Alpe Adria – MTB Transalp through Slovenia to the Mediterranean Sea

Crossing the Alps by bike is the dream of many passionate mountain bikers. While the most popular routes often end at Lake Garda, this one takes you farther east. You follow historic trails from Carinthian lakes in the Austrian Eastern Alps to Slovenia and follow the Soča Valley to the Italian coast near Trieste. You can expect a wonderful mix of challenging climbs, great panoramas and relaxed trails. Along the way, you come across war paths from the First World War and former bunkers and lookout posts, as well as beautiful landscapes, wild nature, exciting museums, rustic huts, and crystal clear rivers and lakes. You can tuck into plenty of culinary delights – from Carinthian Kasnocken (pasta dumplings covered in cheese) to traditional Slovenian dishes and Italy’s Mediterranean cuisine.

Route description
My version of the Alpe Adria route is primarily aimed at mountain bikers with a good fitness level. You should also be comfortable on trails up to category S2 and have a spirit for adventure. Some of the trails are less used than in other regions you know in the Alps. Because of this, the trails might be overgrown and not cleared of debris and branches for some time. Compared to some other Transalp, however, the share of single trails is manageable. Nevertheless, you can expect long and technically challenging trails. If you find them too difficult, I usually mention alternatives to the planned route in the comments.

Overnight accommodation
All of the recommended stage locations have a good selection of hotels, inns and guesthouses. It’s a good idea to reserve your accommodation in advance. In Slovenia, you should definitely not miss out on the beautiful campsites. At some of them, you can also rent a small hut if you don’t have your bivvy or tent with you.

If you adjust the stages a bit, you can also spend each night of this Transalp at a hut. In this case, I recommend splitting the days as follows:
Day 1: Wiesenhütte at Goldeck (half day stage)
Day 2: Kohlröslhütte
Day 3: Refuge Oisternig
Day 4: Poštarski dom na Vršiču
Day 5: Rifugio Casoni Solarie
Day 6: Gorizia or an inn/guesthouse along the continuing route to Trieste

Arrival/Departure
Your multi-day Tour starts in Spittal an der Drau, which is conveniently located and easy to reach by both public transport or by car via the Tauern freeway. Returning from Trieste to Munich central station takes about eight to ten hours. As a faster way to return home, there are specialised companies that offer a shuttle service back to your starting point or to a conveniently located station.

You can find information about this here: alpeadria.bike/index.php/transfer