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Visiting Croatia in Summer 2020

26th May 2020/32 Comments/in Travel advice, Travelling to Croatia

We’ve been tracking news related to the coronavirus pandemic and Croatia since the country entered its lockdown March, but now we enter a new phase. Croatia has eased lockdown, is recording very few (or no) new cases each day and is now allowing foreign visitors from certain countries to enter once more. But what does this all mean in a practical sense, if you’re planning on visiting Croatia in summer 2020?

Coronavirus in Croatia

Newest update Please see our new Coronavirus Situation in Croatia – Autumn Update post for regularly updated coronavirus case numbers in Croatia.

Updated Since 13th August, case numbers in Croatia have been on the rise again – unfortunately – with around 150-200 new cases announced each day (and a record 219 on 19th August). Announcements can be seen on the koronavirus.hr website (data is released at 1pm, UK time, every day). The ~~Croatia Covid Info website~~ also shows where there are hotspots (or not) around the country. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) also shows the 14-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 for European countries.

Updated In the last few weeks, the numbers of new cases per day have been in the range of 50-110 (sometimes fewer, sometimes more).

Updated Croatia has seen a further spike in numbers of new cases in late June and early July. As such, further regulations have been introduced – face masks are now mandatory in all indoor spaces from 13th July and as of 10th July anyone that’s not a EU/EEA/UK citizen or EU long-term resident needs to present a negative covid test that is not older than 48 hours if they wish to enter the country for tourism (or other) reasons.

Updated From 18th June, Croatia has unfortunately seen an increase in the number of new cases recorded each day. After a three week period of hardly any new cases (often zero or one new instance; at most 3), on 18th June 11 new cases were recorded followed by 19, 18, 19, 30 and 22 on the subsequent days. Some new measures have been introduced as a result – the requirement of face masks on public transport, for example.

Croatia has also been easing out of lockdown in the first part of May. Over successive weeks, shops (aside from essential ones, such as supermarkets) and services could reopen, public transport has resumed in towns/cities, and inter-county/city transport has been allowed to restart.

Croatia has dealt with the outbreak very well indeed – enforcing a lockdown earlier than other nations (the UK, for example) and with travel within the country very limited during this time, for example. As of 26th May, there have only been 2,244 cases overall with, sadly, 101 deaths in the country. For the second day in a row, no new cases have been recorded; in the last four days, there has been only one new case. Additionally, there are currently only 97 active coronavirus cases across the whole of Croatia.

Can I visit Croatia in summer 2020?

There are two parts to this question, really.

The first part is – can I enter Croatia?

The second part is – can I reach Croatia?

Can I enter Croatia?

Newest update As of 4am on Saturday 22nd August, anyone returning to the UK from Croatia will have to quarantine for 14 days. Croatia has been taken off the UK’s ‘travel corridors list‘.

Newest update As of midnight on 21st August, Croatia has been placed on the ‘red list’ of countries for Slovenia. All travellers returning to Slovenia from Croatia will need to quarantine.

Updated Austria has placed Croatia on its ‘high-risk’ country list. As of 17th August, visitors to Croatia returning back home to Austria will need to either show a current negative covid test, or get tested within 48 hours.

Updated As of 11/12th August, visitors to Croatia who return back home to Finland will need to quarantine. Visitors returning back to Italy will need to either show proof of a negative covid test (not older than 72 hours) or take a test within 48 hours of entering Croatia.

Updated As of 10th July, anyone not a citizen/resident of a EU/EEA/UK country wishing to travel to Croatia for tourism reasons needs to present proof of a negative covid test (undertaken in the previous 48 hours) when entering the country. If this is not presented when entering Croatia, you will need to self-quarantine for 14 days. You can see more information on this on the Ministry of the Interior website.

Updated Today, 10th July, British visitors to Croatia will not have to quarantine when returning back home to the UK. This applies to English, Welsh, Northern Irish AND Scottish visitors. (Although technically these countries draw up their own lists of safe countries, Croatia is on the safe list for all of them.)

Updated On 3rd July, the UK government published what it calls its “travel corridors: countries and territories exemption list” for English travellers. Croatia is on this list meaning that any English holidaymakers travelling to Croatia won’t need to quarantine on arriving back to England. This comes into effect from 10th July.

Updated As of 1st July, all EU/EEA citizens can enter Croatia freely, without the need for accommodation booking. (Although, we assume most are visiting for a holiday!) It is still advisable to enter your details onto the Enter Croatia website prior to arrival.

Updated Additionally, the EU drawn up a list of 15 countries from where visitors can also enter. This list is to be review every two weeks. Countries on this list include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. You can see the full list here.

Yes, you can…providing you follow certain rules as displayed on the government Koronavirus.hr website. For most visitors, the very last point on that page is most valid. ~~This states that anyone that is an EU/EEA citizen that has confirmation of an accommodation booking in Croatia can enter~~. (No longer required for EU/EEA citizens and citizens of some other countries – see paragraphs above.) Examples of confirmation include:

Confirmation of accommodation booking of all accommodation service providers / all types of accommodation
Camp lease contract
Permanent berth contract in a nautical tourism port
Confirmation of berth reservation in a nautical tourism port
Travel agency voucher etc.

Source: Koronavirus.hr

You can also see the advice on the UK Foreign Office website, stating the UK citizens are allowed to enter Croatia.

It is possible to submit details of your accommodation booking prior to visiting online via entercroatia.mup.hr. This should speed up border checks when you arrive in Croatia.

There are also other conditions of entry that may allow you to enter Croatia – if you own a property in the country, for example. Do read all of the conditions on Koronavirus.hr.

If you have any questions regarding entry to Croatia, you can fill in a enquiry form on the Ministry of the Interior’s website.

Furthermore, as of 28th May 2020, citizens of ten EU nations are now not subject to the above mentioned conditions of entry, and can freely enter the country. (In the same way as before the coronavirus pandemic.) These ten nations are the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Germany and Slovakia. However, all will still have to follow the recommendations of the Croatian Institute of Public Health.

There is now a new Re-open EU website – an official EU site, no less – that helpfully puts together all travel, services and health and safety restrictions/recommendations for all the EU nations. Taking a look at their Croatia page is a helpful place to start gathering information before visiting the country.

Can I reach Croatia?

Many of Croatia’s visitors each year – in any ‘normal’ year – reach Croatia by car for their summer holidays. If you’re in a neighbouring/nearby country then it’s relatively straightforward for you to jump in your car and head down right now. And that’s definitely one of the ‘safest’ options in terms of social distancing and minimising interaction with others.

If you’re travelling from further afield, then you’ll likely have to rely on flying. At present, only Croatia Airlines are operating international flights connecting Zagreb with other cities in Europe. They fly twice daily to Frankfurt and return, and once to Amsterdam and return. From 1st June, they will also resume flying to Copenhagen and return, and to Zurich and return from 8th June.

Updated Jadrolinija‘s ferry route connecting Ancona in Italy with Zadar has been converted into a catamaran route for this summer. Sailing time is a zippy 4 hours. The timetable can be found here.

Updated Adriatic Lines (also connecting Istria with Venice) have also cancelled all of their sailings for 2020.

Updated Venezia Lines (connecting Venice with Porec, Rovinj, Pula, Umag and Pira in Slovenia) have cancelled all of their sailings for 2020.

Updated Jadrolinija‘s Ancona – Zadar ferry route will resume from 20th July.

Updated Croatia Airlines have announced the resumption of additional routes connecting Croatia with a number of other European cities. You can see their timetable here.

Updated From the week beginning 22nd June, Croatia Airlines also plan to restart their routes from Zagreb to Frankfurt (2x/day), Zurich (daily, some days 2x/day), and to Rome via Split (3x/week). Additionally, they will also restart some routes this week from Split – to Frankfurt (2x/week), Dusseldorf (1x/week), Berlin (1x/week), Munich (2x/week) and Zurich (2x/week).

Updated From the week beginning 15th June, Croatia Airlines also plan to restart their routes to Munich (3x/week), Sarajevo (3x/week), London Heathrow (2x/week), Dublin (3x/week), Rome (via Split, 3x/week), Brussels (4/x week) and Vienna (2x/week).

Other airlines that will or have already resumed flights to Croatia include Eurowings, Air Serbia, Smartwings, Edelweiss, Condor and AirBaltic.

When will airlines start flying from the UK and Ireland to Croatia?

UPDATED Check out our Flights to Croatia from the UK & Ireland page to show when flights from the UK and Ireland will be restarting.

Updated Just one (more) route to restart for summer 2020 – Jet2 from Edinburgh to Dubrovnik (from 19th August).

Updated Flights restarting from weeks beginning 3rd/10th August – British Airways from London Heathrow to Pula (from 1st Aug) and London City to Split (1st Aug); Easyjet from London Luton to Dubrovnik (from 1st Aug); London Stansted to Split (1st Aug) and Dubrovnik (9th Aug); London Southend to Pula (2nd Aug); Bristol to Pula (1st Aug) and Dubrovnik (2nd Aug); Liverpool to Pula (2nd Aug); Glasgow to Split (2nd Aug); Belfast to Split (1st Aug) and Dubrovnik (2nd Aug).

Updated Flights restarting from week beginning 13th July – British Airways from London Gatwick to Dubrovnik (from 16th July) and Jet2 from London Stansted to Split (from 19th July) and Dubrovnik (18th July); Birmingham to Pula (19th July), Split (15th July) and Dubrovnik (18th July); East Midlands to Split (19th July); Manchester to Pula (16th July), Split (18th July) and Dubrovnik (16th July); Newcastle to Dubrovnik (19th July); Leeds Bradford to Pula (19th July) and Split (18th July). Phew!

Updated TUI have cancelled their flights to Croatia from the UK for summer 2020.

Updated Flights restarting week beginning 6th July – British Airways from London Heathrow to Zagreb and Split (both from 9th July); Ryanair from London Stansted to Rijeka (from 6th July) and Pula (9th July); and Croatia Airlines from London Heathrow to Split (11th July).

Updated Flights restarting week beginning 29th June – Easyjet, London Luton to Split (daily from 1st July); Ryanair to Dubrovnik (Wedensdays and Sundays from 1st July) and to Split (Tuesdays and Saturdays from 4th July).

Updated Croatia Airlines will resume its route from London Heathrow to Split from the week beginning 6th July. This route will fly once a week, on Saturdays.

Updated From the week beginning Monday, 15th June, three routes from the UK & Ireland to Croatia restarted – Croatia Airlines‘s routes from London Heathrow and Dublin to Zagreb, and Wizzair‘s route from London Luton to Split.

Updated TUI have also pushed back the start date of their flights to Croatia. Due to restart from 1st July onwards, their flights will now start 7, 10 or 14 days later in July depending on the route

Updated Jet2 were due to start their routes (including those to Croatia) from 1st July onwards. This has now been pushed back by two weeks, and flights are now due to restart from 15th July onwards.

Updated Wizzair are also set to be one of the first airlines reconnecting the UK and Croatia by air, and direct to the coast no less. They will restart their London Luton to Split route on 15th June, flying three times a week until the end of the month, then five times a week until 19th July and then daily from 20th July to 9th September.

Updated Croatia Airlines will recommence flying from London to Zagreb and Dublin to Zagreb on the week beginning 15th June. They will operate the first route twice a week, the second three times a week.

There’s no concrete answer to this at the moment, but it appears unlikely to be before July for most airlines.

British Airways‘ London Heathrow to Zagreb route is bookable once again from 1st July, as is their long-running London Gatwick to Dubrovnik route.

Some Easyjet routes to Croatia are likewise also bookable from July.

Ryanair‘s routes from Dublin to both Split and Dubrovnik are also bookable from July. Routes from the UK to Croatia (to Zadar) are not being offered at all, however.

Flights may be bookable from July, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that these flights will operate. So much could still change but, hopefully, they will restart.

NEW We have now updated our Flights to Croatia from the UK & Ireland page to show when flights from the UK and Ireland can be booked from.

Don’t forget that the UK is planning to introduce a 14-day quarantine for all international arrivals from 8th June – Updated: NOW IN EFFECT, see here for more details. At present, the only country exempt from this rule is Ireland. So you could possibly go on holiday from the UK and be required to self-isolate for 14 days on your return. However, there is still a suggestion that ‘air bridges’ with certain countries could be created. No longer applies for Croatia as of 10th July.

Essentially, it’s still a case of ‘watch this space’ to see what will happen with flight routes and UK government regulations.

Do I have to enter a 14-day quarantine upon entering Croatia?

Updated As of 10th July, anyone that is not a citizen/long-term resident of an EU/EEA country or a UK citizen WILL need to self-isolate for 14 days when entering Croatia UNLESS they present proof of a negative covid test undertaken in the previous 48 hours. See more on the Ministry of the Interior website.

For EU/EEA/UK visitors, no, you do not. On entering Croatia, “border police officers will provide you with a leaflet containing instructions and recommendations issued by the Croatian Institute of Public Health which you have to comply with in the following 14 days”.

You can see what these instructions and recommendations are ~~here~~ [link no longer works].

If I’m visiting Croatia in summer 2020, what can I do?

Newest update As of 14th July, all nightclubs, cafes, bars (and similar venues that would be allowed to open for 24 hours) will have restricted hours and will not be allowed to be open past midnight.

As per the easing of lockdown in mid May, restaurants and cafes are permitted to open. Obviously those on coastal resorts that normally cater to visitors may have delayed their opening until they have more guests.

More and more hotels are reopening to welcome the increasing numbers of tourists (both domestic and foreign) that are now starting to travel to the coast. (Hotels weren’t required to close during the outbreak, but obviously many did due to low guest numbers.) The “majority of hotels” are expected to be open by June. (Source)

Many of Croatian’s popular sights are open or reopening. For example, national and nature parks reopened on 11th May, the Arena in Pula reopened on 25th May; more such attractions are sure to reopen too (if not already opened).

One thing that definitely won’t be happening this summer is any sort of music festival. Almost all the festivals in Croatia due to take place this summer in places such as Zrce Beach, Tisno, Zagreb, Split and elsewhere have been postponed to 2021.

Mandatory Regulations in Croatia

The main regulations you must adhere once you are in Croatia are:

Newest update Please see our new Coronavirus Situation in Croatia – Autumn Update post for the latest updates on regulations.

New Face masks must be worn in all indoor spaces, including catering establishments (cafes, restaurants etc), except when you are seated
New Face masks must be worn outdoors in situations where social distancing cannot be maintained (and it is recommended that face masks be worn anyway in outdoor situations)
You must wear face masks in commercial indoor spaces e.g. shops
You must wear face masks on all forms of public transport (buses, ferries, catamarans, trains, trams, taxis)

Recommendations

If you would like to see recommendations for Croatia (which are not mandatory), there is a list on the website of the Croatian Institute of Public Health.

Covid Testing Centres

The Koronavirus.hr website now has a list of testing centres – plus prices – around Croatia; you can see it here.

Travelling Around Croatia in Summer 2020

Inter-county/city transport in Croatia was allowed to resume on 11th May 2020, and a number of bus and train lines restarted on that day.

Updated As of 25th June, face masks must be warn by everyone using public transport (which includes taxis).

Ferry and Catamaran Services

Kapetan Luka will restart their catamaran services connecting Split, Hvar and Korcula on 1st August. They will restart their popular coastal catamaran service connecting Split and Dubrovnik (and Milna on Brac, Hvar Town, Korcula Town and Pomena on Mljet) on 6th July. Their other coastal catamaran (Split – Bol – Makarska – Korcula – Sobra – Dubrovnik) has been cancelled for 2020.

Jadrolinija‘s ~~coastal catamaran between Split and Dubrovnik (and Bol on Brac, Hvar Town and Korcula Town) is due to restart on 3rd July~~. (Updated: Unfortunately, this route has been cancelled for 2020.) Their Split – Hvar services will also restart that day. The majority of the rest of their services are already running.

Catamaran Line’s route connecting the port near Split Airport to the city has been postponed for the time being.

Flights

Croatia Airlines have resumed internal flights to Croatia on a limited schedule. At present, they operate Zagreb – Split – Zagreb and Zagreb – Dubrovnik – Zagreb flights twice daily. From 8th June, they will also operate the Zagreb – Zadar – Pula – Zadar – Zagreb network of flights once per day. Trade Air have also resumed some internal flights. You can see more details on our Flights in Croatia page.

Trains

Many train routes in Croatia have resumed. You can see details of some services that presently do not run on the Croatian Railways website.

Should I be visiting Croatia in summer 2020?

We’re still in May (at the time of writing) and there’s still so many unknowns with regards to international travel this summer. Whilst I’m sure many of you may be itching for a break (myself included!) I would say it’s still a little early to be considering booking a holiday to Croatia…there’s still enough time to wait and see how things develop. On the other hand, perhaps you’ve got an existing booking for later this summer? All being well, you may be able to take up that holiday.

Things, at the moment, are looking promising – and you may well be visiting Croatia in summer 2020.

New Flights to Croatia 2019

29th March 2019/0 Comments/in Travelling to Croatia, Flights, New

Here we are at the end of March already – a time when quite a few airlines start their regular ‘summer’ flights to Croatia! A great opportunity to look and see what new flights to Croatia – and other changes – there are for 2019.

New flights from Ireland to Croatia

There’s some excellent news for our Irish friends with plans to visit Croatia this year. Ryanair have two new routes this year – from Dublin to Split and Dubrovnik. Both routes will operate four times a week (on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays to Split; and on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays to Dubrovnik) from the beginning of June through to the end of October.

Aer Lingus continue to fly the above two routes as well, but have also introduced a new one for 2019. They will fly from Cork to Dubrovnik twice a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays) from 11th to 28th September.

London to Zadar with Easyjet

Zadar is a stunning town, so it’s great news that there’s more and more flights to this Dalmatian airport each year! Easyjet have flown from London Luton to Zadar for a couple of years and will now also fly to Zadar from London Gatwick. Flights will operate twice a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays) from 30th April to the 26th October.

Another London airport for flights to Split

London is of course spoilt for choice when it comes to flights to Croatia – with plenty of flights from Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted.

But British Airways will now add another airport into this mix – London City Airport. Flights from here will operate three times a week (on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays) from 21st June to 6th September.

British Airways have also increased frequency of flights from London Heathrow to Split – in peak summer (from 20th May onwards), the airline now has seven flights a week on this route. (Daily apart from Saturdays, with two flights on Sundays.)

New flights to Rijeka with TUI

01/04/19 Note: We’ve been informed that TUI have cancelled their Manchester to Rijeka route – before they’ve even started operating it! They will now NOT fly from Manchester to Rijeka this year. See changes below.

TUI have introduced ~~two~~ one new route for 2019 to an airport in Croatia they have never serviced before, Rijeka.

They will fly from London Gatwick ~~and Manchester~~ to Rijeka once a week (Thursdays) from 23rd May to 10th October.

But TUI don’t just stop there in terms of new flights! There’s also good news for Welsh visitors to Croatia – for the first time, there is now a direct flight from Cardiff Airport to Dubrovnik (operates on Thursdays from 2nd May to 31st October).

And the airline also have two more new routes – from Doncaster Sheffield to Pula (operates on Saturdays from 4th May to 5th October) and from Leeds Bradford to Dubrovnik (operates on Thursdays from 2nd May to 31st October).

However, there’s one route that TUI have dropped for 2019 – they are no longer operating flights from Newcastle to Dubrovnik.

Flybe no longer fly to Croatia

Flybe have dropped all of their flights from the UK to Croatia. They used to fly from London Southend to Zadar and Dubrovnik.

More flights per week with Jet2.com

There’s no new flights with Jet2.com this year. (The airline has introduced a number of new routes to Croatia in the last couple of years, so we’ll forgive them!) They are, however, increasing frequency on some of their existing routes. There will be three flights a week in peak season (15th July to 22nd September) from London Stansted to Split, and five flights a week in peak season (27th May to 22nd September) from London Stansted to Dubrovnik.

However, they have reduced frequency on their East Midlands to Split and Edinburgh to Split routes for 2019 – both will only fly once a week this year.

New flights from America to Croatia, too!

Although this post largely covers new flights from the UK and Ireland to Croatia, we couldn’t help but also mention a new route from America to Croatia as well! (Mainly because it’s the first route directly connecting the U.S. and Croatia in decades!)

American Airlines will fly from Philadelphia to Dubrovnik three times a week (on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays) from 7th June to 21st September. Flight time will be nine hours and 15 minutes.

More on new flights to Croatia 2019

Check out our Flights to Croatia page for full details of all routes from the UK and Ireland to Croatia for 2019, as well as their frequency and dates of operation.

Happy flying!

New flights to Croatia in 2017

21st April 2017/0 Comments/in Blog, Dalmatia, Dubrovnik, Flights, Pula, Split, Travelling to Croatia

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 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!

Visiting Croatia in September

2nd September 2015/0 Comments/in Blog, Events, General, Travel advice, Travelling around, Travelling to Croatia

Although the summer holiday crowds have gone home, many travellers come to Croatia to visit this month. That’s no surprise – there’s a lot to be said for visiting the country in late summer/early Autumn. But what’s it like visiting Croatia in September?

Getting to Croatia in September

Travellers shouldn’t have any problems in reaching Croatia in September – most airlines that operate flights from the UK and the rest of Europe continue their summer schedules well into September, if not into October too. (Some even to early November!) Take a look at our Flights to Croatia from the UK & Ireland to see the full operating dates of all routes from these two countries to Croatia.

Getting around Croatia in September

Likewise, most transport options – with buses and ferries being those that travellers will most likely use when visiting Croatia – still continue with high season or special ‘summer’ schedules in this month too. For example, Jadrolinija – the largest ferry operator in Croatia – continues its high season schedule until the end of September. Kapetan Luka – operator of the very popular catamaran service that travels from Split to Brac, Hvar, Korcula, Mljet and Dubrovnik (and return too, of course!) still continues to operate this service daily in September. (Note: it changes to being a three-times a week service in October.)

Some seasonal bus routes may have stopped operating at the end of August, although most of these of are of the kind that take (domestic) holidaymakers from inland Croatia to the coast. Check out our Bus Travel in Croatia section for help in planning bus routes.

Visiting Croatia in September - Plitvice Lakes

Accommodation in Croatia in September

Not to sound like a broken record…but since absolute peak season is now over, accommodation should be slightly cheaper in Croatia in September. But seeing as it’s still a busy month, it’s not the time for bargains! Check out our Accommodation in Croatia section if you need some help with planning and booking where to stay.

Weather in September in Croatia

This is a big one – what’s the weather like during the ninth month of the year? Well, traditionally, summer temperatures and conditions normally do stretch out well into September if not beyond. This is one reason that many choose September as the month to visit Croatia – especially as the summer holidaymakers have gone. Sea temperatures will also be warm, given waters have been heating up for a number of months!

Southern and Central Europe was undergoing something of a heatwave in early September, with temperatures reaching into the 30s Celsius. However, mid-20s C is a more normal temperature for this time of year – and it looks like this sort of weather has returned to Croatia and will stay.

The Croatian Meteorological Service website is a great website to check out weather forecasts (although I’m sure you already have your own favourite weather website or app!) – but do be sure to take a look at their current sea temperatures page.

What’s on in Croatia in September

Plenty!

Korcula is the location of the 4th Korkyra Baroque Festival, 5th to 12th September.

The 20th Split Film Festival – an international festival of new film – will be taking place in Croatia’s second city from the 12th to 19th September.

The 9th Giostra Festival will take place in Porec, 9th to 11th September 2015. Over the three days of the event, around 250 participants celebrate costumes, culture and events from the 18th century.

If you’re in Istria towards the end of the month, look out for the Parenzana Bike Race (25th – 27th September), a World Cycling Federation event. Or if you’re feeling active, join in on the recreational ‘race’ on the Sunday!

The Food Film Festival will be held in Zagreb from 11th to 20th September, combining two wonderful items – food and film! Films with a gastronomic focus will be shown. Also in Zagreb is the 48th International Puppet Festival (14th – 19th September) and music and food event RujanFest (literally, ‘SeptemberFest’) from 11th to 20th of the month.

Nightlife and festivals in September in Croatia

Outlook Festival, held in Fort Punta Christo near Pula from the 2nd to 6th September concludes the festival season for Croatia for the year…so if you planned to attend one of these gatherings, you’ve kind of missed the boat!

Most of the island clubs (such as in Novalja) also normally close for the season at the end of August. But if clubbing’s your kind of thing, we’d advise sticking to one of the larger cities or towns in the country – such as Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik.

Enjoy your September visit to Croatia!

Getting from Venice to Split

10th July 2015/6 Comments/in Blog, Dalmatia, Ferries in Croatia, Split, Travel advice, Travelling to Croatia

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!)

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.

New flights to Croatia for 2015!

6th January 2015/2 Comments/in Blog, Dalmatia, Flights, Istria, Travelling to Croatia, Zagreb

Happy New Year to all! The start of a new year – and a bout of the winter blues – normally always means the start of summer holiday planning. So what better time to look more closely at new flights to Croatia for 2015?

One of the most updated sections of the Visit Croatia site is our Flights to Croatia from the UK and Ireland page, which we regularly add to all the time as new routes and schedules get announced. We’ve had the page detailing 2015 flights up since around mid-summer 2014 (as flights always seem to get announced super-early!), but let’s finally put together all the information to see what’s new for 2015.

New flights to Croatia for 2015

Although there are now many, many flights to Croatia in summer, there’s plenty of new routes that have been announced for 2015! Even London, which already has flights to every (major) airport in Croatia, gets a few new routes.

For starters, British Airways have introduced a new London Heathrow – Split route. They will be flying twice a week from 3rd May to 20th September.

Easyjet are to introduce no fewer than four new routes to Split for 2015 – from London Luton, Manchester, Newcastle and Belfast airports. These routes will all start in June, operating through until late September/early October. They also have another new route for 2015 – London Gatwick to Pula.

Jet2.com have introduced two new routes – East Midlands to Pula and Edinburgh to Split, with each being operated on Sundays. As with all their flights to Croatia, these will fly from mid-May to the end of September.

Thomsonfly have introduced new routes to Dubrovnik from Bristol, Newcastle and Glasgow, plus a new route from Manchester to Split. All the Dubrovnik routes will fly on Thursdays, and will operate from 7th May to 22nd October. Manchester to Split will fly on Fridays from 1st May to 16th October.

The airline are also expected to start a service from Bristol to Pula, although we are currently awaiting further details of this.

Cancelled routes for 2015

Unfortunately, there are a few routes that have been scrapped for this year. Easyjet no longer fly to Zagreb, although luckily this airport is still served daily from London by both British Airways and Croatia Airlines.

Monarch no longer fly from Birmingham to Split, or from Manchester to Dubrovnik.

Flybe no longer operate their route from Birmingham to Dubrovnik, and now no longer have any flights to Croatia.

Changes in flight schedules

Easyjet‘s flights from London Gatwick to Split start at the same time of year (end of April), although daily services start a little later, in mid-May. However, their daily services to Dubrovnik from the same airport start earlier this year, also in mid-May.

They’ve upped flights to Bristol so there will be at least two flights a week throughout the season – although there’s three flights a week, as last year, during peak season (mid-June to mid-September).

Outside of August, Ryanair will fly to Pula twice a week (they flew three times in June and September 2014) and their five flights a week to Zadar will only operate in August.

Thomsonfly have upped the frequency of all existing flights to Dubrovnik (from London Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester) to twice a week.

Jet2.com have also upped the frequency of flights from Manchester to Pula to twice a week.

As you can see, there’s plenty of ways of getting to Croatia from the UK and Ireland this year. Do take a look at our Flights to Croatia from the UK and Ireland section for full details of all flights to the country, including by destination and departure airport.

We hope you enjoy your flight to Croatia in 2015!

Travel question: Travelling from Ljubljana to Pula

16th May 2013/1 Comment/in Blog, Istria, Pula, Travel advice, Travelling around, Travelling to Croatia

Hi there, not sure if you’re able to help us at all but my friend and I are coming to Croatia this August for a festival in Pula. We are landing from London in Ljubljana, Slovenia at 19:00 on 27/08/13 and need to get to Pula to our apartment. We want to know if there is a relatively cheap/safe way of us travelling this distance at this time. The apartment owners are aware that we need a late check in but we want to arrive there at a reasonable time. Any information you have would be greatly appreciated. O. H-S

Unfortunately, I have to say that you will find it difficult to travel from Ljubljana to Pula at that time of the day (well, evening). There is a direct daily bus from Ljubljana to Pula at that time of year, but it runs at 9.30am. (See the timetable on the FILS website – scroll down for the seasonal, summer line.) I believe a one-way ticket should be about 200 Kunas, or the equivalent in Euros.

The alternatives I would suggest also don’t really work at that time of the day. I would have suggested getting a train from Ljubljana to Rijeka, but the two a day are at 6.35am and 3.10pm. (From Rijeka to Pula there are several buses per day.)

Another possibility would be to take a train to Zagreb (if you did this, it would be best to take a taxi from Ljubljana Airport to Kranj, which is about 15 minutes away, rather than travel to downtown Ljubljana, about 30-45 mins away), and then a bus to Pula.. There are several trains per day from Kranj (or Ljubljana) to Zagreb but again, these all run before your 7pm arrival time.

(If you wanted to look up train timetables, the Die Bahn website is the best place to do this.)

These above options are all relatively cheap and safe (travelling in Croatia/Slovenia is very safe, just use your common sense with personal possessions, of course!) but, obviously, the most important issue is that they don’t get you to Pula the same day! Aside from renting a car (which isn’t an especially cheap option, and not everyone wants to drive) I’m afraid the best thing I would suggest would be to stay in Ljubljana one night and then get the bus direct to Pula the next morning. I’m assuming you’re attending Outlook so the bus will still get you there in time for the opening concert on the 28th. (Not sure if you’ll be able to amend your booking in Pula by a day.)

New air route for 2012 – Newcastle to Dubrovnik!

31st October 2011/0 Comments/in Blog, Dubrovnik, Flights, Special offers to Croatia, Travelling to Croatia

British low-cost airline Jet2.com announced a few days ago that they are to add a second brand new air route to Croatia for 2012! Following the news that they are to commence flying from Manchester to Pula next year, the airline is also to establish a route flying from Newcastle to Dubrovnik – the very first route to Croatia from this northeastern English city. (Welcome to Croatia, oh people of Newcastle!)

The Newcastle-Dubrovnik route will operate once a week, on Saturdays, from 4th June to 7th October 2012. This brings the total number of the Jet2.com routes to Croatia to seven – they operate flights from Leeds Bradford, Manchester, Edinburgh and Belfast to Dubrovnik, and also from Manchester to both Pula and Split. All their flights operate once a week, bar the Manchester to Dubrovnik route which flies twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays.

Newcastle to Dubrovnik flights are available from £41.99 one-way including taxes, and holidays from Newcastle to Dubrovnik are available from £399 with Jet2holidays.

The great news for people travelling from the UK is that there are now numerous flights to the country from a variety of airlines, many of which have already announced their schedules for summer 2012. Take a look at our Getting There By Air 2012 page for full details!

2011 to be a busy year for Split Airport

30th March 2011/0 Comments/in Split, Travelling to Croatia

Following my previous posts this month on how 2011 looks to be a promising year for Zadar Airport and on Split looking forward to a great season, here’s a post that combines those two – looking at how Split Airport is also looking to have a good year!

Today’s Slobodna Dalmacija reports that this year, the city will be connected by air to 75 cities in 21 different European countries, with routes established to 10 more cities this year than in 2010. 11 low-cost airlines will be operating flights to Split this year, whilst there will be 50 regular or charter airlines also flying to the city. New figures show that there should be a total of 11,500 take-offs and landings at the airport, which would mean a total capacity of 1.48 million seats on all of those flights. These numbers have been established from currently confirmed routes, although during April, an additional 10 companies may also confirm operation of seasonal flights.

The largest growth in new airline companies operating routes comes from Russia (and the Ukraine), with there to be as many as ten airlines operating flights to Split. For the third year running, Aeroflot has flights from Moscow to Split – the only route from Moscow to the Adriatic. (The airline recently pulled out of a planned new air route to Dubrovnik this year.)

Scandinavian cities will also have great links to Split, with there to be 20 cities with air routes to Split this year. Croatia’s national airline, Croatia Airlines, will also have routes from 17 European cities to Split.

Amongst the new routes that are to be introduced this year include Adria Airways‘s flights from Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana and Condor‘s flights from Frankfurt. The article also mentions a Spanair route from Barcelona and a Finnair route from Helsinki, plus a service from Ancona in Italy (just a short hop over the Adriatic!) by Italian airline Belleair – though I must admit, I had trouble finding any additional info on these routes! Nevertheless, these may be something to keep an eye, as airlines do sometimes announce new routes relatively late – and are in the process of announcing their Summer 2011 timetable.

More info on flights to Split from the UK and Europe: Getting to Split

Source: Slobodna Dalmacija

Zagreb Airport looks forward to 2011; could a direct route to New York be on the cards?

24th December 2010/0 Comments/in Blog, Travelling to Croatia, Zagreb

This morning’s Vjesnik has a report on the progress of Zagreb Airport during 2010, and its plans for the coming year. Airport director Tonci Peovic states that by the year end, 10,000 more passengers will have passed through the airport than 2009, which adds up to a total of 2.07 million passengers for the entire year. However, this increase was about 40,000 less than expected, mainly due to a number of airlines cancelling their flights during the ash cloud crisis in Europe in April this year.

Mr Peovic expects that passenger numbers will rise by 5% during 2011, and is proud of the fact that the airport has agreed routes with three new airlines – Spanair, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Easyjet, the latter of which has or will start three new routes. (Easyjet commenced flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle in November, and will start services to London Gatwick and Dortmund in February 2011.) National carrier Croatia Airlines has also added new routes from Zagreb, to Hanover and Athens, during 2010.

Perhaps the bit of news of most interest to our North American readers is that Mr Peovic says negotiations for establishing a direct route between Zagreb and New York (perhaps solely during the summer months) has nearly reached a conclusion. This would surely make reaching Croatian destinations far easier for those travelling from the U.S.!

Source: Vjesnik