Adriatic Highway

The Jadranska Magistrala was built through the late 1950s and 1960s and finished in 1965, running the length of the Croatian coast from Rijeka to the southern border, cut into cliffs and carried around headlands for something over six hundred kilometres. It transformed the coast: places that had been reached by boat or by mule track were suddenly a drive away, and mass tourism followed within a decade, along with the hotel building that shaped the modern Adriatic. Since the A1 motorway opened inland the coast road has lost its through traffic, which has made it what it now mostly is - a slow scenic drive rather than a trunk route.

What's there

• Six hundred kilometres of coast road - finished in 1965.
• The road that opened the Adriatic - and brought the tourism that followed.
• Cliff cuttings and headland curves - the engineering along the way.
• Quieter since the motorway - through traffic now runs inland.

When to go

May to June and September to October, avoiding the August traffic. Several days.

Practical notes

It is a two-lane road with poor overtaking and a bad accident record, particularly in summer and in bura wind. Progress is slow. Sections around towns are congested. Fuel and stopping places are uneven in the southern stretches.

Nearby

Everything on the coast connects to it, from Senj to Ston.

Key facts