March 23, 2020 Croatia Travel Update
March 21, 2020 – As the coronavirus dominates, a Croatia travel update on flights, ferries, trains, buses, borders and self-isolation. Some big changes announced today.
Things are changing very quickly as the coronavirus crisis escalates in Europe. A Croatia travel update on what is – and is not – open or running.
Croatia Travel Update: Are the borders of Croatia open?
This is the latest official information from HAK on the situation at the borders of Croatia. For the latest information (in English), check out the HAK website.
At the following border crossings transit freight traffic is allowed:
- at Bregana and Macelj (with Slovenia);
- at Goričan and Duboševica (with Hungary);
- at Nova Sela, Stara Gradiška and Slavonski Šamac (with Bosnia and Herzegovina);
- at Bajakovo (with Serbia).
Transit passengers information, if travelling through Republic of Croatia:
- use motorways only;
- use the following rest areas only: Novska jug, Novska sjever, Kozjak jug, Prokljan sjever, Draganić sjever, Draganić jug, Bačva and Ravna Gora;
- during breaks keep distance between You and other people;
- obey the rules of Civil protection or police officers.
At all border crossings with Croatia inbound traffic is allowed only to Croatian citizens (14-day isolation mandatory) as well as for some special groups of people, such as medical personnel, scientists, eldercare personnel, cross-border workers, freight traffic, diplomats, police officers, civil protection teams, international organizations members, militaries and transit passengers.
At the border crossings with Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro traffic is suspended for all vehicles, except for the citizens of these countries as well as for freight vehicles.
At Bogojevo (Erdut) border crossing all passenger traffic is closed.
At Požane border crossing traffic is suspended due to technical difficulties.
- at Goričan border crossing, detour: Goričan junction-ŽC2026-DC3;
- at Dvor and Vitaljina border crossings – open only to passenger traffic;
- at Gunja border crossing – there is a traffic ban on freight vehicles and buses.
Due to traffic bans on freight vehicles in Slovenia long delays should be expected in freight traffic at Bregana/Obrežje and Macelj/Gruškovje border crossings starting 1 June.
Croatia Travel Update: Are the ferries in Croatia running normally?
Morski.hr reports the latest: Public transportation of passengers, cargo and vehicles to the islands and the Peljesac peninsula is restricted. It is prohibited to maintain all regular high-speed lines in maritime traffic during the coronavirus pandemic in Croatia, except in the case of emergency interventions with the approval of the Croatian Civil Protection Headquarters.
All shipping lines are prohibited except the following national shipping lines:
310 Mali Losinj – (Unije) – Srakane Vele – Susak) and vice versa
311 Ilovik – Mrtvaška and vice versa
405 Rava – (Mala Rava – Veli Iž – Mali Iž) – Zadar and vice versa
415 Vrgada – Pakoštane – (Biograd) and vice versa
501 Krpanj – Brodarica
505 (Vodice – Prvić Šepurine – Prvić Luka – Zlarin) – Šibenik and vice versa
612 Komiža – Biševo and vice versa
807 Suđurađ – Lopud – Koločep – Dubrovnik
All passenger and freight transport to the islands, except for the following categories, is prohibited on national ferry lines and national shipping lines:
– Croatian and foreign nationals residing or permanently residing on the islands or the Peljesac peninsula;
– Vehicles of natural persons and leased vehicles of those residing on the island, registered in the competent administrative body in the Republic of Croatia;
– Employees of public health services and employees of other public services (police, firefighters, armed forces, port authority, post office, utilities) and their official vehicles;
– Employees of shops exempted from the application of the Decision of the Civil Protection Headquarters, and their official vehicles when carrying out regular transport to the island, and delivery services and their vehicles;
– Legal entities carrying out necessary emergency repairs on the island and their official vehicles when carrying out interventions
County Civil Protection Headquarters shall ensure that the measures provided for in this Decision are implemented and monitored.
This is the latest update from HAK:
807 Dubrovnik-Koločep-Lopud-Suđurađ ship does not operate from 2pm till 4.30pm.
Split-Ancona international line does not operate till 1 April, Dubrovnik-Bari till 19 April 2020.
Other ferries operate regularly.
Till 1 June 2020 401 Zadar (Gaženica)-Ist-Olib-Silba-Premuda-Mali Lošinj ferry does not embark at Silba port due to roadworks.
As reported earlier on TCN, Jadrolinija is now requesting that passengers make their ticket purchases online or via their app.
You can check the latest from Jadrolinija on their website.
BUT PLEASE NOTE: Prefect Blazenko Boban briefed the public on the new maritime traffic rules at a press conference at the Split-Dalmatia County Civil Protection Headquarters.
“The National Headquarters will decide if fast lines will no longer operate from today. As far as ferry lines to our islands are concerned, they will only operate to transport goods. As for travelers, only those who reside on these islands will be able to travel,” reported Boban.
Boban is in charge of Split-Dalmatia County. My assumption is that this a nationwide decision, or soon will be if not, but it certainly covers Split-Dalmatia – Hvar, Solta, Brac and Vis.
Croatia Travel Update: What is the situation with train travel in Croatia?
The latest HAK update on the railway is here:
But please be aware that at this morning’s press conference, it was announced that there would be a suspension of all bus and train connections between cities.
Croatia Travel Update: What is the situation with flights to Croatia?
The closing of the EU external borders took effect a couple of days ago, a measure that will last for 30 days. As such, all international flights outside EU borders have now been cancelled. There are still flights to Zagreb within EU borders, and so there is not a total flight ban, as ExYuAviation noted a few days ago:
The EU travel will only partially affect Croatia. Under the plan, only visitors from non-EU states will not be allowed to enter the region unless they are long-term residents of the EU, family members of EU nationals, diplomats, cross-border commuters, or essential workers like doctors, nurses, and researchers. The majority of Croatia Airlines’ network is concentrated within the EU, however, plummeting demand and various national restrictions will see the carrier cancel at least nine return flights today, among which are services to cities outside of the block such as Sarajevo and Skopje. Furthermore, flights from Zagreb to Copenhagen, Vienna and Munich have also been cancelled so far today. Despite the new circumstances, Aeroflot, Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways will operate their flights to the Croatian capital today.
HOWEVER, checking the Zagreb airport departures page today, there are several non-EU flights which appeared to depart – Moscow, Zurich and Istanbul. Here is the Zagreb Airport departures page for the latest info. Contact your airline for the latest news regarding your flight.
Croatia Airlines also have a dedicated information page on which of their flights are going, as well as flight cancellations.
Internal flights within Croatia remain available, as do some to other EU countries. Dubrovnik Airport is closed, however, due to a coronavirus infection. You can see which internal flights are available from Split here – all international flights to the coast have stopped.
We have had a LOT of emails asking what will happen with flight cancellations, and will things be ok in May, June and beyond. Obviously, we have no idea how things will develop. With the 30-day international ban, most flights are already cancelled. We hope the situation will improve, but recommend you check with your individual airline, who will be better informed than us. If there are any major announcements, we will publish them on TCN. Please do not contact us with individual queries about your flight, as we have limited resources currently and are unable to help more than this update.
Croatia Travel Update: Are buses running in Croatia?
According to this morning’s press conference, all bus routes between towns are being suspended.
Croatia Travel Update: What are the self-isolation rules for people arriving, who do they apply to, and what is the procedure?
There has been a lot of confusion about the mandatory 14-day self-isolation requirements, what they entail and how they are enforced, as well as who they apply to. I am very grateful to Lauren Simmonds for this excellent overview, having contacted and worked through various sources of conflicting information. Check out Lauren’s guide to self-isolation in Croatia here.
The Croatian Government has launched a new information website to coordinate all information about coronavirus in Croatia, called Koronavirus.hr. This includes a page (in Croatian – Google Translate is your friend) called Going on a Trip?
If you have any reliable information to improve the resource above, please contact me on [email protected] and I will update if relevant.
For the latest on the coronavirus crisis in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section.
Stay safe!
