Croatia Travel Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Croatia’

Once again, Croatia has changed its anti-smoking law. At the beginning of 2009, a strict anti-smoking law went into effect immediately followed by an outcry from the hospitality industry. The law was amended to allow a six-month grace period for bar owners to comply with requirements for no-smoking sections in bars larger than 50 sq m and ventilation systems for smaller bars.

Now, the government has announced a system of subsidies for those who cannot afford the ventilation systems. Also, bars can request special permission to become “smoking establishments” but the process is expensive. Few have applied.

See more on smoking in Croatia.

It’s been a long wait but the Jadrolinija’s local ferry schedules are finally available. Today the Croatian Ministry of Transport confirmed that there have been cutbacks on some local routes this spring for budgetary reasons. Except for the coastal ferry, all lines are running although somewhat less frequently than last year. In the same statement, the government noted that there will be no cutbacks in the summer schedule. Well, that’s a big relief for travellers!

My popular downloadable ferry guide is now available and you’ll find most other schedules on the relevant ferry sections. You can search here but I think you’ll find that the ferry guide is much more convenient AND it includes FREE UPDATES throughout the year. See more.

Jadrolinija may have its problems, but VeneziaLines is right on target in releasing its catamaran schedules from Venice to Piran, Porec, Pula, Rovinj and Rabac. Service starts in early April and runs to the beginning of October on some lines. See the schedules and book online here.

On their website today, Jadrolinija stated that the February ferry schedules are good through March 7. That’s good if you’re planning a trip to Croatia next week but unhelpful if your trip is later on.

What gives? A Jadrolinija spokesperson indicated to me last month that the state-owned company was awaiting government approval for proposed ferry lines for the rest of 2010. That approval is taking much longer than I would have expected so I contacted the Ministry responsible for handling sea traffic.

In response, I received an email politely pointing out that the original intention was to approve a schedule valid for the entire year but that “serious problems” with the state budget made it impossible to cover such a yearly schedule. The issue should be resolved in the “nearest future”.

What does that mean? I think it may mean fewer ferries to various Croatian islands, especially to less-visited islands. Notice that the coastal ferry, which has been chugging up and down the coast twice a week for about 40 years has been suspended through May. Clearly, a financially-strapped government is looking to economize as much as possible without damaging its vital tourist business.

All we can do is watch and wait.

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This is important news for anyone planning to take the Jadrolinija coastal ferry this winter. The company has just announced that this route, which goes from Rijeka to Split, Hvar, Korcula, Dubrovnik and on to Bari has been suspended through February. Although the company has characterized the suspension as “temporary”, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the line will not start again until June. Remember that the Jadrolinija company is state-owned and Croatia is mired in an economic crisis. Since the opening of the Rijeka-Split highway, the coastal ferry line has seen a steep drop in passengers. Most likely, the government simply cannot afford to subsidize this line when passengers are so scarce.