CCG2601 - Greece to Croatia
There’s probably a bit of nervousness for everyone at the beginning: a new bike, an unfamiliar region, a new group — and on top of that, the slightly chaotic traffic of Athens. But it quickly becomes clear that the group works well together. We leave the city without any issues and use the motorway to settle in and get comfortable with the bikes. Our first stop comes shortly after at the Corinth Canal. Impressive views, coffee, and the first photos of the tour — a great start to the trip. Before heading deeper into the Peloponnese, we make another short stop with wide views over the Aegean Sea and back towards mainland Greece. Afterwards, the first really enjoyable curves of the tour appear before we stop for lunch right by the water in Epidauros. Of course, a visit to the famous Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus is a must as well. From there, we continue through the hinterland towards Tolo. The roads are not always perfect, but the scenery more than makes up for it. A relaxed first riding day — and a pretty good start to the tour.
We leave Tolo behind and continue deeper into the Peloponnese towards Kalamata. Throughout the day, flowing coastal roads alternate with panoramic mountain sections, constantly changing the scenery and rhythm of the ride. Around midday we stop in a beautiful bay along the Argolic Gulf near Kyparissi. Fresh fish, grilled meat, good food and a view directly over the water – an easy place to spend more time than planned. In the afternoon, the route becomes more dramatic as we head into the Langada Pass in the Taygetus mountains. Endless curves, steep slopes and wide views make this stretch one of the riding highlights of the day. By the time we arrive in Kalamata, we’ve already experienced quite a variety of roads and landscapes in just a single riding day.
Let the games begin! Our day in Kalamata started with a wonderful breakfast buffet in our hotel close to the sea. The sun which shines bright on the majestic mountains around is pushing us to ride. After the short daily briefing we left our hotel and the Center of Kalamata behind us. We had a short stop at a church where the altar is hidden in a cave. Some pictures later and we continued our twisty tour to get some coffee. Some narrow and twisty roads lead us through amazing mountain villages until we arrived our lunch stop. Unfortunately we had to put our rain gear on shortly before we arrived there. When we were ready to hop back on the bikes a loud thunder made us clear that we will get really wet. And so it came. But the curvy and adventures road was fun anyways and so we arrived finally save at our hotel in Olympia. Some of us hurried up a bit to go on a walking tour through the archeological sites of Olympia with a local guide. Luckily the weather changed there already and the sun was back. We met all together again in the hotel restaurant where we had a great dinner from a rich buffet. The very beautiful sunset was just another highlight of this amazing day.
We leave Olympia behind and continue north. During our coffee stop, we once again become a bit of an attraction ourselves – some locals seem just as interested in our motorcycles as we are in their country. A little later we reach the impressive Rio–Antirrio Bridge, leaving the Peloponnese and returning to mainland Greece. What follows is a fantastic coastal road: small Greek bays, deep blue water and rolling hills constantly changing the scenery around us. Lunch is right on the beach. In the afternoon we continue to Delphi. Even upon arrival, the incredible view from the hotel over the valley and down towards the sea is impressive. A fantastic day – and in the evening we have another reason to celebrate: Carlos’ birthday.
The morning in the V-Hotel of Delphi began with a stunning view on the Pleistos valley. During the delicious breakfast we could enjoy that amazing view for some more time. We met in front of the hotel for our daily briefing. The clouds were getting darker and thicker so that we decided to put our rain gear on right away. That turned out as a good idea; just before we reached the peak of our first mountain pass at mount parnassos we got already pretty wet. We continued the curvy roads carefully to get to our first coffeestop. After the coffee, nice chats and card games with beautiful view we took some straight roads to make some miles. Shortly after we returned back on smaller and more curvy roads we got a surprise right behind a corner: Some vehicles, the police and a fair amount of mud just in the middle of the road. An accident? No, we end up on a rally track. The police let us pass and we rode just through the service area where the rally cars got their tires changed. Unfortunately we had to change our route because of the rally and so we ended up in the rain again. We stopped at a restaurant to get some lunch and decided to short cut our route a bit to not have to face so much rain. After we had some time to relax in the hotel and enjoy the stunning view on the Meteora rocks, we met for the dinner in the hotel restaurant. A very nice buffet with a huge variety of different food. We spent a nice evening all together but went to bet early to get some sleep in order to be ready for the next day.
Today is a rest day. In the morning, we take a comfortable bus tour to the famous Meteora Monasteries. Built on top of massive rock pillars rising high above the valley, the monasteries almost seem unreal from a distance. We visit three of them and get a closer look at both the fascinating history of the monasteries and the incredible landscape surrounding them. The views from the top are just as impressive as the rock formations themselves. The afternoon is all about relaxing. Some use the time to explore the center of Kalampaka, grab an ice cream or do a bit of shopping, while others prefer the spa area and a massage back at the hotel. A slower day for a change – sometimes a bit of relaxation is exactly what you need on a long motorcycle trip.
Even after the second night the view on the mountains of Meteora from the hotel room in the morning is impressive. So impressive that it takes a while to look away to go to the restaurant where the rich breakfast buffet is waiting for us. Several coffees later we met in the sun in front of the hotel for our dayli briefing and to take some pictures with that beautiful background. We got on the bikes and made our twisty way to Metsovo. In that very beautiful village we looked around, took some pictures and of course had another coffee before we hit the road again to avoid some rain. After a couple of curves and switchbacks we stopped in a tiny and wonderful little village for another coffee. We got hungry their already, so the surprise of the Picknick just around some more turns was perfectly timed and everyone were happy about the delicious variation of cold cuts, fruits and sweets. The next stop was the overall stunning Vikos gorge, where we spend some time to get a bunch of pictures of everyone before we were heading towards the Albanian border. It took quite some time there but finally we were riding in Albania and arrived soon in our tiny but beautiful hotel in Gjirokastra were we got very warm welcomed. We had some time left before the dinner and so some of the group met for some beers and smalltalk in the hotel restaurant. The dinner was a traditional 3 course menu which we enjoyed a lot. Everyone was pretty tired and so we went to bed quite early that day.
Today we leave Gjirokastër behind and continue towards Berat. The UNESCO World Heritage city is famous for its distinctive Ottoman houses climbing up the hillside, giving it the nickname “the city of a thousand windows.” We stop for lunch right by the Osum, with a great view of the historic white houses across the river – definitely one of the memorable stops of the tour. In the afternoon we leave Albania behind and continue towards Ohrid in North Macedonia. Our hotel is located directly on the shore of Lake Ohrid, one of the oldest and deepest lakes in Europe. Especially in the evening, the calm water and surrounding scenery create a special atmosphere. Another day full of different landscapes, cultures and impressions.
The morning in Ohrid starts with the beautiful view across the lake directly in front of our hotel. It’s a bit chilly this morning but we had some time to warm up during the breakfast and some coffee. After the briefing we made our way to the Albanian border again. Right after the border crossing we had our first coffee stop. Some of our group wanted to go on their own and so we split up. A bit weird feeling to leave some people behind to be honest, but since we knew it won’t be for long it was alright. Some curvy mountain roads led us to a tiny village where out of nothing a small cafe was on the side of the road. The very friendly owner served us some coffee and Softdrinks. We continued our curved journey until Kukes where we met the rest of the group for lunch at a very nice Restaurant directly at a lake. They served amazing traditional food. With fresh energy from that menu we continued all together towards Shkodra. After a while we got a little tired, so we stopped at a cafe again. It was so hot all day already that one of us couldn’t hold back and jumped right into the river next to the cafe. We arrived at our hotel in Shkodra and had some time left for a shower and a walk before we met in a restaurant around the corner for our dinner. The food there was just fabulous. It was a long day and so all were happy to go to bed early.
The church in front of our hotel in Shkodra ring their bells in the morning: Time to get up for another amazing day. It is cloudy and weather forecast isn’t really promising. We hurry everything a bit up to avoid the rain but of course got a nice breakfast at the buffet. We met at the bikes to talk about the day and started our journey right after. Some straight roads brought us out of the city and away from traffic. Some super nice mountain roads were waiting for us and we enjoyed the riding a lot. First up, than down again, several switchbacks, some nice sweepers, everything to make bikers happy. We arrived at the border to Montenegro, time to finally say goodbye to Albania. The time at the border check could be used for some relaxing. Afterwards it was time for the first coffee in Montenegro. We kept the stop short, until now we didn’t get any rain today and we hope it will remain like that. We rode a bit further until we got to a restaurant which was supposed to be our lunch stop. The weather forecast was now clearly showing rain and so all got their raingear off the bags already. We enjoyed our food and started after in direction of the next mountain pass. Some of our group decided to go around that one and so we split again. The road and the scenery was really beautiful up there and even the rain decided to keep away from us. And so we arrived dry and smiling at the fuel station where we met the rest of our group. Just a few minutes later and we arrived at our hotel where we had an amazing dinner
Most of the group takes full advantage of our wonderful hotel in Kolašin, enjoying the spa, wellness facilities and massage treatments. After several days on the road, a slower day is certainly well deserved. A small group, however, simply can't get enough of riding. Although we start a little later than usual, we still set off on what turns into a full-day tour. Kolašin is surrounded by mountain ranges and national parks, and today we explore several of them. The highlight is undoubtedly Durmitor National Park. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park is famous for its dramatic limestone peaks, deep canyons and vast high-altitude plateaus. Some of the roads are narrow and demanding, but the scenery more than rewards the effort. Around almost every corner, the landscape changes completely, revealing new rock formations, valleys and mountain vistas. Carlos sums it up perfectly: "It feels like we're riding on different planets." Looking around, it's hard to disagree.
From Kolašin we set off on the final riding day, once again heading through the mountains towards the coast. Crossing the Lovćen National Park, we ride through a mix of rocky landscapes and forested sections, with open views stretching far into the surrounding countryside. Inside the park, we stop for a picnic in nature and take a short break along the way. From there, a series of long switchbacks brings us down towards Kotor. The road offers repeated views of the Bay of Kotor, which cuts deep into the land and is framed by steep mountain slopes. After crossing the border into Croatia for the last time, we continue along the coast all the way to Dubrovnik. In the evening, we gather for our final shared dinner. Many stories are retold, moments from the past days are revisited, and the journey is reflected on together – a calm closing to an intense trip. Thank you to all participants for this great motorcycle tour.