June the 21st, 2026 – Bodulka was the first ever ferry to operate in Croatia. It initially set sail carrying three cars and one bus. It altered the lives of islanders forever.
On April the 12th, 1959, a small wooden ferry, aptly named Bodulka (a colloquial term for an island girl) made history. It was the first ferry in Croatia and on the eastern Adriatic, creating a new connection between the mainland and the islands. On its maiden voyage, it carried just one bus, three cars, several motorcycles, and invited guests, but that modest journey transformed life for Croatia’s many island communities.
Putni kofer writes that Bodulka, the first ever ferry in Croatia, sailed from Šilo on the island of Krk to Crikvenica on the mainland, establishing Croatia’s first official ferry route. Before that, islanders depended mainly on slower passenger ships, which could not transport vehicles, or their own small vessels. The introduction of car ferries made it much easier to move people, goods, and vehicles between the islands and the coast.
Bodulka was originally built in 1952 in Šibenik as a military landing craft. In 1959, it was purchased by Kvarnerska plovidba from Rijeka and converted into a passenger ferry. The vessel was about 26 metres long and could carry around 12 vehicles and over 100 passengers, sailing at a speed of about five knots.
For people living on the island of Krk, the new ferry was a major change. Workers could travel more easily to jobs on the mainland, farmers could bring their products to markets, and residents gained better access to supplies and services. During the summer season, Bodulka made several daily crossings, while in winter it continued to maintain this vital island-mainland connection.
The ferry network continued to expand after Bodulka’s roaring success, with new routes connecting other Croatian islands to the mainland. Over time, ferries became an essential part of everyday life in the Adriatic, helping shape tourism, trade, and island development. It’s impossible to even begin to imagine the tourism giant Croatia now is without a fleet of busy Jadrolinija ferries sailing between the islands and the mainland almost constantly.
Bodulka eventually ended its service and was renamed Rovinjka (the name for a girl from Rovinj) after being sold in 1979. It continued operating for decades before unfortunately sinking in Rovinj in 2009 after years of being out of regular service. Today, Croatia’s very extensive ferry network is a normal part of island life that is taken for granted, but it all began with a small wooden ship carrying a bus, three cars, and a dream of connecting the islands with the mainland.
