A million tourists. One country. One weekend.
According to the Croatian tourist industry, the first weekend in August brought what many in Croatia expected and hoped for – more than a million guests to Croatian coast, according to a report in Slobodna Dalmacija on August 2, 2015. And, according to crowds and traffic jams at border crossings, on highways and in ferry ports, that might be a low estimate.
In July, we have already witnessed huge crowds on the roads, so nobody was surprised by this weekend’s traffic jams. There were long waiting queues in ferry terminals Stinica, Prizna, Brestova and Valbiska, but also in the ports of Zadar and Split. Ferries and catamarans sail according to the summer sailing schedule, but additional services had to be introduced.
“This is the busiest weekend, at least so far this season. About 40,000 tourists went to the Dalmatian islands”, said Ante Mrvica, Jadrolinija’s coordinator for the Split area. “All our regular lines are completely full, so we added additional services to Brač and Šolta. Today we expect another 25,000 to 28,000 passengers, which is an impressive number.”
Italian Ferragosto holiday season started on August 1st, and it immediately brought a significant increase in the number of tourists from Italy. Both ships that arrived to Split on Saturday were packed full.
“Our ship continued to Hvar and Vis, but this time we have decided to stay on the island of Brač. We will take a walk through Split, and continue to our final destination in the late afternoon”, said Emmanuele Pierangelo. “We do not mind the crowds”, said his wife Roberta who has spent the month of August in Dalmatia for years. The tradition continues.
A family from Graz in Austria also found a piece of shade in the Split port. “We have been coming here for years, so we know the local rhythm. We departed at 2 am in order to avoid the lines at the border, and we made it”, said Petra laughing. “But we haven’t managed to avoid the jam in Split. It took us twenty minutes to get down to the ferry port.”
The largest traffic jam in the port was between 8 and 9 o’clock in the morning. However, local people are accustomed to this situation, and know how to avoid traffic problems. “I do not use a car during summer, that’s the formula for success”, said Jure from Split.
