To find the best way of getting to Croatia, will be one of the most important factors in your holiday planning. Checking the Croatia’s geographic map your decision will depend on the country you are coming from.
Regarding the transport facilities, you can reach Croatia by air, by bus, by train, by car and by ferry. Croatia’s transportation network is satisfactory.
Ferry connections are cheap (internal coastal ferries), trustworthy, flights are also cheap and frequent, traveling by bus is comfortable and well-organized, arriving by car has become easier thanks to a new highway network.
The only Achilles heel of transportation, are trains. They are slow and connect only bigger towns. Lately I’ve notice some improvements regarding introduction of new and more modern trains.
Reaching Croatia by any of these means of transport, will also depend on the tourist season which covers the period from mid-April to the second half of October.
In lower season (April, May, October) there are less direct flights to Croatia and ferry connections are less frequent from Italy. The situation is reversed in high season (July and August) while in mid-season (June, September) when the flights are cheaper.
If you are flying from UK cities like Belfast, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle to Dubrovnik, Split and Pula.
In the peak season, it’s advisable to use a plane to reach Croatia, rather than driving to avoid a long lines at the borders (the worst is driving from Italy, crossing the border between Slovenia and Croatia).
Traveling by bus to reach Croatia, is the good solution, not only as the cheaper way but more comfortable and more frequent during the summer period.
Getting to Croatia – Entry points
There are about six main entry gates you’ll probably use when entering Croatia. Check all important airports in Croatia !
- Zagreb – the best way to reach Croatia’s capital is by plane, bus or train
- Split – in high season the best way is to use, plane, ferry (from Italy), train, bus and car. See the map!
- Dubrovnik – best reached by plane and ferry (from Italy). There is no train connection! See the map!
- Zadar – by plane, ferry (from Ancona Italy), bus, train and car. See the map!
- Pula – by plane, bus, fast catamaran (from Venice) and car. See the map!
- Rijeka – by plane, train, bus and car. See the map!
Reaching Croatia coming from various countries
Here are some of the best and cheapest suggestions if you are getting to Croatia from different destinations.
- Coming from USA and Canada – there are no direct flights to Croatia. The cheapest way is to fly to London and from there you have a large choice of flights to Croatia from UK.
- Coming from Northern Europe – during the high season countries like Denmark or Norway are connected by frequent flights to Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik and Pula.
- Germany is linked with several airline companies to Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik and more.
- Getting to Croatia from Italy – by ferry, car, seasonal flights.
- From Spain to Croatia – Low-cost airline Vueling flies to Split, Dubrovnik and Zagreb from May to September.
- From Serbia to Croatia – There are only seasonal flights from Belgrade to Split. There is also a bus service.