Previous post : https://www.reddit.com/r/bikepacking/comments/1oyhsw8/switzerland_greece_13_the_alps/
Following our crossing of the Alps from Western Switzerland, we then followed the Eurovelo 8 route through Croatia and Montenegro. We joined the EV8 above Rijeka (coming from Slovenia) and we left it after Kotor Serpentines (in Montenegro).
Overall, the route is well designed (we followed the GPX from the official website which vastly differs to what is baked on OSM Cycle), it manages to follow the coast and avoids the busy D8 90% of the time. The landscape are breathtaking, especially the gravel roads above Senj and the ones before Makarska. So I definitely recommend following the EV8. We were with 32 tyres and we only had to push maybe 2 hours over two weeks.
Don’t listen to the Internets : the Croatian drivers were actually nice to us, giving us space. We only felt in danger on the D8 after Dubrovnik, because the road was narrow and Southern drivers are less chill than on the North. Montenegro drivers near Kotor are a bit the same, but we felt safe around Kotor Bay and in the Serpentines.
On the downsides, they are well-known, especially if you’re not prepared (like me) : old cities are so touristics that it’s un-bearable (for me), and on the coast, prices reach Western-Europe-level, sometimes Switzerland-level.
by BossDeFinAuloin