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Travelling from Venice to Croatia

Did you enjoyed beautiful Venice, visited best galleries and museums, had a gondola ride and tasted delicious food? Now it's time to continue your travel to Croatia. You are lucky, as you have many options for getting from Venice to popular Croatian destinations.

This page will help you to plan your travel and find out how to get from Venice to nearby Istria (catamarans and buses), then to coastal cities of Split and Dubrovnik (mostly flights) and to the capital of Croatia, Zagreb (flights, buses and trains). 

Dubrovnik's Old Town from plane

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Getting from Venice to Dubrovnik/Split

There are many flying options for getting from Venice to the cities of Split and Dubrovnik situated on the Croatian coast. However, only EasyJet has direct flights between Venice and Dubrovnik (twice a week, during July and August).

If this doesn't suit you, you can choose from various other options, which you can find in the text below. Note that there are no trains between Venice and Dubrovnik!

Flight from Venice to Split or Dubrovnik (via Rome)

However, you can book a flight from Venice to Split or Dubrovnik, with layover in Rome (ITA Airways + Croatia Airlines). 👉 Book your flight from Venice to Split (or Dubrovnik)

Flights from Venice to Split or Dubrovnik (via Vienna, Munich, Frankfurt, Amsterdam)

It's possible to fly from Venice to Vienna and from there directly to Split with Austrian Airlines.

Or choose Lufthansa flight from Venice Marco Polo Airport to Munich or Frankfurt and then take Croatia Airlines flight to Split. 👉 See flights here!

Or fly with KLM from Venice to Amsterdam Schiphol and from there to Split. Each of these flights are layover flights, meaning the waiting time between flights is short.


Taking a train from Venice to Rome + flying from Rome to Split (or Dubrovnik)

Another great options would be taking a train from Venice to Roma Termini, from there catch Leonardo Express train to Fiumicino Airport (32 minutes ride), and from there take one of the flights to either Dubrovnik or Split.

Note, that trains in Italy are modern and fast, and they offer pleasant travel at affordable prices. 👉 Search cheap Venice to Rome train tickets!

Vueling Airlines offers direct flights from Roma Fiumicino to Split and Dubrovnik (April to November) at affordable prices. Croatia Airlines fly all-year round from Rome to Split/Zagreb and during the summer to Dubrovnik. Their prices are slightly higher.

Taking a train from Venice to Ancona or Bari + Catching a ferry to Split or Dubrovnik

If you have enough time and love adventure, you can opt for combining train travel (Venice to the ports of Ancona or Bari) and ferry ride across Adriatic (to Split, Dubrovnik or Zadar).

First, you can take one of many daily trains from Venezia Santa Lucia train station to Ancona. The fastest journey which is direct takes 3h 40min, while others takes longer and require a change at Bologna. 

The fastest train from Venice to Bari takes 7h 30 minutes, while other takes longer and require to change the train at Bologna Centrale.

From Ancona you can catch ferries to Split and Zadar, while from Bari you can sail to Split and Dubrovnik. Most of these services are seasonal, while some has reduced sailing schedule with sailings once or several times a week. 👉 Plan your ferry trip from Italy to Croatia here

A Venetian bridge and gondolaA Venetian bridge and gondola

Getting from Venice to Istria

For those who wish to travel from the city of Venice to one of towns situated on the western coast of Istria (the largest peninsula in the Adriatic), high-speed catamarans would be obvious choice.

Both Kompas and Venezia Lines, provides daily sailings between Venice and ports of Umag, Porec, Rovinj and Pula.

This service is available starting from April until the end of October (with numerous weekly sailings) across catamaran routes. The sailing time range from 2h 45 minutes and 3h 45 minutes, depending on the route.

For all-year round option, there are regular buses from Venice to both Pula and Rovinj with travel time of around 5 hours.

👉 Compare all catamarans and book tickets online

👉 Get your Venice to Rovinj bus tickets here

👉 Get your Venice to Pula bus tickets here


Getting from Venice to Zagreb

When travelling from Venice to Zagreb, take into consideration several options to do this. Choose from bus travel, train ride, flying options, private car transfer and finally driving on your own.

👉 See all buses from Venice to Zagreb


Ilica street, ZagrebIlica street, Zagreb

Buses from Venice to Zagreb

The cheapest way of getting from Venice to Zagreb is by bus with one-way journey starting from only €26. The travel time range from 5h 50 minutes to 8h 50 minutes. 


Trains from Venice to Zagreb

Taking a train between Venice and Zagreb is not the most convenient way of travelling between these two cities, but it is possible.

There are NO direct trains as they arrive at Trieste and then continue to Ljubljana (Slovenia) and further to Zagreb. The route is operated by regional trains all the way to Ljubljana, and then with fast trains to Zagreb.

The total journey time is about 12 hours. We recommend taking a bus!


Flights between Venice and Zagreb

You can't take a flight from Venice to Zagreb directly, but you can fly via other cities. For example, take ITA Airways flight from Venice Marco Polo Airport to Rome and from there catch Croatia Airlines flight to Zagreb (with a short stop in Split).
👉 Book both flights here!

Or fly from Venice to Zagreb via one of European cities, such as Vienna, Frankfurt, Munchen, with short waiting time between flights. These flights are operated in cooperation with Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Croatia Airlines.
👉 See all available flights here

Private car transfer from Venice to Zagreb

For a fast and efficient way to get between Venice and Zagreb and to avoid the crowds, pre-book a car transfer.

We recommend this car transfer in air-conditioned vehicle that includes also a visit to Postojna Cave (one of the top attractions in Slovenia) before heading to Zagreb.

All together, the transfer takes about 3 hours and hotel pickup is included in the price. 👉 Easily book your car transfer here


Driving from Venice to Zagreb

The total distance between Venice and Zagreb is 374 km and the driving time should be around 3h 23 minutes in normal traffic. 

Along the way you can explore beautiful destinations such as Trieste in Italy, or Ljubljana or Bled in Slovenia. 

We recommend booking car hire at Discover Cars, where you can compare a huge choice of car hire deals from leading rental agencies and find the best one for you.


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