Croatia is a country known for its beautiful beaches and crystal clear Adriatic sea. From the moment you arrive in the country, you will realize why there are so many cruising tours on offer. There is a large array of options starting with small ship cruises to land cruises letting you experience the best of both the sea and the land. You are free to choose between small wooden cruise ships with a small crew of four to five people to tours on deluxe cruise ships of the highest category that can host up to 40 passengers. If you are struggling to plan out your cruising adventure in Croatia, here is the list of few things that you might find useful.

CHOOSE A CABIN ACCORDING TO YOUR PREFERENCES

You need to make sure that the cabin you choose is the type of accommodation that you’re looking for. Some people prefer to have a private cabin all to themselves, while others don’t mind saving some money and sharing a room with other passengers. Different types of cabins will affect the pricing and cruising experience. Therefore, be sure to consult with our travel agents about the features of each cabin so you opt for an option that best suits your travel style.

LEARN THE ROUTE AND DESTINATIONS BEFOREHAND

Most cruising tours in Croatia depart from Split, Dubrovnik, Trogir, Zadar and Opatija and these are considered to be the most famous and frequent ports. We would advise to browse through some of the top destinations in Croatia a bit and look for things you would like to do so you can choose the route accordingly.

Most cruises will include visits to islands off the coast of Dalmatia province in the southern part of Croatia. Vis, Hvar, Brac, Korcula, and Mljet are the most popular islands for tourists. Most cruise trip planners plan their routes according to popular demand, which means that you will likely get to stop by.

LOOK FOR A CRUISE WITH ACTIVITIES SUITED FOR YOU

Everyone has their own preferences and expectations when it comes to a cruise, so you have to make sure that you choose the one with activities and a theme that suits you. Some people look for a journey with a young and exciting crew, so they may decide to join our young & fun crew or one of our active cruises, while others might be inspired by Croatian rich heritage and decide to go with nature and culture cruise option. Moreover, there are also gay, nudist, one-way cruises, and delux cruises and it is up to you to decide which travel style suit you best. Keep in mind that no matter which option you choose rest assured that the top tourist attractions and best-known travel destinations are included within the itineraries and therefore you will have a chance to discover a very large part of Croatia within 3/ 7/ 14 days, depending on the route duration of your preference.

SAFETY FIRST

When you’re on board, you need to follow the instructions of the skipper, the captain, and the crew to ensure that you can make the most out of the experience while staying safe. If you’re traveling with children, you always need to keep them in sight, especially if it’s their first time on a cruise ship.

If you’re an inexperienced swimmer, you shouldn’t go too far from the ship if it stops for an open water swim. As a rule, you should keep around 400 meters distance around the ship. Additionally, if the trip includes a hike on the islands, you need to bring hiking shoes to avoid cuts and bruises.

GETTING TO CROATIA

There are various ways of getting to Croatia. You can, of course, do so by air, bus, train, car and ferry and your mode of transport may well depend on the country you’re travelling from and its proximity to Croatia.

Getting to Croatia from France by air

There are many direct flights from France (at least, in summer) to almost all of the major airports in Croatia. Luckily for all cruise lovers out there, the major airport cities happen to be the starting point of various cruises. As stated above, the major cruise ports are Rijeka, Split, Zadar and Dubrovnik which can easily be reachable by direct flights. The only two cruise ports that do not offer direct flight connections are Trogir and Opatija. Beware that Trogir is just 40 km from Split and Opatija just 14 km drive from Rijeka so both ports can easily be accessible either by bus or rent a car or a private transfer after you land. Kindly note the list of direct and 1+ stopover flights to major cruise ports/airlines:

Direct flights to Split
from Lyon, Nice, Marseille, Toulouse, Paris, Nantes, Bordeaux.

1+ stopover flights to Rijeka
from Toulouse, Lyon, Paris, Marseille, Strasbourg, Bastia – Corsica.

Flights To Zadar
from Marseille, Paris, Toulouse, Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lille, Strasbourg, Brest, Carcassonne, Biarritz, Nimes, Montpellier, Rennes, Clermont-Ferrand, Lourdes, Mulhouse, Goin, chambéry le vieux & Châlons-en-Champagne.

Flights To Dubrovnik
from Lyon, Marseilles, Toulouse, Nantes, Bordeaux, Paris, Nice, Nimes, Montpellier, Strasbourg, Biarritz, Lille, Rennes, Perpignan, Brest, Lourdes, La Rochelle, Tours, Ajaccio, Beziers, Clermont – Ferrand, Pau, Goin, Mulhouse, Limoges, Lorient, Castres – Mazamet, Poitiers, Dole Tavaux, chambéry le vieux, Deauville St. Gatien.

Flights To Zagreb
from Nice, Marseille, Toulouse, Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes, Strasbourg, Nîmes, Biarritz, Lorient, Rennes, Castres – Mazamet, Pau, Perpignan, Lourdes, Bastia – Corsica, Montpellier, Clermont – Ferrand, Brest, Beziers, Bergerac, Caen, Mulhouse, Goin, Tours, Ajaccio, Dinard, Dole Tavaux, Châlons-en-Champagne.

In case you opt for a direct flight to Zagreb, you need to consider other transportation possibilities like rent a car, transfer, bus, etc. depending on your departure port. Keep in mind that Adriagate can assist you either with rent a car or transfer service and offer a 5% discount on travel packages (cruise + transport service).

Getting to Croatia from Ireland by air

Flights to Split
From Dublin, Cork, Knock, Shannon.

Flights to Rijeka
From Dublin, Cork, Kerry.

Flights to Zadar
From Dublin, Cork, Knock, Shannon & Kerry.

Flights to Dubrovnik
From Dublin, Cork, Knock, Shannon & Kerry.

Flight to Zagreb
From Cork, Dublin, Shannon, Kerry, Knock.

Getting to Croatia from the UK by air

Flights to Split
From London, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburg, Liverpool, Birmingham, Belfast, Glasgow, New Castle, Jersey, Nottingham, Leeds, Aberdeen, Inverness, Exeter, Cardiff, Doncaster, Bournemouth, Castletown, Durham, Southampton, Dundee, Derry, Newquay, Sutton on Sea, Norwich, Carlisle, Orkney, Sumburgh.

Flights to Dubrovnik
From London, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburg, Liverpool, Birmingham, Belfast, Glasgow, New Castle, Jersey, Nottingham, Leeds, Aberdeen, Inverness, Exeter, Cardiff, Doncaster, Bournemouth, Castletown, Durham, Southampton, Dundee, Derry, Newquay, Sutton on Sea, Norwich, Carlisle, Orkney.

Flights to Zadar
From London, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburg, Liverpool, Birmingham, Belfast, Glasgow, New Castle, Jersey, Nottingham, Leeds, Aberdeen, Inverness, Exeter, Cardiff, Doncaster, Bournemouth, Castletown, Durham, Southampton, Dundee, Derry, Sutton on Sea, Norwich, Carlisle, Campbeltown.

We have stated just a few examples aiming to show you Croatia is very well connected and can easily be reachable from any larger European city. In case you would like to browse other flight possibilities you are free to visit Skyscanner, Cheapflights, Kayak, Momondo, Azair or any other online portal offering affordable flights to Croatia.

Traveling from Italy to Croatia by ferry

If you find yourself in Italy, there are also many ferry possibilities on offer. You can take ferries from the ports of Venice, Trieste, Cesenatico, Pesaro, Ancona or Bari to Croatia – which one you travel from depends on your final destination and the time of year.

The best ferry possibilities boast:

Ancona – Split
Ancona – Zadar
Bari – Dubrovnik.

Photo Credit: Croatiaferries.com

You can also take Venice to Umag, Venice – Poreč or Venice – Rovinj and then use rent a car service or bus to desired cruise departure port.

The only route that operates year-round – although it only operates a couple of times a week during the winter months – is the Ancona to Split route with Jadrolinija.

If it happens we left out some information that you might find useful, feel free to reach out to our customer support team that are more than happy to assist you with any information you might find useful.
Moreover, make sure to take advantage of 5% off if you decide to combine a cruise package with rent a car or transfer service.

Don’t you yearn for a Croatia cruise to discover everything that Croatia has to offer? 🙂

Find your perfect route for your next sailing holidays in Croatia!