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Milna, Brac

Travel question: Island day trips from Split and Dubrovnik in May

I am spending three nights Split and three nights in Dubrovnik in late May. I was wondering if you had any suggestions about possible ferry day trips to go on while in either of these two cities?

A.

Island day trips from Split in May

From Split, either Hvar Town or Milna on Brac (but not both on the same day!) would be most suitable locations for ferry day trips. This catamaran (which runs daily in late May) sails to both places, departing from Split quite early in the day and then making the return journey in the evening. This means you would get a full day on either Brac or Hvar.

Island day trips from Split - Milna on Brac

Milna on the island of Brac

Jadrolinija do also have sailings to Hvar Town. However, in late May they don’t yet have any in the morning (with a return in the afternoon/evening) meaning you can’t use their sailings for a day trip to Hvar at this time of year. They do, however, have a slow car ferry to Stari Grad on Hvar but at two hours sailing each way, that’s quite a lot of travel time! 

Vis is also not suitable as an island day trip by public ferry from Split.

For something closer and more ‘off the beaten track’, how about the island of Solta? Definitely possible as a day trip from Split (with Jadrolinija, sailing time 1 hour) you can find out more details about the island on the tourist office website. A tranquil place away from the crowds, it would certainly earn you brownie points as a place that not many people visit or have heard of! Travel expert Simon Calder wrote an article in the Independent on visting this island: Slavic secret Solta is steeped in history and rich in beauty.

Island day trips from Dubrovnik in May

From Dubrovnik, you can visit one (or possibly two, if you time it right!) of the Elafiti islands of Sipan, Lopud and Kolocep with Jadrolinija.

Unfortunately, there are no sailings in late May that make a day trip to the islands of Korcula or Mljet possible.

Of course, visiting the small island of Lokrum *is* possible! There are frequent sailings from Dubrovnik’s Old Town – see the timetable on the official Lokrum website.

Happy day-tripping!

New flights to Croatia in 2017

We’re pleased to say that there have been many, many direct flights from the UK and Ireland to Croatia for years…but that doesn’t stop new routes being announced all the time! Here we check out new flights to Croatia in 2017 to make planning your trip that little bit easier.

New flights to Croatia in 2017

New Easyjet flights to Zadar, Dubrovnik and Pula

Despite already having a very strong presence in the country, Easyjet announced a handful of new routes to Croatia for 2017. For the first time, they will fly to Zadar – flights from London Luton will start on 27th May (to 30th September) and operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

They’ve flown to Dubrovnik for a number of years, but this year they will also operate flights from Manchester and Belfast Airports. From Manchester, they will fly twice weekly (Wednesdays and Saturdays) from 22nd July, whilst from Belfast it’s also twice-weekly (Tuesdays and Sundays) from 14th May.

Bristol Airport – already connected to Dubrovnik and Split – will now also see flights to Pula with Easyjet this year. This route will start on 27th May (to 30th September) and only operate once a week, on Saturdays.

Unfortunately, Easyjet have dropped their Newcastle – Split route

New Ryanair flights from Bristol and Glasgow to Zadar

Zadar is very firmly Ryanair‘s base in Croatia and to their long-established routes from London Stansted, Manchester and Dublin, they will also start flying from Bristol and Glasgow. Bristol – Zadar has already started for the season (to 28th October 2017), flying on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Glasgow – Zadar will also fly twice a week (Mondays and Fridays) but only in peak season – this route starts on 3rd July to 28th August.

Ryanair have dropped their London Stansted to Osijek route in 2017, meaning Osijek is no longer connected to the UK.

Jet2.com new flights from London Stansted to Pula, Split and Dubrovnik

London is of course very well connected to almost all of Croatia’s airports, but a few more flights just adds to the choice available to travellers! Jet2.com will fly from London Stansted to Pula from 24th April (Sunday initially; Wednesdays and Sundays from 1st May); to Split from 26th June (Sunday initially; Wednesdays and Sundays from 3rd July); and to Dubrovnik from 24th April (initially Saturdays only; Tuesdays and Saturdays from 1st May; Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 22nd May).

Jet2.com will also start flying from East Midlands Airport to Split from 24th April to 1st October 2017 (once a week, on Sundays) and from Glasgow to Dubrovnik from 24th April to 22nd October 2017 (on Sundays).

New Monarch flights to Zagreb

Croatia’s coastal airports see new routes introduced all the time…so it’s very pleasing to see that capital city Zagreb will also get some new connections this year! From the 28th April, Monarch will fly thrice-weekly from London Gatwick (on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) and twice weekly from Manchester (on Mondays and Saturdays) to Zagreb. The latter route is certainly very welcome as it is the first non-London connection to Zagreb for quite some time. It was also recently announced that these routes will operate year-round – very pleasing to hear.

British Airways to fly to Pula in 2017

There aren’t many flights from London Heathrow to Croatia, but British Airways is seemingly doing its best to change that! Already flying to both Zagreb and Split from that airport, they will also fly from London Heathrow to Pula in 2017 – twice a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays) from 1st July to 30th September.

Aer Lingus introduce a Dublin to Split route

Already operating flights to Pula and Dubrovnik, Aer Lingus will now fly from Dublin to the central Dalmatian city of Split in 2017. From 27th May to 28th October, they will fly twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Other flight news

Norwegian appear to have dropped their Gatwick – Pula route for 2017, although will still fly to Split and Dubrovnik.

Thomson have dropped their Newcastle – Dubrovnik route.

Croatia Airlines have sold some of their London Heathrow slots; however, they are currently leasing some of these slots back so for the time being, continue to fly to Zagreb eight times a week.

Happy flying!

Ferries in Croatia - Jadrolinija catamaran

New Jadrolinija catamaran line from Dubrovnik to Korcula, Hvar and Bol!

Croatia’s main ferry company Jadrolinija will be running a brand new catamaran line for summer 2016! The new Jadrolinija catamaran line will connect Dubrovnik with Korcula, Hvar Town and Bol – meaning that some of the Croatia’s most popular destinations and islands are connected.

Ferries in Croatia - Jadrolinija catamaran

A Jadrolinija catamaran departing Hvar Town

Operating daily from 1st July to 11th September, the catamaran will sail from Dubrovnik in the morning and make the return journey in the late afternoon/evening. That means that you could potentially make day trips to Hvar and Bol from Dubrovnik using this catamaran service. (And to Korcula of course as well – although this was already possible.)

What will also interest many travellers is that this catamaran can also be used to make day trips from Hvar to Bol on Brac! (Although, as you can see from the timetable, not the other way around.) There’s currently only a catamaran service – also run by Jadrolinija – connecting Jelsa on Hvar with Bol.

The full timetable:

Dubrovnik - Korcula - Hvar - Bol

Full details of this service and prices can be found on the Jadrolinija website. We’d definitely recommend pre-booking this Jadrolinija catamaran if you intend to travel on it – booking can be done Jadrolinija’s homepage – as we’re sure this will be an exceedingly popular service.

Kapetan Luka have run another catamaran service for a few years which has also proved to be exceedingly popular. Their service also runs daily (in high summer), and several times a week in May and October, connecting Split, Milna (Brac), Hvar Town, Korcula, Pomena (Mljet) and Dubrovnik. This line however goes from Split in the early morning (reaching Dubrovnik at midday), and from Dubrovnik in the late afternoon (reaching Split at 8.20pm). The full timetable, prices and ticket booking can be found on the Kapetan Luka website.

For more on travelling around Croatia by sea, check out our Ferries in Croatia and Ferry and Catamaran Prices sections.

Bon voyage!

Uber on the Croatian coast!

Yesterday Uber‘s uberX service launched in two of Croatia’s most popular destinations for visitors – Split and Dubrovnik. Having already launched in Zagreb in October 2015, locals and visitors alike can now use Uber services in these two new locations using the Uber app.

Uber Croatia

01.06.2016.,Split- Zapadna obala, Riva; lucka kapetanija, Ela Dvornik za Uber.

To celebrate the launch, Uber are very excitingly offering free uberX rides this weekend to all users, new and existing. All users can request up to two free rides by using the code BESPLATNIVIKEND (which is Croatian for ‘free weekend’) in the Uber app.

uberX will operate in Dubrovnik during peak season (June to October) and in Split all year round.

“We want to make the Croatian coastline even better and safer for the millions of tourists visiting our country, adding our contribution to local tourism and celebrating one of the most beautiful places in the world. We have been present in Zagreb for over 6 months, providing safe, reliable and affordable transportation – we’ve been overwhelmed by the response there. Today, we take a step towards becoming a national service, as we launch licensed uberX, in Split and Dubrovnik” said Davor Tremac, Uber Croatia General Manager.

Uber currently offers various services in over 65 other countries around the world, including 21 European Union member states.

All uberX drivers in Croatia are qualified and licensed professionals who have passed rigorous criminal background checks and who hold commercial insurance. Every driver is self-employed, and chooses the hours they wish to work.

Uber is a cashless service as all payments are made electronically using a credit card linked to the user’s account. This means that professional drivers no longer have to carry cash and all transactions are fully traceable. At the end of every trip a receipt is automatically emailed to the rider which includes a breakdown of the fare, details of the driver and an overview of the exact route taken, as all rides are tracked by GPS.

Pricing of Uber on the Croatian coast

Uber’s journeys on the Croatian coast will have a starting fare of 9 Kunas ($1.34/€1.20), then priced at 5 Kunas per KM/0.5 Kunas per minute and will have a minimum fare of 15 Kunas ($2.23/€2).

Some popular journeys will have a flat fare:

  • Split to Dubrovnik – 228 km: 1,500 Kunas ($223/€200)
  • Split port to Split Airport – 26 km: 225 Kunas ($34/€30)
  • Dubrovnik Pile gate to Dubrovnik Airport – 21 km: 180 kn ($27/€24)
  • Dubrovnik Port Gruž to Dubrovnik Pile gate – 3.3 km: 55 Kunas ($8/€7.3)
Dalmatia in September 2015 - Split

Reader’s Review: Dalmatia in September 2015 – Part 2 – Hvar & Split

Following on from part one of Neil Killeen’s excellent report of Dalmatia in September here’s the second part of his travelogue. Here, Neil recounts his experiences of visiting and staying on/in the island of Hvar and Split, exploring the sights of both destinations.

Dalmatia in September 2015 – Part 2

by Neil Killeen

Our next stop was Hvar town. We decided to take one of the day trip boats to Jelsa (their first stop) on Hvar island and then catch a bus. The alternative was bus to Split and ferry to Hvar. This was a bit quicker and nicer we thought. So you pay about 100 kuna I think it was for the transfer to Jelsa. That was our first Adriatic boat trip.

Dalmatia in September 2015 - Figure – On the way to Jelsa

On the way to Jelsa

At Jelsa harbour it was not at all obvious where the bus station was and we didn’t have a lot of time to find it. Google was not helping (and by the way my “covermore.com” global sim card worked well in all of Croatia – it came with my travel insurance). However, a very helpful man selling stuff in an outdoor stand gave us directions and we found it OK. It’s about a 10 min walk from the harbour. The bus trip was really pretty around the western coast of Hvar. Some guy in a Mercedes was not happy with the bus driver and chased about for a while (we didn’t feel any collision so we really don’t know what that was about).

At Hvar town our host and sister kindly collected us from the bus station. Nothing is very far away, but when you first arrive, finding places in the often multilply-named windy and hilly Croatian streets can be a bit tricky. We had a nice sea view from our accommodation.

Dalmatia in September 2015 - Hvar

View from Hvar apartment

It turned out we were just a few minutes walk to the nicest beach in Hvar, and from there around to the harbour. The demographic in Hvar is a bit younger and upmarket. As you head north from Dubrovnik to Split I think there is a general evolution to a more lively environment. We happened across an Orson Wells exhibition there. It turned out his last companion, the actress Oja Kodar, is Croatian. Her met her in Hvar in 1967 working on a film he never finished called “The Deep”. She lives now near Split.

There is an old fort above the town which is well worth walking up to (it’s a nice walk). Its origins are late BC with much building and rebuilding over the next 2000 years as Hvar’s strategic importance waxed and waned. In the fort is a really interesting display of pots and other relics from a ship wreck dated to 2nd century BC. How cool is that!

Dalmatia in September 2015 - Figure – Prison Cell in the Fort, Hvar

Prison Cell in the Fort

Dalmatia in September 2015 - Hvar

Pots from 2nd century BC ship wreck

We couldn’t go to the green caves and other marine destinations, as it was a bit too windy. I think the operators were all a bit relieved to have a day or two off! Most nights there was music in the main town square. We enjoyed a band and singer who performed energetically and well for a couple of hours. We even had a little dance (Salsa) in the square to some of the music to enormous acclaim from some of the other listeners (but see Split!).

From Hvar we took the fast cat to Split. Our host met us at a church near the harbour and took us to the apartment. Nice and close to the main part of the city at the harbour. Split is a fabulous city, although, as a short-term tourist I think we get a rather protected slice of life. Split is especially famous for its Roman palace founded in the 4th Century. The emperor (Dicolesian I think was his name) was very unusual because he retired still living. Almost all of the Roman emperors were assassinated. I think it was the third century which saw 100 emperors come and largely go. (I learned this in a Rome museum).

Ri decided to have a sleep and I went out to explore the day trip options. One of the spruikers was a young woman, with whom, for some reason, I immediately found myself deeply engaged in a conversation about the history of Split and the Balkans in general. After 45 minutes she declared she really didn’t want to sell me day trip! She advised me that we should do one of the palace tours with a certain company, so we did. The palace is amazing. It’s large and is still lived in. It’s seen 1800 years of cultural and architectural change, and that’s all charted through its living buildings. You can see the edge of a roman road inside of the bank for example!

Dalmatia in September 2015 - Split

The Bell Tower in the Palace

We experienced more traditional Croatian music here. This time it was a military band and all male-choir. To be honest it was a bit dull. The musicians were very polished (and look great in their lovely all white uniforms) but the music was very ‘samey’ (too much of anything is not a good thing) with endless Croatian folk songs. Worse, although the choir was some 15 strong, the arrangements weren’t very interesting with virtually all the men singing the same part in unison. I happen to sing in a choir, so I know I’m picky, but I really felt their talent was not being used as well it could have been. However, the locals appeared to be loving it, so we were happy to leave them to their fun.

Now the main square inside the palace under the bell tower is a fabulous place to be in the summer evenings. There is a Café that opens onto the square, and they hire musicians to perform every night. People sit around on the steps and the waiters zoom around making a fortune on drinks! Note, it is unwise to order “a beer”. What you will get is a very large vat of beer. If you want one that won’t last a week, ask for a “very small beer” please. We trotted out our little Salsa act here too – the musicians were brilliant every night; usually duos with really varied repertoire. One evening, a young couple got up to dance. The man was dressed in fairly ordinary ‘travel clothes’, but the woman was very elegantly dressed. Then they danced. Phew. It was HOT. They didn’t actually do a lot (in terms of ‘moves’) but their ‘moving’ was really sexy and beautiful to watch. We didn’t get up to dance again after that, you can be sure!

Dalmatia in September 2015 - Split

More of the palace

We finally managed a day trip from Split. We went to the ‘blue lagoon’. The trip consisted of 1) going to a bay on an island and jump in and swim, 2) going to another bay on another island, where the water was slightly blue-er, jump in and swim. The boat had a couple of face masks which you could use to admire the seaweed and a few desultory fish, 3) go to a small town on another island and have a really bad lunch (we reckon it had been sitting on the bench a long while). Thanks heavens I did not select ‘fish’ as the fish was whole oily Mackerel (eeeeew), 4) wander about this tiny place (and it was REALLY hot) with absolutely nothing to see, 5) go back to Split. Actually, despite not being the most awesome experience (it wasn’t very expensive), it was a nice lazy day out on the water. We made friends with a couple of other folks over “lunch” and chatted with them for a while also.

Dalmatia in September 2015 - The ‘blue lagoon’

The ‘blue lagoon’

On our last day, I gave my partner, Ri, control. Normally I seem to be the one who ends up deciding where we go, and how we get there and all that stuff (I don’t particularly want to, it just works out this way). Anyway it was her turn I decided; I was soon not sure about this decision as we walked all the way around the peninsular to the west of the city (mostly through the Park Suma Marjan). However, It was a lovely day out. First we walked up to the lookout (near the cemetery).

Dalmatia in September 2015 - Split panorama

Panorma from the Split lookout

Along the walk we encountered a beautiful tiny old church from the 13th Century. Although we couldn’t go in, there was a hole in the door through which I could take a good picture. The very basic interior of this church rather contrasted with the excessive basilicas of Rome a few days later.

Dalmatia in September 2015 - Split church

13th century (1219) church

Dalmatia in September 2015 - Split church

13th century (1219) church

We also encountered these very cool dwellings built directly into the cliffs. The occupants must have lived incredibly austere lives. We didn’t manage to learn anything else about when these were built and occupied.

Dalmatia in September 2015 - Split

Rock-face dwellings in Park Suma Marjin

From here we wended our way down the hill to a beach that we had been eyeing keenly for a while. We had brought some sandwiches along with us and scarfed them down soon before finding our way to the beach. I was a bit surprised to learn that this was Ri’s very first peanut-butter and cucumber sandwich (I made them). These are a staple of mine and I was sure that in the last decade since we met one would have come her way….

Dalmatia in September 2015

Mmmm yummy

After a very nice cool swim (it was pretty hot this day) at the beach, we headed onwards along the coast back towards Split. This took us to the famed Gallery Mestrovic, the legacy of the famed Croatian artist Ivan Mestrovic. You can read the history here in Wikipedia. The gallery is wonderful and there is also a piece by Rodin, who supported Mestrovic. Here was where I had another nice encounter with a local. I always get through the galleries faster than Ri (her artists’ eye has a lot to see), so I was chatting with the gentleman checking tickets at the front door. Again I had found another person with a passionate interest in history and culture. We had a long discussion, taking in most of the Balkan political history of the 20th century!

Dalmatia in September 2015 - Gallery Mestrovic

One of the many wonderful casts in the Gallery Mestrovic

From the gallery (and the small chapel on the other side of the road with Mestrovic wood panels) we headed on to another small beach for another dip.

Dalmatia in September 2015 - Split Beach

Our last beach swim in Split

Finally, we made our way back to the harbour (the fancy end). There were many amazing yachts here. The most impressive was the “Polar Star” which you can see in the figure. I later googled it, and discovered that it cost 60 million Euros to build, and costs 380,000 Euros per week to charter (crew of 17, 12 passengers)! Some things are really a long way out of reach and you really wonder how that’s within anybody’s reach (or philosophy).

Dalmatia in September 2015 - Split

The Polar Star in Split

Finally, Ri decided to take a “short cut” back to our apartment. Here is the rather daunting view of that short cut. On arrival back at our apartment, our feet needed a lot of attention, so foot massages were again the order of the day.

Dalmatia in September 2015 - Split

The short cut

We took the airport bus (the other end of the harbour), and flew to Rome with Vueling airlines. We had a bit of a worry when I could not find our booking online. It turned out that this was because of some confusion between the parent company Iberia and Vueling. When our booking was made, our tourist agent (FlightCentre in Australia), only supplied codes for Iberia. But these did not work on the Vueling site (nor on the Iberia site). Anyway, there is a 24 hr hotline for FlightCentre, and the consultant resolved it efficiently for us (she had to call Iberia to sort it out). I hope FlightCentre have now changed their process!

So off we went to Rome, but that must be a story for some other website – do you run a Roman website also Anna?

Venice to Split

Getting from Venice to Split

One of the questions we get asked a fair amount these days concerns ferries from Venice to Split, or vice versa. We assume that many travellers’ ‘end point’ for travels in Italy is Venice, and they then want to make the leap to Croatia…by going directly to Split!

We can categorically say that there are no ferries from Venice and Split. Ferries used to operate in the past, but nothing resembling this route has operated since 2005. Back then a company sailed from Chioggia (close to Venice) to Split – a journey that took 12 hours. So if you were hoping that you could travel between the two places by ferry, with a quick 3-4 journey time…you’re out of luck! (Also, look at a map! The two cities aren’t that close!)

Venice to Split
The Grand Canal in Venice

So if you are looking to travel from Venice to Split, what are your options?

Flights from Venice to Split

By far the quickest way is flying…of course. Volotea operate early morning flights twice a week (Monday and Thursdays until 1st October 2015), with a flight time of just one hour. You can take advantage of some pretty cheap flight deals if you book early enough.

In case this helps some of you (depending on your other travel plans in Croatia), there are also flights from Venice to Dubrovnik in summer. Croatia Airlines fly on Thursdays and Sundays (flights operate in the early evening), with a flight time of 1 hour 20 minutes.

Travel down the Italian side of the Adriatic

The alternative would be to travel down one side of the Adriatic to get to Split. We normally suggest doing so on the Italian side, as you can travel by train from Venice to Ancona and then get one of the overnight ferries from there to Split. Check out train timetables – and ticket booking – on the Trenitalia website; train journey time is around 4 hours, including a change in Bologna, or there are also a couple of direct trains a day between Venice and Ancona that take 3 hours 30 minutes. (So, not much difference!)

There are several companies that run ferry services between Ancona and Split, and the journey time is 10/11 hours. See more details on our Travelling from Ancona to Croatia page.

In peak season (July/August), some of the ferries stop off at Stari Grad on Hvar en route to Split.

Travel down the Croatian side of the Adriatic

There are no direct public transport options from Venice to Split, so the best way is to take a train from Venice to Trieste (journey time approximately 2 hours; many trains per day – again, see timetables at Trenitalia) and then a bus from here to Split.

There’s a daily bus that departs at Trieste at 1.45pm and arrives in Split at 10.30pm. Some days, there’s also an overnight bus that gets into Split just before 4am. Both of these buses are operated by Autotrans – you can look up full details on their website, which also offers online ticket booking.

Driving from Venice to Split

You can of course rent a car in Venice and drive all the way to Split. However, we’d recommend against trying to do this as a one-way rental – one-way car hire across a border in Europe is ridiculously expensive!

If you do fancy driving most of the way, we would recommend taking a bus (or possibly catamaran) into Croatia and then picking up your hire car here. One-way car hire within Croatia is certainly possible and not all that more expensive (if at all).

Take a look at our Travelling from Venice to Croatia page for details of buses. We’d suggest taking a bus to Pula to pick up a car as that’s the nearest large town; however, you can also find car hire offices in Porec and Rovinj.

If you do end up driving from Venice to Split (perhaps you’re returning to Italy after Croatia), the distance is about 650km. Factoring in what may be a busy border crossing (Slovenia – Croatia) in summer we wouldn’t recommend you attempt the journey in one day!

Note: Don’t forget that a vignette is need to drive on motorways in Slovenia.

Pula to Split is around a 5-6 hour drive if you take the inland motorway route; if you drive the scenic coastal route, the journey will be longer.

Trains from Venice to Split

Errr…don’t bother! There are most definitely no direct trains between the two cities; if you did attempt the journey, you’d find yourself having to travel via Zagreb (which, geographically, is quite a detour). There’s also not even any direct trains from Venice to Zagreb, adding to the pointlessness of this option.

Other options for getting from Venice to Croatia

Don’t forget that catamarans from Venice do operate to locations in Istria – Pula, Rovinj and Porec. There are also several bus options from Venice to places in Istria too.

Take a look at our Travelling from Venice to Croatia page for full details of these.

Split Photos - View from the Belltower

Travelling from Zagreb to Split

Are you planning on travelling from Zagreb to Split (or vice versa) this summer, taking in Croatia’s two largest cities? Read our guide below for how best to travel between the two!

History of Zagreb

Travelling from Zagreb to Split by train

Unusually for Croatia train is one of the methods of transport you can use in travelling between Zagreb and Split. (We say this because many travellers expect to travel around by coast…and then discover the lack of train services along the coast!)

There are several trains per day between Zagreb and Split, and journey time is either 6 hours or 8 hours (the latter being an overnight train).

Daytime trains take around six hours, and a one-way, second-class ticket costs 208 Kunas. There’s a train that departs early in the morning, and another departing mid-afternoon.

The 8-hour train has a couchettes for sleeping – if that’s your kind of thing – and there’s also a special bicycle car…plus space to transport vehicles! The cost of this train is 190 Kunas for a regular, single-ticket journey in second class.

Look up timetables on the Croatian Railways or Die Bahn websites. Look for Zagreb Gl. Kol. or Zagreb Glavni Kol. (Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor meaning Zagreb Main Terminal, the main station in the capital.)

Note: During summer, twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays) these trains actually start in Budapest – so if you’re travelling from Hungary, you can make it direct all the way to the Croatian coast (well, as long as it’s Split!). Journey time is 14 hours.

Travelling from Zagreb to Split by Bus

There are many buses per day between Zagreb and Split…as befitting a route connecting Croatia’s two largest cities! It’s best to look up timetables on the Zagreb Bus Terminal website.

The thing to note about bus services is that some are much faster than others – this depends on whether buses take the fast, motorway route to Split or the slower ‘road’. (The latter most likely meaning plenty of stops en route.)

You can work out journey time length on the Zagreb Bus Terminal website; it also shows how many stops (and where) will be made. This will give you an idea of which are the faster buses! Journey times vary between 5 hours and about 7 and a half hours.

The Zagreb Bus Terminal website also offers online booking of tickets, although you will need to physically pick up tickets from the Terminal before departure. (But seeing as you’re leaving from there anyway…that’s no big deal.)

Flights from Zagreb to Split

There are also daily flights, year-round, between these two cities operated by Croatia Airlines. With a flight time of only 45 minutes and with cheap tickets available if you book early enough, this is obviously a very fast way of travelling that can actually be cheaper than expected.

You do, of course, have to factor in travel between each city centre and airport but with regular transfer buses at both ends that’s easy enough. Check out our Zagreb Public Transport and Getting to and from Split Airport pages for help.

Driving from Zagreb to Split

If you’ve hired a car for your stay in Croatia, driving from Zagreb to Split is also very easy these days due to the A1 motorway. The journey time can be as quick as 4 hours, assuming no bad traffic situations. The motorway is of course tolled so do factor this in – you’ll pick up a ticket when entering the start of the motorway just outside Zagreb, and then need to pay when you exit at Dugopolje outside Split. If you’re in a standard car, this will cost 174 Kunas (2015 price) – prices of other vehicles can be seen here: A1 motorway toll prices.

Getting from Split to Dubrovnik

Getting from Split to Dubrovnik…and Dubrovnik to Split!

We’re sure that many of you will be travelling from Split to Dubrovnik (or Dubrovnik to Split) this summer, so we thought we’d lay out the various options for getting between the two!

Getting from Split to Dubrovnik

Split to Dubrovnik by Catamaran

Kapetan Luka have a daily catamaran operating in both directions from Split to Dubrovnik. The catamaran operates in the early morning from Split to Dubrovnik – stopping at Milna on Brac, Hvar Town, Korcula Town and Mljet – whilst the opposite journey operates in the late afternoon/early evening. Journey time between Split and Dubrovnik is 4 hours 15 minutes.

You can of course also split up the journey en route to either Dubrovnik or Split e.g. Dubrovnik to Korcula and then stay there for a night or two.

You can book tickets online on the Kapetan Luka website or using the search box below – during peak season, this would be advisable.

The catamaran does also operate in October, although only three times a week.

2017 Update: Kapetan Luka have a new daily catamaran operating between Split and Dubrovnik. This one stops at Bol on the island of Brac, Makarska, Korcula and Sobra on the island of Mljet when travelling between the two cities. Journey time between Split and Dubrovnik is 4 hours 30 minutes, and the sailing is also in the early morning from Split, with the reverse in the mid afternoon.

Jadrolinija also now have a catamaran connecting Dubrovnik and Split. Operating daily from early June to mid September, their catamaran stops at Bol on Brac, Hvar Town and Korcula Town en route. Sailing time between Split and Dubrovnik is 5 hours and 15 minutes. This catamaran sails from Split in the mid afternoon (reaching Dubrovnik at 9pm), and sails from Dubrovnik in the early morning (reaching Split at 12.30pm).

Split to Dubrovnik by Ferry

Jadrolinija used to run – for absolutely years and years – a coastal ferry service that stretched from Rijeka in the north down to Split and Dubrovnik, stopping off at a couple of the islands along the way (Hvar and Korcula). For 2015, this route has been cancelled – so there are no car ferry options between Split and Dubrovnik. 2017 Update: Details of this service being restarted in 2017 was released – however, by the summer, this has failed to materialise.

There is a year-round Jadrolinija car ferry that operates from Split to Vela Luka on the island of Korcula. As an alternative to the above ferry, you could utilise this – perhaps staying on Korcula for a bit! – before then taking a ferry from Korcula to Orebic on the mainland, and then driving down to Dubrovnik. (It’s a bit of a different alternative, admittedly!)

Split to Dubrovnik by Bus

Luckily, these two Croatian coastal gems are connected numerous buses that run daily. Journey time is around 4 and a half hours – although do note that in peak season (July and August), you may be delayed by an hour of more if the coastal road is especially busy with holiday traffic.

The route stretches through a portion of Bosnia & Hercegovina (called the Neum corridor), so do keep your passport on your person/in your hand luggage and not in the suitcase you’ve put in the hold!

This is a transit route through Bosnia & Hercegovina, so you won’t need a visa for the country (if you otherwise would – EU/US/Canadian/Australian nationals don’t).

Split to Dubrovnik - Neum Corridor
Neum

Buses normally use Neum as a comfort break – a chance to stop for the loo, stretch your legs and to snap a few pics of ‘you in Bosnia’. Luckily, it’s a pretty nice view! There’s also a shop there if you fancy stocking up on ‘duty free’ (booze and cigarettes) and a few little knick knacks; snack options are a little thin on the ground unless you like biscuits, crisps and soft drinks/water.

Check schedules for the route – whether for Split to Dubrovnik or Dubrovnik to Split on the Split Bus Terminal website. The Dubrovnik Bus Terminal also displays this information, but it’s not quite as user friendly.

Split to Dubrovnik by Air

Trade Air have a few flights a week in each direction between Split and Dubrovnik; flight time is 40 minutes.

There are transfer buses between both airports and each city’s main bus station – and in the case of Dubrovnik, the bus also stops at the Old Town. See Getting to and from Split Airport and To and from Dubrovnik Airport.

Split to Dubrovnik by Road

If you’re driving between Split and Dubrovnik, there are two road options – either the scenic coastal road for the whole route, or inland on the A1 motorway as far as Ploce – where the motorway ends – and where you need to then towards the coastal road to continue the journey.

Which one you take is up to you in terms of whether you’re under time pressure or not. The coastal road is beautiful of course – but it can be very busy during the summer months!

Split to Dubrovnik Private Transfer

Visit Croatia Recommends A popular transport option for travel between Split and Dubrovnik is a private transfer. This door to door car service makes for easy and comfortable travel between these two cities. Best of all, prices are fixed and very competitive – cheaper, in fact, than a taxi with prices starting at €210. In addition, you can choose your pickup time and whether you’d like to modify the trip to include stops along the way, making the transfer into an excursion. For a free quote on Dubrovnik to Split transfers contact Octopus Transfers Croatia

Split to Dubrovnik by Train

This one’s a no go! Dubrovnik has no train station, for starters…and train services up and down the Croatian coast don’t really exist. But you’ve luckily got plenty of other transport options – as detailed above!

Useful Links

Visiting Croatia in September

Who would have thought it? We’re over halfway through August, which means we are most definitely hurtling towards the end of summer. (Although, personally, I definitely think summer runs until the seasons change in September. But then, I like to be an optimist about the weather.)

Some of you who are perhaps yet to take your summer hols, or are looking for a late summer trip to ease yourself back into autumn ways, may be thinking of visiting Croatia in September. You may be pleased to learn that September is considered the best month to visit amongst those in the know – the weather is still good (yes, you will – most probably – still be able to swim in the sea!), the high season crowds will have departed for home by the end of August, but everything – tourist-related – is still very much open.

Visiting Croatia in September

The island of Vis

However, you probably have a whole list of questions – what’s there to do? Where shall we go? We’re here to help you with these questions and more if you’re considering visiting Croatia in September!

The weather in Croatia in September

First things first. This is something we always get asked – is the weather in Croatia still good in September? Yes, very much so. It may come as no surprise really – as a Mediterranean country, the summer weather continues long into September. The last few years have seen very hot summers in Croatia, and this glorious weather definitely hung around in the ninth month of the year. (In fact, even into early October too!) This year there’s also been a rather hot summer in Croatia with temperatures in so many places reaching the very high 30s celsius. In fact, during July, temperatures for practically the entire country were classified as being “very warm” or “extremely warm” (poor Vis was the only place in Croatia to simply be “warm”), whilst most of the country was considered to be either “dry” or “very dry”.

All in all, we expect the weather in Croatia to be great this September! The Croatian Meteorological Society has plenty of forecasts in English – at the moment, they obviously don’t show much data for September, but take a look at their seven-day forecasts a little closer to the time.

The sea off the coast of Croatia – having had all summer to warm up – will be great, temperature-wise, in September. Yesterday, for example, temperatures reached around 23/24C for many places, with the sea a few degrees colder in the north of the coast.

Disclaimer: Yes, of course, the weather everywhere is starting to turn a little crazy. So don’t hold it against us if conditions in Croatia inexplicably turn winter-y during September. That’s definitely not supposed to happen. And it’s very, very unlikely to happen. But if anything insanely crazy, weather-wise, happens…don’t blame us! 

What’s on in Croatia in September?

Croatia has established itself as something of a prime festival destination in the last few years, with more and more dance festivals being added all the time to each year’s calendar. September is when the festival season winds down, but there’s still a couple of events taking place, both in Istria. The brand-new-for-2013 Unknown is being held in Rovinj from 10th to 14th September, with names like Jessie Ware, The Horrors, Jamie xx and SBTRKT all on the bill. Now in its second year, the electro festival Dimensions will be on in Pula from 5th to 9th September, making use of Fort Punto Christo that’s close to the town. (Dimensions is the “little sister” of Croatia festival favourite Outlook, which is on itself in Pula from 29th August to 2nd September.)

For the less dance music type events, there’s the Split Film Festival on from the 14th to the 21st September. The historical festival Gioistra – now in its seventh year – will be held in Porec from 13th to 15th September, with assorted costumes, revelry, sports, street entertainers and products on sale, all re-enacting 18th century times. The second Korkrya Baroque Festival is an international music festival on the island of Korcula, being held from 7th to 13th September. Zagreb hosts both the general entertainment festival RujanFest (literally, ‘SeptemberFest’) from the 13th to the 22nd September, as well as the 46th edition of the International Puppet Theatre Festival (9th to 14th September).

For those more keen on sports events, Croatia will host the Davis Cup tie against Great Britain in Umag (which means clay!) on the weekend of 13th to 15th September. And yes, Wimbledon champ Andy Murray is expected to play. Tickets can be bought on the ticket portal Eventim.hr.

Be sure to pop into the tourist office of wherever you are to ask for events taking place locally!

Where should I go in Croatia in September?

As we’ve covered so far, the weather will be great in September, so it’s hard not to pick a location on the coast. Dubrovnik should be as busy it always is, and there’s certainly a large number of cruise ships scheduled to dock during that month, bringing thousands of (day trip) passengers at a time. Split has had a great season so far, so it wouldn’t be any surprise to see this place as bustling as it has been. (Seeing as it’s Croatia’s second largest city, it is relatively lively all year round!) Some of the more popular islands, such as Brac and Hvar, and other popular locations on the coast (the Makarska Riviera) are still likely to receive a good number of visitors, even whilst the season starts to wind down.

If you’re after something a little quieter, perhaps consider the most outlying of all the larger Croatian islands – Vis. As a quieter and slightly mystical destination any time of year, we think this place would be divine in September. Other islands to check out include those in the Kvarner bay  such as Krk, Cres, Losinj or Rab, all of which are perhaps not as well known amongst non-Continental European visitors.

Istria is of course one of the most popular destinations in the whole of Croatia, with delights such as Porec, Rovinj and Pula all located here. The county has suffered a slight fall in visitor numbers this year, but will still see good numbers overall. If you’d like to visit, why not consider something like a foodie or activity-based holiday – two things the region does very well! Check out Istria Tourist Board’s guides to gastronomy and sport.

From a logistical point of view, almost all flights from the UK to Croatia still operate in September – and well into October too. The one exception to this is Ryanair’s flights from London Stansted to Rijeka Airport stopping at the end of August. See our Flights to Croatia page for details of all routes to Croatia from the UK.

Do note that in almost all cases, ferry schedules will still be running to summer timetables until the end of September. Certainly, almost all of Jadrolinija‘s local routes remain the same until the end of September, as does their twice-a-week coastal route that runs Rijeka – Split – Stari Grad (Hvar) – Korcula – Mljet – Dubrovnik and vice versa. The exception lies with some of their international sailings (to Italy) that reduce in frequency in September, and again further in October. Venezia Lines‘ sailings between Istria and Venice will only operate from Porec and Rovinj during September.

Or check out Adriagate – they offer last minute discounts on accommodation for destinations all over Croatia!

All in all, if you’re visiting Croatia next month, we hope you enjoy your stay! Why not drop us a line on email, Twitter or Facebook to let us know how it went – we’d love to hear from you!

Rovinj

Croatia tourism statistics for January to July 2013 are in!

Statistics for the number of visitors travelling to Croatia in the first seven months of 2013 were released today – and despite some doom and gloom and uncertainty for this year’s summer season, they do indeed still show an increase on last year’s figures.

Rovinj

In total 6.6 million tourists – which includes both foreign and domestic – holidayed in Croatia from January to July 2013, which is an increase of 3% on the same period last year. These visitors stayed for a total of 36.5 million nights, which is an increase of 2.5%. Of these numbers, almost six million were foreign visitors to the country (up 4%), who stayed for 33 million nights (up 3.3%).

The month of July alone also saw increases in visitor numbers. 1.1% more tourists visited the Croatian coast and Zagreb (the two main tourist centres in the country!) than in July 2012, 3 million visitors in total. These visitors stayed for a total of 21.3 million nights, which is also an increase of 1.1% on the same month last year. Of these numbers, 2.8m were foreign visitors (an increase of 1.7%) who stayed a total of 19.3 million nights (up 2.5%).

The majority of the Adriatic counties all posted increases in visitor numbers and nights stayed for the month of July, although there were also some falls. Istria, in particular, received 3.2% fewer visitors who stayed for 2.2% less nights. Zadar county was the only one in Dalmatia to record a fall in visitor numbers and nights stayed – of 1.6% and 3.5% respectively – whilst the other Dalmatian counties recorded relatively healthy increases. Split-Dalmatia county saw 6% more tourists who stayed for 5% more nights, whilst Dubrovnik-Neretva county – home, of course, to the wonderful and ever popular Dubrovnik – received 4.4% more visitors and 3.6% more nights. (For the purpose of completeness, we can mention that Sibenik-Knin county got 3.8% more visitors who stayed for 4.7% more nights.)

It was away from the coast, in Zagreb, that the largest increases in visitor numbers and nights stayed was recorded. 14.6% more visitors came to Zagreb in July 2013 than in the same month last year, staying for 18.6% more nights.

Source: Jutarnji