Bus

Buses is by far the most popular kind of public transportation in Croatia, which is no wonder, as busy prices are relatively cheap and coverage is high. The buses are not only used for people but often also for sending packages across the country.

All major cities in Croatia, like Pula, Rijeka, Zagreb, Zadar and Split has international routes to several European destinations like, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the neighbouring countries.

After the main part of the Croatian Motorway has been finish, bus has also become a relative fast way of traveling, a bus trip from Split to Zagreb can now be done in 5 hours, which is about 1 hour more then you would need by car.

Here are a few prices examples for national bus routes, PLEASE NOTE that prices can very a bit depending on which bus company you go with.

Approximate bus prices (One way tickets)
From To Price Distance km* Price / Km
Zagreb Split 100 kn App 400 0.25 kn
Zagreb Rijeka 50 kn 172 0.30 kn
Zagreb Rovinj 140 kn App 280 0.50 kn
Zagreb Zadar 100 kn 250 0.40 kn
Split Dubrovnik 110 kn 220 0.50 kn
Split Trogir 20 kn 30 0.67 kn

The distance in the table is the shortest driving distance between the cities mentioned, the bus might go by route which would make the actual travel distance longer.

As you can see from table the price per km is around 25-70 lipa, so for easy calculation of your fair price, you just have to multiply distance of your trip with 70 Lipa, then you roughly know what you have to pay for your trip.

Some companies offer a discount if you buy return trip.

Tickets

Reservation of ticket for domestic routes is still not common, at most bus stations you can call a premium rate number an reserve tickets, usually one day before departure. Some of the larger bus companies has local offices in tourist towns where you can by tickets, if you wish to make sure to catch a certain departure, you should show up at the bus station about an hour before the departure. Meanwhile Online booking is quite common you can both by tickets for international routes and national long distance routes online , below you can see a list of websites selling bus tickets.

IMPORTANT: If you buy a ticket from Bus Company X on e.g. the route Zagreb to Split, ticket is only valid travelling with that specific company, so you will need to look closely on the schedule and pick exactly the bus you plan to travel with.

List of Bus companies in Croatia with online booking

The only site where you find all bus companies in one place is on this link.
Alternative you can visit the ticket shops of the following bus companies.

Major bus stations in Croatia

Here you find further information about buses and timetables from the major cities

120 Comments

  1. Hi! Great site with very decent articles.
    May I ask for a piece of advice?

    I intend to go from Zagreb to Zadar at the beginning of September, so I need to choose between a bus in the evening or an overnight train.
    I lean towards the train, but I am not sure if I will be able to buy a seat without prior reservation (I want to depart on Thursday, by the way). On the other hand, bus seems to be faster and I could see Croatian nature from my window.

    What would you advise?

    • Hi Eugene

      I am not sure about the train prices, but the bus should be around 120-150 kuna. I am also not aware if you have to reserve ticket for the train.

      PS: although the bus travel on the highway it is still a beautiful trip.

      Brgds, Morten

  2. Thank you so much for answering. I did a little research on the web-site of Croatian Railways and it turns out that ticket costs 170 kuna. The difference in price does not matter so much, but I suspect I might not get a ticket for this overnight train, because I will try to buy it at the last minute before departure.

    So, I guess, I will stick with a bus (only 4 hours on the road) and then stay in a hostel in Zadar. Can you recommend some place to stay? Is one day enought to see the beauties of Zadar?

    • Hi Eugene,

      The bus trip is also quite nice, and 4 hours is a small trip 🙂

      Try to Google Hostel in Zadar or something similar, I once had some friend staying in one not far from the main bus station, but I don’t remember name of the place.

      You can see old town in Zadar and the sour Try to google Hostel in Zadar or something similar, i once had some friend staying in one not far from the main bus station, but i dont remember name of the place.

      You can see old town in Zadar and the surroundings in 1 day

      Brgds, Morten

  3. Hi, we would like to go from Split to Plitvice for two days.
    What is the best way to get there? To rent a car or to take a bus? We have booked Villa Lika. Thank you for advice, Kind regards
    Lena

    • Hi Lena

      Getting to Plitvice by bus is of course the cheapest solution, but it is also a long trip (up to 6 hours with bus), depending on which bus you catch. If you rent car you have about 3 hours drive. the bus should be around 150 kuna oneway/person, renting a car? i would guess 400 kuna + gas and motorway tool fees.

      Brgds, Morten

  4. Hi,

    We are arriving in Zadar on 1st of September, specific time unknown at the moment but we are travelling to Trogir after our arrival, can you please tell me of Bus Times on this date please from Zadar Airport to Trogir and also return Journey on the 8th of September or could you let me know which website to find this information please. And do you know how much a Taxi from Zadar to Trogir would cost please?

    • Hi Mags,

      Buses to Trogir leave from main bus station, not from the Airport, so you first have to take the airport bus to get to main bus station.

      From main bus station you have buses app every hour from 6 in the morning till 22 (+ a few night buses) in the evening, travel time app. 1.5-2.5 hours, depends which bus you catch, let me know when you know your arrival time, then I will mail you a list of buses.

      Taxi, I would guess the price is about 120-140 Euro, but maybe you can negotiated down to a 100 Euro.

      Brgds, Morten

  5. Hiya

    Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

    We arrive in Zadar Airport at 20.40pm on 1st September.

    If you could let me know of bus times that would be brilliant.

    Thank You

    Mags

  6. Hi there, i am arriving in zadar airport on Sun 15th august with my husband and my two daughters. I would like to know how to get from the airport to pag by public transport? i would really be greatful if you could help. thank you.

  7. Hi,
    We’re looking to get from Old Town Dubrovnik to Marina Kremlik on a Saturday. There’s three of us. What would be the best way??

    Thanks much,
    Kathy

    • Hi Kathy,

      the only Marina i know of the name is the Marina by Primosten, is that the one you need to get to? if so you have to take bus from Dubrovnik to Split, from Split you then take coastal bus to Sibenik, bus will pass by the Marina.

      Morten

  8. Hi there I am just wondering what is the best way to travel from dubrovnik to Novalaja Pag Island and back again? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

  9. Hi,we are planning to arrive to split and would like to spend 2 weeks on the island fith the fishmarket,hikes,beaches ,waterfalls
    and it schould be reachable within 3 hours from airport,since we have a small kids.Can you addvise if there is such a place you can recommend
    thanks.Galina

    • Hi Galine,

      Island Brac is only 50 minutes with the ferry from Split, including trip from Airport to Split, it should take you about 2 hours to get to the Island,

      On Brac you have nice beaches and lots of possibilities to go Hiking, if you stay in Supetar, Milna or Bol, you can easily make excursion to Split, e.g. if you want to visit the Fishmarket. Krka Waterfalls is about 1 hours drive from Split.

      Brgds, Morten

  10. Hi,

    We are looking at arriving into Zadar on Sunday 5 June and need to travel to Kremik. What’s the best way of getting to Kremik? Thanks so much for your advice.

  11. Hi,

    We are planning a trip to Croatia late June and want to know the best and cheapest way to get from Pula airport to Novalja on the island of Pag.
    So far I can see that I can get a taxi but this seems very expensive for 2 people.

    We are also planning on a trip from Zadar to Plitvice and then back to Pula. Would the best option be to hire a car, or is there buses/trains that will be available?

    Many thanks

    Hannah

  12. Hi Morten,

    I will be arrving in Split aiport on 8 june. Is there any direct bus from split airpor to the Plivtice lake national park? or I have to go to Split down to catch the bus?

    your reply is much appreciated.

    Fong

    • Hi Fong, you will have to go either Split or Trogir, there is daily bus from Split at 12, the same bus stops in Trogir about half an hour later, there is also a late bus leaving Split at 20.45. Travel time Split – Plitvice app 6 hours

      Morten

  13. Hi Fong,

    Myself and party are trying to get to Kremik marina (near Primosten) from Zadar where we fly in. I cannot seem to access a bus timetable online anywhere.

    Some of the party will arrive on Sat 21/05 and some on Sunday 22/05. I just wonder how likely it is there will be a bus on Sundays and what times last buses might be??

    If you know where I can access a timetable or have any other ideas that would be great.

    Thanks, Simon

    • Hi Simon,

      the last bus between Zadar and Primosten leaves 16.45 (also Sunday) from the station in Zadar, which mean you first take airport but to center and then change to the local bus. you have earlier bus at around 13 and 15.

      I am not sure if bus also passes Kremik Marina, you will have to ask.

      Brgds, Morten

  14. Hi,

    I will be traveling in Croatia in late August this year and i would like to know what options do i have for getting from Dubrovnik to Pula (prefferably by bus).

    Thank you,

    Ana-Maria

    • Hi Ana Maria, getting from Pula to Dubrovnik in a Bus is not so easy, and i will take you a whole day, alternativly you can take ferry from Rijeka to Dubrovnik, or you can take the Domestic flight, if you book in do time that should not even be that expensive

      Brgds

      Morten

  15. Hi

    I am arriving at Zagreb airport on 19/06/2011 and was thinking of staying in Novalja i was just wondering what way would be the easiest to travel there? (Zagreb – Novalja)bus? i can see it takes 3 1/2 hours roughly but whats company is the cheapest/easiest etc?
    Also our minds arent set in stone but we like the idea of the party island lol so any suggestions would be appreciated.

    Thanks

    Lisa 🙂

    • Hi Lisa, i can not say you the exact prices, but use the calculation abovo, all bus companies have pretty much the same rates.

      Well Novalja – Zrce beach is know as one of the top party spots in Croatia, so my suggestion would be get lots of sleep before you go there 🙂

      Morten

  16. Also what hotels or apartments would you reccomend or websites to look for them

    Thanks again

    Lisa

  17. Hello,
    could you please help me to find Bus transfer or train from Dubrovnik airport to Tucepi in Makarska? if it actually exists What i found so far was only private transfer which was really expensive.
    Thank you,

    Denisa

    • Hi Denisa, first you have to take the airport bus from airport to centre of Dubrovnik, from the main bus station you look for bus to Makarska going on the coastal road, there should be quite a few busses, they pass by Tucepi, where you can easily jump out at the main road.

      Brgds, Morten

  18. Hi Morten,

    thank you for your answer. Would you be able to recommend any bus company that i can take from dubrovnik towards makarska?

    Thanks
    Denisa

  19. Hi Safron,

    as far is i know the coastal ferry Hvar – Dubrovnik only sails twice a week, so if you are not able to travel that day, you have following alternatives. – Bus from Split as you mention (Check our Visa section to clairify your question), other option you have, is to take catamaran from town hvar to Korcula (Daily departures), and then travel on from there, in that case you would avoid entering bosnia.

    Morten

  20. dear,Morten

    we are landing at airport zadar in july.
    i am courius to the possibility by bus travelling to sibenik camping solaris.
    can we travel by bus to camping solaris or is a taxi the only solution

    Ton

    • Hi Ton,

      first you will have to take airport bus to Zadar main bus station from here you have buses to Sibenik, some of them continue on coastal road in direction Primosten / Split which means you can travel with them till the road leading to Soloris. From road where you get of the bus, you have maybe 2-3 km (best guess, from what i remember) of walking 🙂 alternative you can take taxi from Sibenik station to Solaris, and maybe there is even a city bus line, but i am not sure.

      Best, Morten

  21. Hi

    I am arriving at Zagreb central station (Zagrebački Glavni Kolodvor)on 12/07/2011 22:30 .Could you please help me to find Bus transfer or train from Zagreb Central station to Bibinje near Zadar?
    if it actually exists. What i found so far was only private transfer which was really expensive.
    Thank you,

    Martin

    • Martin, last bus leaves about 20:00 and as far as i know the night train goes to Split and does not stop in Zadar, so i assume you only have option with Transfer or wait in Zagreb till next morning.

      Best, Morten

  22. Hi,

    I am flying into Zadar in august and need to get from there to Pula for a festival. What travel options do i have??

    Thanks
    Kate.

  23. Hi we are traveling to Porec from Pula airpot in September can you advise if there are local busses that do this route or local car hire contacts?

    Thanks

    Best regards

    Barry H

  24. Hello!

    I wonder if it os possible to go by bus from zadar airport to Promosten? If it is, how long will it take and how often go the bus?

    Best regards
    Anna Pettersson

    • Hi Anna, first you take airport bus to centre of Zadar and go to main bus station, from here you have 4 or 5 daily departures to Primosten, i think last bus is around 4.30 PM

      Best, Morten

  25. hi there

    i arrive at split airport on sat 6th august at 9.30am and need to get to the harbour terminal are there any buses from the airport running at that time if so could you tell me how often

    thanks

    charlie

  26. Hi, My friend and i will traveling to Paklenica NP and overnight there. The next day, we are planning to go to Plitvice Lakes NP. Is there any direct bus from Paklenica to Plitvice Lakes?
    Thanks

    BR, Jess

  27. Hi Morten,

    I will be in Croatia in mid September and need to travel from Sibenik to Rijeka. Is it possible to do this journey by bus? If so do the buses run frequently and how long will the trip take?

    Many thanks,
    Kate

  28. Hi Morten,
    We arrive at Split airport at around 10.00 am. We are going to Baska Voda. Is it possible to get the airport bus to the bus station in Split and take a fast bus (which company?) to Baska Voda ?

    Cheers
    Scott

    • Hi Scott, yes you can take airport bus to the Riva in Split, from here you have about 300 meter to where bus leave to Baska Voda.

      I cant say for sure which company to take but i would guess Makarska Promet would be good option.

      Morten

  29. Hi Morten,
    I have been searching for bus timetables but don’t seem to be able to find one that goes as far as October. I am looking to get a bus from Dubrovnik on Saturday 8th Oct to Korcula, returning on Thursday 13th. Do you have any advice on times and cost?
    Kind regards,
    Lorraine

    • Hi Lorraine,

      i am currently working on a new bus page, but we are still not finished getting all the timetable, so i cant tell you when the busses leave, my guest would be that there would be very few departures if any, and cost you cant fint anywhere, but the calculation guidelines above should be fairly accurate.

      Morten

  30. Hi,

    This is a great site. I am trying to get from Split to Sarajevo on Sunday 4 September.

    Can you provide the links for a bus company that does this route or the train and bus options for this route?

    I can’t seem to find anything.

    Thanks

    Sarah

  31. Hi,

    I will be arriving in Zagreb on 12th September by train and will be looking to get a bus from Zagreb to Plitvice Lakes National Park.

    How far is Zagreb Bus Station from the the Train Station (Glavni Kolodvor)? Also, can you buy a return ticket to go to Plitvice Lakes on 12th September and then return to Zagreb on 13th?

    Can you also let me know of the prices of the bus ride and also the time of the journey?

    Thank you in advance for your help.

    Elliot

  32. Hello there,

    I’ve been searching myself silly on the web for some information on timetables. We are arriving in Zadar at 20:10 this thursday (15th of september) and are looking for a bus that will take us to Split on the same evening. I found this website: liburnija-zadar.hr/kolodvor/raspored_linija.php , but I can’t figure it out. Are there any more busses? And if so, where do we take them?

    Thanks in advance,

    Peter

    • Hi Peter

      unfortunatly our new page bus Croatia will not be finished before in a month a so, so it is still a bit tricky finding schedules for busses. Anyway from Zadar to Split you have a bus departuring at 22:45 from the main bus station in Zadar, bus should arrive in Split about 01:30.

      Kindest regards,

      Morten

  33. Hi,

    I am trying to find a bus timetable for Makarska to Dubrovnik for 2nd October. Does anyone have any ideas on how often the bus leaves Makarska and roughly how much the tickets cost?

    Kind Regards

    Cari-Anne

  34. Hi, I am travelling from Split to Rakovica in July 2010, what is the best way of travelling? Would it be easier to go to zadar first?
    Or can you get a train from split to jovornik?
    Or would a bus be the best option?

    Also how can I travel from Rokovica to Zadar?
    How long would it take and what would it cost?

    Thank you

  35. Hi,

    This might be off the topic but I would like to see if other people have had the same experience. I only just took a bus from Plitvice to Zagreb today with the bus company Promet Makarsa. There were 5 people that got on the bus and all but 1 were tourists. The bus conductor only asked the local lady to pay straight away. After about an hour at the next stop the conductor finally came over and collected the money from us. The odd thing is he did not use the machine to issue the receipt and instead gave us a piece of paper with 100 Kuna per person hand written on it. We took the same bus company from Zagreb to Plitvice the previous day and it costed only 84 kuna, so 100 seems to be alot more expensive. We are not sure if we got over charged by the conductor or he tried to pocket the whole amount as I don’t think he entered it into the ticket machine.

    • Hi Wayne, thanks for the Insight, i am sure it would be helpfull to others, In your case i sounds like the busdriver wanted to Pocket the money himselves.

      Generally you should always asked for a receipt (from machine if possible), in case bus get stop by companies who are hired to control if people have tickets or not, you might have a problem if you only have a handwritten receipt

      Morten

  36. Hey!

    I am hoping to travel to the island of Pag in late June, then make my way to Dubrovnik for a few days, what would be the best way? Would it be best to make my way to Zadar then catch a bus from there?

    Any help is much appreciated!

    Thanks

    Will

  37. Hi ! i would like to travel from Trogir to Rijeka and from Rijeka to Piran, is this possible? I have not had much success in finding information. Can someone please give me a time estimate?

  38. Hello!
    I would like to know about prices you specify here for bus Split-Dubrovnik is also valid for a bus RouteID 136 of the company of Samoborček, it stands 110 kunas, can it become more expensive?
    The trip is planned for 5 August 2013.
    Is it possible to find out the exact price?

    • Hi Vladimir

      The bus companies are still not at the point where they find it a good idea to share the prices with someone like us, so i can’t give you any exact prices, but 110 Kn from Split to Dubrovnik, sounds resonable.

      Best Morten

  39. Hi Morten,
    I will be travelling to Croatia in October. I’ll be flying onto Zagreb and staying about 2 weeks making my way down the coast by bus to Dubrovnik.
    I’ve been told that my options to see the islands are much more limited this time of year due the the decreased ferry departures?
    And I’m wondering if I should plan to fly out of Dubrovnik to come back home which may cost a little extra, or take a bus back to Zagreb?

    Thanks, I can tell your web site is going to be very helpful,
    Debbie

    • Hi Debbie,

      it is possible to Visit the Islands also in October, but there are less ferry and Catamaran departures, so it will be harder to get around.

      If you wish to get back to Zagreb from Dubrovnik, you can proberly get a fairly cheap domestic flight with Dubrovnik airlines, usually the have tickets down to 40-50 Euro, which is not much more than the bus.

      Best,

      Morten

      • Hi Debbie

        In general Split is the main hub to access the Islands, Brac, Hvar, Vis, Solta and a few more, which is why you often would get that suggestions.

        In October this iternary should work, from Dubrovnik, you go to Orebic by bus, from here you have ferry to Island Korcula, from Korcula, you can get to Hvar with Katamaran, to get to Brac you will proberly have to go via a Split.

        From Split to Zagreb, this is miminimum 20 daily buses, so this part of travel is pretty easy to arrange.

        Best, Morten

  40. Hi Morten,

    May I know what is the best way to travel on bus from Plitvice to Rovinj on 29 Sat 2013, prefer depart in the morning since it’s a long way to go, thanks

    Regards
    Philip

      • Hi Morten,

        Thanks a lot, I’ve go through the buscroatia web page and checked the time table.

        One more question would like to know is there any direct bus route between Rovinj and Piran. I found some comments from other forum but didn’t find the time table for that bus route, appreciate if you can advise,thanks in advance

        Regards
        Phillip

  41. Hello!

    I would like to know about prices for bus Zagreb-Sarajevo, and if is it possible, please give me in EURO the exact price.

    With best regards,
    Munif

  42. Hi,

    On 24th July 2013 at 1150 I am arriving in Dubrovnik Airport
    I am then needing a bus from Dubrovnik Airport to somewhere near Tisno
    I will be in Tisno until 31st July 2013
    I am then needing a bus from somewhere near Tisno to Dubrovnik Airport
    On 31st July 2013 at 1230 I am leaving from Dubrovnik Airport

    I am having trouble understand any bus schedules i find. Would it be possible for you to advise me.
    It does not matter if the bus trips are the next day after arrival and day before departure.

    Thank you in advance

    • Hi Paul,

      Tisno is a fairly small place, which can be reaches by local bus from Sibenik (Only very few long distance buses go to the place which is why you will not find schedules on the main bus websites.)

      This is what you should do, take a bus from Dubrovnik to Split, in Split you change to a bus to Sibenik (there is also a few of the buses from Dubrovnik which continue to Sibenik, but both solution would work), both routes have frequent buses so should be quite easy. from Sibenik you have several daily departures to Island Murter (Which means these buses for sure passes by Tisno), on the fly i found the following departure times from Sibenik 5.45(Kapela), 9.00, 11.30, 14.00, 15.30,
      18.00, there might be more.

      Best, Morten

  43. Hi Morten,

    Thanks for all this great information.

    Unfortunately due to time constraints and change of travel plans, I need to go directly from Dubrovnik to Zagreb (preferably an overnight bus, but I’d be okay with a full-day bus as well).

    The reason why I need to go to Zagreb, or somewhere more North in Croatia, is to catch a train to Ljubliana where my flight will leave.

    What is the best way to travel from Dubrovnik to Zagreb? I see that there are 9 departures a day from the Dubronik station by bus, but I looked at some of the companies and they are charging 225 (EUROS!!) for the 8 hour trip. This seems quite unreasonable.

    Do you have any advice?

    I appreciate your help 🙂

    Kindly,
    Liz

    • Hi Liz,

      you are welcome!

      Well from Dubrovnik to Zagreb you option either plane or Bus, the bus prices you mention are in KUNA not euro, so the 225 equals about 30 Euro, which is quite resonable to my opinon. (Alternative bus travel could be Dubrovnik – Rijeka – Ljubiana)

      Make sure to buy the ticket a day before.

      Brgds, Morten

  44. Thanks Morten!

    Your help is priceless!

    I realize the mistake now. My google translate replaced KUNA to Great Britain Pounds. Oh google translate..such a long way to go!

    I appreciate your advice 🙂

    Kindly,
    Liz

  45. Hello Morten,
    I’m trying to find the timetable for the bus from Rijeka to Baska, in Krk, for Sunday 21/07 but i cannot find anything reliable in any page. I would really appreciate your help!!
    Thank you in advance!! 🙂

    Best regards
    Anthy

    • Hi Anthy, the buses to Baska are local og regional, which is why the are not listed that often. You should have buses every second or third hour buses from about 6 am to about 6 pm. exact times I cant give you.

      Brgds, Morten

  46. Hi!

    I have just tried to book a ticket online with Croatia Bus but the final price was higher than the price of the ticket. Do you know why this should be?

    Thanks

    Imogen

    • Hi Imogen

      Was it a big difference?

      I could assume it could be a credit card fee, as you probably know the Credit card companies has quite high fees, so i could imagine the bus company would pass these fees on to the client, like most of the airlines do.

      Brgds, Morten

      • Hi Morten

        It was between £1.50 and £2 so yes you’re right it could be a card fee. Do you think it’s necessary to book tickets to go from Zagreb to the Piltvice lakes or do you think we would be OK going to the bus station the day before to buy our tickets? This is for later this month. There’s only one Croatia bus at a suitable time (8.40am). We’re going to stay overnight at Piltvice.

        Thanks

        Imogen

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