-Europe.Croatia.Zagreb-
Zagreb is the capital of Croatia. Many people fly into the airport and head straight for the coast. It is true that the coastal areas of Croatia is blessed with beautiful nature and houses many attractions. However Zagreb town is small enough to spend a few hours in to see the highlights. In this post are useful resources for you to check how to get to the city center of the Croatian capital.
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Table of Contents
Getting to Zagreb Center by Train
We travelled with the train from Villach for about 4 hours to arrive in the main train station – Zagreb Glavni Kolod Train Station. So why do I highlight this, you may wisely ask ? Well there are 3 train stations at Zagreb and it can get confusing : at least I struggled with it when booking the train ticket. This station is the main one that is closest to the city center about 1 km away.
If you are staying away from the center then you might want to know about the other two options – link here
I find dealing with the different train lines from different countries can be tedious and so I use and can recommend Omio.
Getting to Zagreb Center from Airport
Zagreb has an international airport – Franjo Tudman Airport about 15 km away from the city center. From here, you have multiple options for getting to the city center or going directly to your destinations
Airport Shuttle Bus to City Center
The Shuttle Bus is definitely an economical way to go directly from airport to city center. You will find the bus station at the Arrivals terminal after exiting Baggage Claims. At peak hours generally there is a shuttle every 30 minutes but at certain hours of the day the shuttle goes hourly – be sure to check the timetable here .
At the time of publishing this post the fare is 8 Euros/pax and takes around 40 minutes to ride as this is a direct bus. Children below 6 years of age travel for free.
Tickets can be purchased online using credit cards or bank transfer from the website or some sources say (I have not done so) it can be bought on the bus with cash, so make sure you prepare exact fare.
The Airport shuttle bus goes to other destinations like Split or Zadar as well – their options are on their website.
Public Transport from Airport to City Center
- Good for light luggage travellers
- Best cost option
An even more economical option is by the public bus which you find just across the road as you exit the airport. Bus no 290 brings you to the bus terminal at Zagreb city center for the cost of less than 1 Euros! How cool is that ? You can get tickets from the kiosk or directly from the bus driver (more expensive)
Taxi to the City Center
- Good for group up to 4 travellers with luggage
- Directly to the Hotel / Destination
While there is a taxi rank outside the Arrivals terminal, where you can take a metered taxi to your destination, I much prefer to pre-book a taxi so there is no hassle or discussions. Here is a good link with reasonable prices for taxi booking
or use Uber app for booking the taxi.
For seamless arrangements of your transport options, I highly recommend getting an eSim that you can switch on as soon as your flight lands to check on your transport options. Click below to get your Airalo option which I have been using and love the convenience!
Car Sharing Option
Becoming popular these days is the car sharing option where you can pick up the car with the app and use it flexibly as per your needs. Cars can be found at the “Taxi/Car Sharing” parking entrance; at the first row of the parking lot. Check out here if this is useful for you.
Rental Cars
- Good for travelling around Croatia and
- Flying back from the same pick-up location
- Flexibility
Croatia does have many interesting locations to stop for a visit especially by the coast and also the islands. Therefore renting a car gives some flexibility for a road trip. Stopping wherever you fancy and making impromptu plans can be had with a rental.
I use Rental cars for checking options and prices.
Driving in Croatia
In general driving to and around Croatia is a good idea as the roads are in good condition and the drivers are not that crazy — well compared to Malaysian drivers anyway.
Here is a comprehensive post on general driving rules to know when driving in Croatia.
Toll-Road System
Croatia uses the toll-road system where you usually pay-as-you-go meaning
- Take your ticket as you enter the toll booth and
- Pay by feeding your ticket as you exit the highway / motorway
Some tunnels or bridges have a fixed fee that you pay upon entry.
Note: Cash, debit/credit card, bank card are accepted or
If you are a more frequent user of the motorways in Croatia and crave for a faster method , the you can get and mount an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) device on your windshield for a smoother passing of the tolls. You have the option of pre-pay or post-pay. This includes a discounted toll rate. More information about the ETC here
Tip:
e-Vignette (coming soon - 2025)
Croatia is implementing the online road tax payment which will replace the current toll collection system. This will make the journey faster and smoother.
You can keep track of the implementation progress from the website
Getting around Zagreb
We did not use the public transport to get around Zagreb as it is really walkable. However public transport will bring you a longer way and it is convenient and rather cheap.
Buses, Trams, Funicular and cable car are all part of the public transport.
Single tickets are common but there are also multi-day tickets if you use the transportation often.
Here is the website with all details: fares, running hours etc.
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