Croatia

Croatia is a country located in Central Europe, on the east side of the Adriatic, across the sea from Italy. It is bordered by Montenegro to the south, Serbia in the east, Bosnia to the southeast, Slovenia and Italy to the northwest and Hungary to the north. If you are coming to Croatia for the first time, check about how to get here in this article.

The entire Adriatic coast has a pleasant Mediterranean climate with mild spring and autumn along the coast, with the average temperature at the seaside on January 5°C to 12°C and August 23°C to 39°C.

The terrain near the Adriatic coastline and islands consist of low mountains and highlands.

Croatia has 1246 islands – the largest ones are Cres, Krk, Dugi Otok, Pag, Brac, Hvar and Korcula.

There are three distinct areas along Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea: Istria – a peninsula in the northwest, bordering Slovenia, Kvarner – a seashore and island around Bay of Kvarner and Dalmatia – a strip of mainland and islands between Kvarner and Montenegro coast.

The main cities and ferry ports on Croatian mainland are Rijeka, Zadar, Sibenik, Split and Dubrovnik. They are all connected by various ferries to nearby islands and their archipelagos.

Croatia is blessed with a beautiful coastline which is best explored by ferry to access the hundreds of islands. Read more about how to get around Croatia in this article.

Ferries in Croatia are subsidized by the Croatian government and therefore pretty cheap to travel by. Some are faster, some slower and take ages to reach their destinations. Nevertheless, they are probably the best way to do some Island hopping and visit beautiful Croatian islands as in most cases the only way to get to the islands is by ferry or catamaran.

Jadrolinija is the main Croatian ferry company that runs the largest number of international as well as domestic ferry lines. There are also numerous smaller ferry companies that run various ferries along the coast too.

Croatian Ferry Schedules are adjusted to suit commuters who live on islands and travel to the mainland (not vice versa). Therefore, it is often impossible to make a day trip to the island especially out of the main summer season which is from June to September.

Booking of ferries in Croatia – All international ferry crossings that connect Croatia with other countries can be booked in advance online, while you cannot book in advance majority of local car ferries – read more

Note: If you have any ferry questions and need clarification, post it on our forum and we will try our best to help. Alternatively, get in touch.

Read more about Croatia and Croatian Islands