Croatia’s islands are served by a fleet of ferries and faster, passenger-only catamarans, most of which are operated by state firm Jadrolinija.

The main passenger ports are Rijeka (for the Kvarner Gulf islands of Cres, Lošinj, Krk and Rab), Zadar (for Ugljan, Pašman, Dugi otok and the smaller islands of the Zadar archipelago), Split (for Šolta, Brač, Hvar, Vis, Korčula and Lastovo), and Dubrovnik (for the Elafiti islands and Mljet).

Tickets & reservations

Tickets for foot passengers on ferries are inexpensive and can be bought either online in advance or from the port-side ticket office right up until departure time. Travelling with a vehicle will be a lot more costly. Tickets for vehicles can also be bought online although this does not always provide a confirmed reservation on a particular service.

Advance reservations for vehicles are possible on some major lines (such as Split to Starigrad on Hvar), although travellers with reservations are well advised to arrive at least one hour before sailing time in order to park their car in the priority-boarding lane. On other routes, car drivers (whether they have bought tickets in advance or not) simply have to queue up in the hope of getting a place on the next ferry.

Passenger-only catamarans have a limited number of seats and are best reserved in advance.