Information on the
Drava Cycling Route

Drava Cycling Route in Slovenia and Croatia

The Slovenian section of the Drava Cycling Route predominantly runs along less travelled local roads and to a lesser extent along arranged cycling paths and tracks. Due to various types of road surface and a more demanding climb between Podvelka and Lovrenc na Pohorju, the Slovenian section of the route is more suitable for better prepared cyclists. Trekking or mountain bikes are recommended. The climb to Lovrenc na Pohorju can be avoided by using a train connection between Podvelka and Fala.

The route starts at the border crossing Vič. We continue towards Dravograd, and then on the other side of the river Drava through Bukovje, Trbonje, Dravče, Vuzenica, and Vuhred until we reach Podvelke. Here, the route turns right, where we face the only difficult climb of the route, about 6 km to Janževski vrh, Lehen, and Lovrec na Pohorju. From Lovrenc, we continue our route through Puščava and Činžat to the village Fala, where we once again cycle right along Drava, crossing the hydroelectric power plant Fala (the oldest hydroelectric power plant on the river Drava), and then continue along the Apple Trail to Ruše. Through Bezena, Bistrica ob Dravi, Laznica, and Limbuš, past Maribor Island, a unique river island in Slovenia, we soon reach the second largest Slovenian city – Maribor.

From Maribor to Ptuj, we have a choice of two cycling routes. A more levelled route with less traffic is the one through Miklavž na Dravskem polju, Starše, and Hajdina. The alternative on the left bank of the Drava River runs over a few short and easy climbs and drops through Malečnik and Trčovo to Zgornji and Spodnji Duplek. We first cycle through Vurberk and Krčevina, and soon reach Ptuj, the oldest Slovenian city. The route then continues along Lake Ptuj, through Zabovce, Nova vas pri Markovcih and Stojnce, to Muretinci and Ormož. From Ormož, the route takes us past fields, through villages to Središče ob Dravi, where we cross the border to Croatia. The cycling route then once again comes near to the preserved section of the river Drava. We soon reach Varaždin, a city with an excellently preserved city centre.

The last section of the route runs partly along Lake Varaždin, through attractive villages to Lake Dubrava, and past Prelog towards Donja Dubrava, where it once again meets the river Drava. Here, we cross the river and make our way towards Legrad, where we can see the confluence of Mura and Drava.