikepacking the Balkans: From Durres (Albania) to Trieste (Italy)

In September 2023 me and my friend Nora did our first bikepacking trip together, a 800k mixed surface adventure through the Balkan heartlands Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Croatia. Both new terrain and a new experience riding together for us, a risky move that turned out to be the trip of our lives.Every day of this trip felt like a gift, and countless times we found ourselves shaking our heads at the jawdropping landscapes that were unfolding before our eyes. Crossing from one Balkan country into the next every couple of days, we started noticing distinct differences between them, but the mesmerizing landscapes and hospitality of the locals were a constant. While Nora was on a gravelbike with 38mm tires, and I tried to accomodate for this by planning a route without too chunky gravel, the data on Balkan roads turns out to not always be complete or reliable. Some of the gravel roads were most definitely more rough than anticipated, and were tough to ride even with a (loaded) hardtail. However, they will still bring you to beautiful places - you just might have to walk your bike a bit ;-)
Some sections are calm, tarmac roads, which should be a welcome change of surface after working hard for a few days. While the originally planned route was 1450 km and lead all the way from the port of Durres (Albania) to Trieste (Italy), my vacation days were limited, so after 10 blissful days of riding with Nora, we had to split up in Mostar (Bosnia). While I rode towards Split to catch my ferry to Italy, Nora had a few more days and continued over the Croatian islands to Trieste, hopping on and off a couple ferries. While both are valid options for people short on time, the original route continues over the mainland of Croatia all the way to Trieste. We will surely return to Mostar to do the last part of the original route, as we are very curious to see whether this part is as stunning as we planned it. We have improved the full route based on our experiences riding the first 800k, and adapted some parts because of dangerous traffic conditions or better alternatives. For anybody interested to ride this tour who has more time, we would recommend starting from the full curated tour, which will offer you a fantastic adventure on the bike and will no doubt make you fall in love with the Balkans, like it did for us.The full 1450 km route can be found here: komoot.com/tour/1286609953