Croatia · Kvarner and Dalmatia · Premium route guide
Croatian Adriatic Highway D8 - Rijeka to Zadar
The coast road under the Velebit, islands on one side and bare rock on the other.
Rijeka, Bakar, Crikvenica, Novi Vinodolski, Senj, Jablanac, Karlobag, Tribanj, Starigrad Paklenica, Maslenica and Zadar, all on the coastal D8. Built from our own track.
- Distance
- 232.8 km
- Peak elevation
- 366 m
- Elevation gain
- 2,174 m
- Best months
- May–Jun, Sep–Oct
- Croatia · Kvarner · Lika-Senj · Dalmatia
- One-way
- 100% paved
The route
The Adriatic Highway, the D8, follows the coast below the Velebit mountains. The section from Senj via Karlobag to Tribanj is the highlight: almost no towns, the road cut into the rock high above the sea, and the islands of Rab and Pag across the channel. Our track stays on the D8 and never uses the A1 or A7 motorways.
Works with Garmin, TomTom, BMW Navigator, Calimoto, Kurviger, komoot, MyRouteApp. Import as a track to ride the exact line. Road data from OpenStreetMap (ODbL); elevation from SRTM.
Track vs. route, how to load this into your GPS
What you are downloading is a GPX track, a dense, road-snapped breadcrumb of the exact line, with elevation on every point. It is not a GPX route (a short list of turn waypoints your device re-plans between). Tracks preserve our road choice; routes let the device pick its own way and can send you down a boring motorway shortcut.
How to use it on your navigator:
- BMW Navigator / Garmin Zumo / zumo XT: import as a track, then Convert to Route (or Trip Planner, new trip from track) if you want turn by turn prompts. Keep Recalculation off so it stays on our line.
- TomTom Rider: import the GPX in MyDrive, it loads as a track / itinerary. Enable Follow the exact route so it does not re-plan.
- Calimoto: open the GPX and choose Import as tour, Calimoto follows the track line.
- Kurviger / komoot / MyRouteApp: open the GPX and pick Import as track to keep the road choice. Only choose Import as route if you want the app to re-plan for your bike profile.
- Google Maps / Apple Maps: these do not read GPX. Use the map on this page for turn cues, or import the file into a GPX capable app first.
Rule of thumb: if your device asks "track or route?", pick track to ride our exact line, pick route only if you want the device to re-plan.
Elevation profile
From ~-1 m at the base to 366 m at the top, 2,174 m of total climbing across the route.
Our track is 233 km with about 2,170 m of climbing, roughly 6 hours of riding without stops. It includes the short drop to the harbour at Jablanac.
Why ride it
Hundreds of coastal curves, the old Uskok fortress in Senj, the bare white Velebit slopes, Paklenica gorge at Starigrad, and the Maslenica bridges before Zadar.
Hazards
The bura wind, slippery polished asphalt when wet, tourist traffic and campers in summer, rockfall, and few places to overtake.
Fuel
Fuel in Rijeka, Crikvenica, Novi Vinodolski, Senj, Karlobag, Starigrad and Zadar. The stretch between Senj and Karlobag has very few stations.
Best months and difficulty
May to June and September to October. Difficulty: moderate.
What to see along the way
- Rijeka - Start of the route.
- Bakar - Old town on a deep bay.
- Crikvenica - Seaside resort.
- Novi Vinodolski - Coastal town, fuel.
- Senj - Nehaj fortress, start of the best section.
- Jablanac - Small harbour below the road.
- Karlobag - Coastal village under the Velebit.
- Tribanj - End of the wild section.
- Starigrad Paklenica - Gateway to Paklenica National Park.
- Maslenica - Bridges over the Novigrad sea.
- Zadar - End of the route.
Rent a bike
Rent a motorcycle or scooter for Croatian Adriatic Highway D8 - Rijeka to Zadar
Flying in? Pick up a bike near the start of the route. We've pre-filled the pick-up city with Senj - change it if you're basing elsewhere.
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