Croatia - Southern Dalmatia Plus - Bike and Barge Holiday ****

Our first sea based bike and barge tour was a delight. We booked through Saddle Skedaddle, an English company and it was operated by a company called Island Hopping. We joined our boat called the Melody in the Croatian port of Trogir and were quickly settled into our twin cabin on the upper deck. The Melody was a good sized boat and accommodated our large group of 25 riders without a problem. About two thirds of our group, including my partner, opted for the Cube hybrid ebikes, while the rest of us opted for the cube manual hybrid bikes. Over the following week we visited different ports each day, mostly on the islands that are prevalent in Southern Dalmatia, but also two on the mainland. The rides from the ports other than in Split, required us to climb from the port up into the surrounding hills/mountains and by the Thursday I was delighted to have the opportunity to ride one of the ebikes for the biggest daily climb of the week. After having struggled at times on the manual bikes throughout the week, it was a delight to try the ebike and enjoy the big climbs, further reinforcing my desire to try a full E Road bike tour. The accommodation was excellent, the food was nicely prepared and varied, the bar has excellent drink choices and we really enjoyed the experience. Our guides were efficient and effective, but not as personable as some on other rides.