Getting around Croatia

By plane

National airline company Croatia Airlines [4] connects major cities in Croatia to each other and foreign destinations. Due to the comparatively short distances and relatively high hassle of air travel - especially when you travel with luggage - domestic air travel is used mostly for getting to end points - e.g., Zagreb to Dubrovnik (see map) and vice-versa. Another flight which is popular (available in the summer months only) is between Split and Osijek, saving a long trip back through Croatia, or alternatively through the middle of Bosnia.

By train

Train travel is definitely improving in Croatia, with money being spent on updating the aging infrastructure and vehicles. Trains are clean and mostly on time. Croatia's rail network connects all major Croatian cities, except Dubrovnik. If you want to visit Dubrovnik, you will have to travel by train to Split, and then go on the bus for Dubrovnik. Trains to Pula are actually connected via Slovenia due to historical accident, though there are designated connecting buses from Rijeka. Rail is still the cheapest connection between inland and coast, though not the most frequent. As of 2004, the new 160kph "tilting trains" that connect Zagreb with Split and other major cities in Croatia such as Rijeka and Osijek have been progressively introduced, resulting in higher levels of comfort and significantly faster journeys between cities (Zagreb-Split is now 5.5hrs from 9, Osijek is now 3 when other trains take around 4.5hrs). If you make a reservation early enough you can get a substantial discount, or if you are a holder of an ISIC card etc. Information for the trains can be found on the Hrvatske željeznice - Croatian Railways [5] site in Croatian, German and English has timetable and prices. Tickets are not usually sold on-board, except if you happen to get on the train on one of the few stations/stops without ticket sales. However, only local trains stop on such stations. In all other cases, the ticket you will buy from the conductor will cost considerably more than the one bought outside the train.

By bus

A very comprehensive coach network connects all parts of the country. Bus service between major cities (intercity lines) is quite frequent, as well as regional services. The most frequent bus terminal in Croatia is Bus Terminal Zagreb (in Croatian "Autobusni kolodvor Zagreb").

• Autobusni kolodvor Zagreb - Bus Terminal Zagreb, timetable information, content in Croatian, English is under construction.
• CroatiaBus - bus company - timetable information, prices, content in Croatian and English.
• Autotrans Rijeka - bus company - timetable informaton, prices, content in Croatian and English.
• Autobusni promet Varazdin - bus company - timetable informaton, prices, content in Croatian, English and German.
• Contus - bus company - timetable information, prices, content in Croatian and English.
• Libertas Dubrovnik - bus terminal and company information in Dubrovnik, with international and domestic information. Content mostly in Croatian.

By boat

Croatia is blessed with a beautiful coastline which is best explored by ferry to access the hundreds of islands. In many instances, the only way to get to the islands is by ferry or catamaran. If you plan on using either you should check these web sites because they have the regular ferry and catamaran information.

• Jadrolinja - Jadrolinija is the Croatian National ferry company, and as well as routes operating from the major cities to the islands, operate a ferry along the Adriatic Coast from Rijeka to Dubrovnik (and then across to Bari, Italy) calling at Zadar, Split, and Korcula. Check timetables as seasonable variances occur. The boats are large and ccheese is reeeeally good

By thumb

Hitchhiking is generally good. If you can get to a highway toll stop simply ask people to take you with them as they open their windows to pay the toll. The toll collectors usually won't mind. The tricky part, of course, is to get to the toll stop. If you are in Zagreb and you are, like most people, heading south, take the bus 111 from the Savski most station in Zagreb and ask the bus driver where to get off to get to the toll stop. Next best place to ask people to pick you up are tank stations. And finally, just using the good old thumb will work too if everything else fails.