piątek, 29 marca 2013

Sea transport in Croatia

Croatia has 5000 km of coastline and more than 1000 islands so sea transport is quite a common form of travel here. A large number of ferries and high-speed boats (catamarans and hydrofoils) connect islands with land.
Some of them are available through the whole year and some operate only in high season. So be sure to consult the right timetable when planning your trip. National ferry company is Jadrolinija and there are a few private ones as well.

Coastal ferry route carried out by Jadrolinija runs the whole length of the coast: Rijeka-Split-Hvar (Stari Grad)-Korčula-Mljet (Sobra)-Dubrovnik. It's a 20 hours journey (with one night aboard).
*Tickets can be booked online


Local ferries and catamarans connect major ports with most of the islands. Unfortunately, tickets can't be booked online (except for few routes from Zadar and Šibenik), but you can buy them at either local Jadrolinija or private company office, depending which company you opted for

*In general you can't buy tickets for high-speed routes in advance, but only on the day of the journey. Therefore it's recommended to come to the port early enough end secure your ticket, especially during the high season.
*If you plan on bringing your car on board keep in mind summer crowds can be pretty thick. In summer, especially on weekends, wait time to board can last a few hours so it's recommended you come to the port as early as possible.


For more info on timetables and routes check these websites:
  • Jadrolinija – coastal ferry route Rijeka-Split-Hvar-Korčula-Mljet-Dubrovnik and local high-speed and ferry routes for most of the islands
  • GV line – high-speed routes in Zadar area (Zverinac, Iž, Rava, etc.); high-speed routes in Dubrovnik area (Mljet, Korčula, Lastovo, etc.)
  • Miatours – high-speed routes in Zadar area (Silba, Olib, Mali Lošinj, etc.)
  • Kapetan Luka – high-speed routes Split-Hvar and Split-Korčula
  • LNP – ferry routes Rab-Krk, Drvenik-Korčula, high-speed route Pula-Mali Lošinj-Zadar

International Sea Transport

All international ferry routes for Croatia originate in Italy, namely from ports: Trieste, Ancona, Bari and Venice. Their landing points in Croatia are: Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, Istria region and occasionally some Croatian islands.
Jadrolinija connects Italy and Croatia through the whole year, and you have to book your tickets in advance. Other companies have a considerably smaller number of international routes for Croatia in low season.

For more information on international timetables and available routes check out these websites:
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