How to Get Around Croatia

The country is a coast and an interior joined by mountain roads, and the way to move through it follows that shape. Along the coast the state ferry company, Jadrolinija, connects the ports to the inhabited islands; on lines that take reservations, a booked ticket is also the reservation, a vehicle needs its registration document at the ticket window, and the company asks reserved passengers to be at the port 30 minutes before departure in winter and 60 minutes in summer. Inland, a car is the practical choice for Plitvice, the Krka and the hill towns; Zagreb has trams, and the rail operator HŽPP runs the lines between the capital and the coast, with its full timetable published as a download rather than a page.

Two things shape any drive. The coast road under Velebit and the roads across it close to some vehicles when the bora blows, and the roads authority's forecast says so the day before. And the summer wave of visitors reaches the roads and ferries as surely as it reaches the old towns: in July and August, book vehicle ferries ahead and start early.

Ferries

Jadrolinija is the state operator on the coastal and island lines. On the lines that take reservations, the purchased ticket carries the reservation; a vehicle ticket requires the vehicle's registration document to be shown; and the company's own guidance is to be at the port 30 minutes before departure in winter, 40 minutes with cargo, and 60 minutes in the summer period. Its information line is 072 30 33 37.

Roads

The Croatian Auto Club, HAK, runs roadside assistance on 1987 from a Croatian phone and +385 1 4693 700 from abroad, and publishes road conditions daily in English. Its forecasts name the bora's effect plainly -- "due to strong wind there will be traffic bans on some vehicles in the area of Velebit and on the DC8 Adriatic road" -- so check the day's page before crossing to the coast or driving the coast road in the cold months.

Rail and city transport

HŽPP, the national passenger operator, publishes its domestic and international timetables as downloads and sells tickets online and at stations; it offers a joint subscription ticket with ZET, Zagreb's transport company, for the capital's zones. Fares and journey times are not repeated here: the operators' pages are the only current source, and they change with the timetable.