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Travel between Istria to Split Without Car Rental

Posted by on

My husband and I are planning a trip to Croatia in October. We prefer to use either public transportation or to hire a private driver between Istria to Split and then on to Dubrovnik. ( We are nervous about renting a car and driving ourselves.) I have looked at various options and can't figure out the best way to get down the coast. Flights seem to be very expensive or include at least 2 stops along the way.

Does anyone have recommendations or referrals for private drivers, and the cost, or recommendations on taking the bus vs train travel? Is driving in Croatia fairly easy? We live in the San Francisco Bay Area so we are used to freeway driving. We're trying to make the most of our time so maybe renting a car is the way to go. I would like to hear about different experiences people have had with driving on your own vs. public transportation or private hires.

Posted by
5534 posts

The roads in Croatia are better than roads in California. New, well signed. There is nothing to worry about. How will you even see things in Istria without a car?

Posted by
4985 posts

Emily is right that the roads are fine. I drove for 2 weeks. The thing probably most difficult is negotiating narrow spaces in cities and figuring out parking.

I am no help with a driver but I know some people have used one. You can probably go back and do some past post reading in the Croatia forum or do a search.

I also like using ferries going to islands between Split and Dubrovnik. I didn’t need a car there.

So you may need to decide where you want to go first - or just get a car. But the main thing you want is to enjoy your time, however that works best for you.

Posted by
224 posts

Same here, I just returned form a 10 days trip by car to Istria and the islands Cres and Losinj. Driving specifically in Istria is easy.

Concering public transport:
Trains are not really an option in coastal Croatia. At least the connection from Rijeka to Split would be possible once a day (about 8 hours).

There are several bus operators (Flixbus, Arriva, Brioni, Fils) serving Istrian towns.
https://www.buscroatia.com/ may help you to find your connection. It includes several bus operators (but not Flixbus, thus look at their site separately). Most probably you will need to change in Rijeka on the way to Split.

Another interesting approach by public transport would be the catamaran service between Pula and Zadar that takes about 5 hours. It’s not running every day and starts early morning thus it would require to stay a night in Pula.
https://www.krilo.hr/en/sailing-schedule/pula-unije-susak-mali_losinj-ilovik-silba-zadar/
If the sea is calm, it’s probably the most beautiful way of travel between these towns. If the sea is bumpy, I don’t know if I would like to take it.
From Zadar (worth spending a night there) it’s a 3 hours bus ride to Split.

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks so much for all of your replies, suggestions and links. It does sound like renting a car is the best way to go down the coast so we will take the plunge!

Posted by
25 posts

I recently did a trip from Split to Rovinj. We drove and that is by far the best way to travel between these two destinations. I would definitely recommend you to do the car rental. It would cost you a fortune to rent a private driver. Try Rentalcars.com site, it is great since you can find all the car rentals in Croatia there. Driving on your own is a perfect way to visit most of those scenice towns in Istria!

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