I’m planning a trip through the balkans coming summer. This is the first draft of my route (I like a mountainous route, about 3000km with 45000m of elevation.)
What I’m a bit scared of are the loose dogs, In Greece I heard you can come across mountain dogs that are not too friendly. Has anyone experience in using dog repllent like an ultrasonic device or a spray? Does this also work to scare of other wildlife as boars or bears?
Route tips are also welcome, already read some useful tips from a different thread about the Balkans.
by tjebl5
2 Comments
Balkaner here. Stand your ground + good high capacity pepper spray (you should have one anyway). All times I’ve stopped completely and turned the bike sideways to the dog/s (to seem larger) they’ve stopped bothering me and distanced themselves. A few times I didn’t feel like stopping and was still getting chased I sprayed a bit of pepper spray behind my ass, worked instantly.
Not that I have experience with acoustic repellents but I’ve heard mixed things about them.
Also In Croatia I recommend taking road 50 (Otočac – Gračac) instead of road 1 unless you’re dead set on seeing Plitvice lakes. Unlike road 50, road 1 is very busy both with tourists and truckers during the summer, and is more boring to boot IMO.