CNN names the Trans Dinarica bike trail among 2024’s best
The first cycle route to link the Western Balkans Region is making headlines across the planet.
The 4,500 km-long Trans Dinarica cycling route will highlight sustainable travel through national parks and UNESCO sites.
The Trans Dinarica bike trail has already made a splash in 2024. The first and only cycle route to link all eight countries of the Western Balkans was named as one of Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel experiences for the upcoming year. Then, following suit, Time Out, the Daily Mail, and Outside magazine proclaimed the new bicycle trail one of the year’s most important destinations and adventures.
Now, CNN, one the world’s largest news organizations, has named the Trans Dinarica route to its “Where to go in 2024: The best places to visit” list. According to the famous media outlet:
“Riders can enjoy Albania’s and Croatia’s spectacular coastlines, Kosovo’s national parks, Montenegro’s rugged mountains and lush woodland and sparkling rivers throughout Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia.”
It is easy to see why the publications assigned the cycling route such value. The Trans Dinarica makes the dream of cycling across this adventure-travel-rich corner of Southeastern Europe a reality for the first time. The bike trail, which is more than 4,500 kilometers long, connects Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Serbia. Cyclists will now be able to tackle around 90 stages that prioritize responsible travel, culture, national parks, and UNESCO sites while bringing a sustainable economic engine to communities across the western half of the Balkan Peninsula.
“From the beginning of the Trans Dinarica’s development until today, the idea is to give travelers a way to enjoy the region while moving safely and at their own speed,” says Jan Klavora, one of the route’s designers and a co-founder at GoodPlace: a Slovenia-based, sustainability-travel-focused NGO. “This region is perfect to discover by bicycle because of its hospitality and richness of heritage.”
The initial and main support for the Trans Dinarica trail came from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its “Economic Development, Governance, and Enterprise Growth in Europe and Eurasia,” or EDGE, project. In the fall of 2023, the Albanian office of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) provided assistance and investment for the stages crossing Albania. In 2024, RECONOMY, a regional program of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), implemented by Helvetas, provided valuable support.
For more information about the newest long-distance cycling route, subscribe for our e-mail updates, follow our Facebook and Instagram pages, and read other stories about Trans Dinarica.
