Following a flight into Ljubljana, the small and leafy Slovenian capital, we have a short 45 minute transfer to Lake Bled.

This modestly sized lake is one of the most popular sites in Slovenia and although it sees its fair share of visitors it’s perfect for an evening stroll around the lake, complete with a picture postcard island church and medieval clifftop castle against the backdrop of the Julian Alps.

After assembling our bikes for the journey south we head out to a local restaurant together for our first evening meal. Over dinner the Skedaddle team will brief the party and explain what you can expect from our Slovenian and Croatian adventure.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,700 Metres Approx.

We leave the lake behind as we head west along the Sava Dolinka river valley. The first part of the ride includes a short busy section leaving the ever-popular Lake Bled behind.

Things quieten as we make our way gradually up the valley to Slovenia’s most famous ski resort of Kranjska Gora which is often used in the World Cup downhill circuit. From here we ride due south to tackle the most famous climb in Slovenia – the Vrisic Pass (1,611m). Our trip up and over the pass involves an impressive 50 hairpins in total. The bends on the climb are cobbled as they wind through the forest, but thankfully there are no cobbles on the exhilarating descent. Although undoubtedly a good early challenge, the climb is perfectly attainable for any regular road cyclist. The road is an engineering marvel commissioned by Germany and Austro-Hungary during the First World War and was built by Russian prisoners of war.

In the afternoon we lose well over 1,000m in height as we descend down the Soca valley to rest up in Kobarid. A small town surrounded by alpine peaks, it also has a Mediterranean feel with the Italian border only 5.5 miles/9km away.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,500 Metres Approx.

We spend the majority of the day in the region of Promorska where alpine flora and fauna starts to give way to a more Mediterranean feel. The terrain is definitely still alpine as we tackle a number of smaller passes which crisscross the Trnovski Gozd mountain range with views to the vineyards of the Vipava valley.

The Alps meets Mediterranean landscape eventually gives way to a dramatic limestone karst terrain, as we rest up in the town of Postonja. The cave system at Postojna is one of Slovenia’s most popular attractions with world-class stalagmite and stalactite formations. Though we may not have time to explore the cave we will have time to sample some local Slovenian reds before we cross the border tomorrow.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,550 Metres Approx.

We’ll be keeping passports handy today as we bid farewell to Slovenia and cross the border into Croatia. That’s not to say that we don’t have plenty of Slovenia still to enjoy as we continue our journey south from Postojna across a fascinating karst plateau landscape, the highlight of which appears at around 15.5 miles/25km into our ride as we reach the town of Skocjan, also famous for its UNESCO World Heritage caves.

Moving on we continue along a series of rolling and winding country lanes which generally lead us downhill for a further 25 miles/40kms until we reach the border with Croatia and cross over into the northern region of the Istrian Peninsula. Facing the Adriatic and sitting at the foot of the alps this part of Istria is, to a large extent, undiscovered and unspoilt, offering wonderful riding opportunities and challenges, the first of which, a 1.5 mile/2.5km climb averaging around 10% greets almost as soon as we arrive!

12 more lumpy miles/20 kms later through an olive and truffle producing landscape reminiscent of Tuscany, we take one final challenging switchback climb to arrive in the fortified medieval hilltop town of Motovun which will be our home for the evening.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,350 Metres Approx.

Motovun to Porec, as the crow flies, is only around 12.5 miles / 20kms. That said, taking the shortest route feels like cheating. We’d be denying ourselves the opportunity to explore some of Istria’s most beautiful countryside and wouldn’t fully get to experience the most authentic sights of the Istrian interior. So we’ll be taking the scenic route today!

We begin by heading north and ride through vineyards, olive groves and medieval villages almost all the way back to the border, passing through the village of Momjan, famous for its Muscat.

Along the way we’ll pay a visit to the small renaissance town of Groznjan, known as city of artists, where almost every house entrance is a small gallery or art studio.

Gradually as the day progresses we will find we’ve changed direction completely as we head south and then west and drop down to the seaside town of Porec located on the western shores of peninsula. Porec will be our home for the next two evenings.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,675 Metres Approx.

Today’s loop ride will take us away from the coast and right back into the heart of the peninsula, via a network of lovely rural lanes, to explore yet more medieval hilltop villages, vine-clad hills and laid-back communities. Our mainly rolling route is not without challenges, the most significant of which presents itself around 25 miles/40kms into our ride with a leg-burning 2 mile/3km climb up to the tiny village of Vrh.

To complete the loop we head back to the coast with the rest of the day put aside for relaxing in Porec, enjoying the café culture or perhaps visiting one of the many interesting historical sites such as the Roman Forum or the UNESCO listed Euphrasian Basilica.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 850 Metres Approx.

Our final day on the bikes takes us, initially, back into the peninsula’s interior to visit the charming wine region of Malvasija – most famous for producing Istrian whites.

Early in the stage we’ll pass through the ruined medieval town of Dvigrad, dominated by the remains of a Roman basilica where, legend has it, lies the undiscovered treasure of the British pirate Captain Morgan. A short climb out of Dvigrad brings us to a rolling road which leads us through a series of small picturesque towns such as Kanfanar and Svetvincenat, before reaching the incredibly photogenic town of Rovinj, perched on a rocky outcrop and looking out into the Adriatic sea, the perfect place to draw a conclusion to our Slovenian/Croatian adventure.

• Meals: Breakfast

Alas it is time to bid farewell to Slovenia & Croatia. We’ll transfer you to Pula airport in time for return flights.