Day Trips in Croatia by Boat, Bus and Car

October 20, 2026

Croatia is long and thin, so the right day trip depends on where you sleep. This page groups trips by start city. Prices are in euros, boat services run mostly in summer, and journey times are road estimates, so check timetables before you set out.

From Zagreb: Plitvice Lakes

Plitvice is about 130 to 140 km from the capital, roughly 2 hours by road or 2 to 2.5 hours by bus. Programmes A and B take 2 to 4 hours and fit a day trip well. Adults pay EUR 40 in peak season until 16:00, EUR 23 in spring and October and EUR 10 in winter, and children aged 7 to 18 pay less. Tickets are sold by entry time slot, so reserve online for summer at the park site . Swimming and cycling are banned. Stay on the marked paths in this former front-line area, as the park asks.

From Split

Krka and Šibenik. Skradin and Lozovac are roughly 1 to 1.5 hours by road. The park boat and bus run only from 1 April to 31 October. Šibenik adds the cathedral of St James and St Michael’s Fortress.
Hvar Town. The fast boat takes about 1 hour, and fares run from about EUR 10 to EUR 25 one way depending on the operator. The Fortica fortress costs EUR 12, or EUR 15 with the combined ticket. A taxi boat to the Pakleni Islands costs about EUR 10 return, according to one 2026 guide.
Plitvice. About 200 km and 2.75 to 3 hours each way, so this is a very long day.

From Pula or Fažana

The Brijuni boat leaves Fažana, and only Veliki Brijun is open to visitors. Book ahead at np-brijuni.hr . Pula’s Roman arena costs EUR 10 and fits the same day.

From Dubrovnik

Elaphiti Islands. Koločep, Šipan and Lopud can be reached on a three-island cruise, which runs about EUR 45 to EUR 75, or on the public Jadrolinija ferry for a few euros. Lopud is car-free and has the sandy Šunj beach.
Ston and Mali Ston. About 1 hour north over the Pelješac Bridge, for the long town walls, salt pans and oysters. Wall tickets are sold through the city walls shop.
Mljet. About 1.5 hours by catamaran, with the national park fee paid separately. See np-mljet.hr .
Kotor and Mostar. Both need a passport. Entry checks add waits that vary widely and can be long in summer.
Not a day trip. Split is about 230 km away, and the bus takes 4.5 to 5.5 hours each way. Plitvice is even further inland. There are no passenger trains to Dubrovnik.

Booking

Guided day trips are listed on Viator . Pack water shoes for rocky beaches and check the wind forecast at meteo.hr before any boat day.

Solemn day trips

These places are memorials, not leisure stops, and they call for quiet and respect.

Jasenovac lies about 100 km south-east of Zagreb on the Sava river. A concentration camp ran here from 1941 to 1945 under the Ustaše regime. Its victims were mostly Serbs, Jews and Roma, along with anti-fascist Croats, and the memorial site’s own estimate is 80,000 to 100,000 dead. Bogdan Bogdanović’s concrete Stone Flower stands over the grounds beside the museum. Entry is free. It is open Monday to Saturday 09:00 to 17:00 from March to November, and Monday to Friday 09:00 to 16:00 from December to February, and closed on Sundays and state holidays. Hours differ between official pages, so check. Guides for adult groups cost EUR 30 and need advance booking at jusp-jasenovac.hr .

Vukovar in Slavonia holds the water tower, the Ovčara memorial centre (free) and the memorial cemetery. It is a long day or an overnight from Zagreb.

Goli Otok was a political prison from 1949 to 1956 and a penitentiary until 1988. Boats run in season from Rab, Baška and Senj. One Rab operator lists a 9-hour trip with about two hours on the island from about EUR 50 for adults and EUR 30 for children. The ruins are unsafe, with broken glass, rusted metal, no shade and no running water.