Croatia has a clearly defined tourist season that begins around April and ends around the beginning of October. Plan to visit Croatia during this season and you'll have a wealth of direct international flights and more frequent ferries from Italy. Come off-season and your flight is likely to involve one or more changes and could be pricey. At the height of the summer season--July, August--it's usually more efficient to take a flight or a ferry rather than driving in order to avoid long lines at the border and jammed roads. Trains maintain frequency throughout the year but the train network within Croatia is limited. Buses run all year but some are more frequent in summer.
See more on:
Driving to Croatia
Ferries to Croatia
Flights to Croatia
Trains to Croatia
Buses to Croatia
The principal points of entry to Croatia are:
Zagreb (best reached by plane, train or car) See more on travelling to Zagreb
Dubrovnik (best reached by plane or ferry) See more on travelling to Dubrovnik
Split (best reached by plane, ferry, train or car) See more on travelling to Split
Pula (best reached by plane, bus or car) See more on travelling to Pula
Zadar (best reached by plane, ferry or car) See more on travelling to Zadar
Rijeka (best reached by plane, train, bus, car) See more on travelling to Rijeka
Other points of entry--principally in Istria and the islands of Dalmatia--are only available by ferries in summer. See more on ferries to Croatia.
Book trains with thetrainline and find more buses to Croatia with Flixbus or BusBud
To find the best travel option to Croatia see the following chart which outlines the best and cheapest ways to get to Croatia:
If you're coming from... | You should. . . |
Northern Europe | take a flight to Croatia |
North America | take a flight to Croatia |
Italy | take a ferry, bus, car,train, or flight because: there are very few year-round Italy-Croatia flights although there are some in summer. More on getting to Croatia from Italy. |
Austria | take a train, car or bus because: connections are excellent to Zagreb and flights to the coast stop at Zagreb anyway. |
Slovenia | take a train, car or bus |
Hungary | take a train, car or bus because: connections are good and there are no year-round Hungary-Croatia flights. |
Serbia | take a train, car or flight but: flights are summer only and direct to the coast |
Last Updated January 16, 2023
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