Split to Hvar

We were really up with the birds this morning; the alarm went off at 5.40am. We had breakfast, and we all walked to the ferry - it's a chillier 13c this morning. The views of Split from the ferry were worth the early alarm. It's a spectacular city with stark, rocky mountains and clear skies in the background.

The 2 hour ferry ride was uneventful, although the locals are certainly a noisy bunch - lots of loud conversations, especially on the telephones. The last half hour of the ride was slow as we entered a narrow channel as we headed into Stari Grad on the island of Hvar. A 58km ride awaits us!

Once off the ferry, we saddled up, and we did a loop ride to Jelsa, a 17km ride through rolling countryside with vineyards and then along beautiful coastline. We had a quick softdrink in Jelsa and then wound up the hill before stopping for morning tea and some lovely local biscuits.

The ride to lunch was challenging with a 10km hill climb, peaking at 458m above sea level. There are some other bike tours following this route, and our lunch stop was located at the top of the island, where there was a small stall selling cycling jerseys and lavender products. I bought myself a souvenir Croatia jersey! Lunch was once again excellent, and we were both famished after the big climb.

The final 12kms was a rewarding decsent except for a 1.5km steep climb to our hotel in Hvar, Amfora Hvar Grand Beach Resort. The views along the last few kilometres of our ride were a sneak preview of the views from our lovely hotel room. Day 11 ride finished, and another 58km notched up!

The world is a much better place after a negroni with views of the sunset over the Adriatic. We enjoyed a casual dinner at the balcony bar overlooking the sea, chatting with Jeremy and Emily - what a lovely couple.Read more