Croatia - Eastern Europe - page 134

to Croatia from another European city by rail, check schedules and fares and get
details on rail passes at Rail Europe, www.raileurope.com. Croatian rail travel usually
requires train changes because the track gauge is different from that used on Eurail
routes. Check Croatia Railways (www.hznet.hr).
BY FERRY Ferry travel is the most common way to access Croatia's islands and
coastal towns. Four lines serve major Croatian ports from Bari, Ancona, Pescara, and
Venice in Italy. Other lines operate seasonal routes. Information for all ferry lines listed
below is available at www.cemar.it.
Note: Not all ferries operate daily routes to all destinations, so you need to check
arrival/departure information carefully.
Jadrolinija has three international routes—Ancona-Zadar and Ancona-Split daily,
and once-a-week service between Bari and Dubrovnik. Round-trip deck passage for
two adults without a vehicle runs 74

€

($88) for the overnight trip between Bari and
Dubrovnik, while the fare for two in an external cabin with toilet plus a vehicle is
413

€

($492).
Blue Line International operates daily overnight service between Ancona and
Split. Round-trip deck accommodations for two run 160

€

($190) while a deluxe

cabin for two with a vehicle runs 525 ($625) during the summer. For weekend

departures from late July through late August add 25%.
SNAV operates several routes between Italy and Croatia and is the only interna-
tional connection to popular Hvar Island. Prices and schedule information are avail-
able from April through September on the cemar.hr website (above).
Venezia Lines travels between Venice and cities such as Rovinj and Pula on Istria's
western coast. Schedule and fare information is available at the website listed above or
at www.venezialines.com from April through September.
BY CAR The highways that connect Croatia to Slovenia, Hungary, Bosnia-Herce-
govina, and Serbia-Montenegro are good and getting better. This is especially true of
the span between Ljubljana and Zagreb, a 2-hour journey. It takes about 5 hours to
reach Zagreb (362km/225 miles) from Budapest, Hungary, while visitors from Italy
and Austria cross an excellent stretch of road in Slovenia to get to Croatia's borders.
BY BUS International bus travel in Europe can be comfortable but time-consuming
as the escalating price of fuel has catapulted this travel option out of the “cheap” cate-
gory. Regular international buses connect Croatia with neighboring European coun-
tries and those beyond its borders, including the U.K. (www.nationalexpress.com). If
time is money for you, consider that while round-trip bus fare between London and
Split costs just 171

€

€ ($204), the trip takes about 38 hours and almost 60 hours to

return.
GETTING AROUND
BY PLANE Croatia Air has a near monopoly on flights that travel among Croatia's
seven airports (Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Rijeka, Pula, Zadar, and Bra c ), and unless
one of these cities is your final destination, you'll have to transfer to some other mode
of transportation to finish your trip.
Note: Domestic flights booked on Croatia Air from outside the country cost nearly
twice as much as flights booked at a Croatia Air office in the country unless they are
part of a multicity international ticket.
BY BUS Almost every town in Croatia has a bus station, and the network of bus
routes makes this form of transportation an excellent, economical option for travel