Croatia Travel Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Jadrolinija’

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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Jadrolinija just published the coastal ferry schedule for the first half of 2010. Most notable is the introduction of the ferry “Dubrovnik” for the weekend route between Split, Dubrovnik and Bari, Italy. Introduced in April to replace the damaged Marko Polo, the Dubrovnik is  faster and will shave 40minutes from the Hvar-Korcula leg. The downside is that, for the first time, passengers (and their cars) will have to change ferries at Split since the Liburnija will continue to run between Rijeka and Split. At least for now. Jadrolinija has been thrown for a loop by the Marko Polo problem. Perhaps when the ferry is repaired she can go back to work on the coastal route? Stay tuned.

See the newest coastal ferry timetable here.