diff --git a/relp_handler.go b/relp_handler.go
index 54e0e98..def43e4 100644
--- a/relp_handler.go
+++ b/relp_handler.go
@@ -74,7 +74,11 @@ func (r *RELPHandler) connectToRELPServer() (net.Conn, error) {
 	if parsedURL.Scheme != "tcp" {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("RELP URL must have the tcp scheme, got %s", parsedURL.Scheme)
 	}
-	conn, err := net.Dial("tcp", parsedURL.Host)
+	host, port, err := net.SplitHostPort(parsedURL.Host)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Error splitting host and port: %v", err)
+	}
+	conn, err := net.Dial("tcp", net.JoinHostPort(host, port))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}