Croatia’s 2026 state coastal register lists 68 routes. Only 24 of them carry a vehicle, and every one of those is a conventional car ferry. All 33 catamarans, the fast craft that make island-hopping practical, take foot passengers only. A hire car therefore closes off half the network.
What the register actually contains
Agencija za obalni linijski pomorski promet publishes the register of Croatian coastal liner services each year. It is the only complete list of what sails, and it is the reason this page can count things that booking sites cannot. It covers domestic coastal lines: island to mainland, island to island, and the through-boats down the Dalmatian chain. It does not cover international crossings.
| Vessel | Routes | Carry vehicles | Obligation to run |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car ferry | 24 | All of them | State line, public service obligation |
| Catamaran, state line | 16 | None | State line, public service obligation |
| Catamaran, commercial | 17 | None | None — runs to summer demand |
| Passenger ship | 11 | None | State line, public service obligation |
That table is the single most useful thing on this page. A car ferry is slow, it is the only thing that will take your hire car, and there are 24 of them. A catamaran is fast, frequent and direct — and there are 33 of them, none of which will let a car aboard. Deciding whether to drive in Croatia is therefore a decision about which half of the network you are allowed to use, taken before you book anything.
Where the boats leave from
Croatian services are organised around mainland gateways. Split is by a distance the largest; Zadar is the northern equivalent; Dubrovnik anchors the far south. A handful of gateways exist only to serve one crossing, which is why the network looks denser on a map than it is in a timetable.
Registered routes by mainland gateway, eight largest. Source: Agencija ZOLPP, 2026 state coastal line register, verified 6 August 2026.
The finder below runs over the whole register. Choose a gateway and a season: winter and shoulder show only the state lines, because those are the ones bound by a public service obligation to sail. The 17 commercial lines carry no such obligation and appear under summer alone.
Departing from
Season
Two habits will save you a wasted morning. Read the destination as a port, not as an island — Hvar island has three of them and only one is Hvar town. And check whether the service you want is a state line before you build a February itinerary around it.
Booking the fast boat, then hiring a car
Of the 68 routes, 24 take a vehicle. Every one of the 33 catamarans is foot-passenger only, and the catamarans are the direct, frequent, comfortable services that most itineraries are built on.
A hire car collected at Split airport therefore removes you from roughly half the network at a stroke, and the half it removes you from is the fast half. On most island itineraries the car costs you time rather than saving it. Decide the car question first, then read the timetables.
Everything else on this cluster is downstream of those two decisions: which gateway, and whether a vehicle is coming with you. The questions below are the ones that arrive next.
Common questions
Is there a single national ferry timetable?
Yes — the ZOLPP register. It holds all 68 coastal routes with operator, vessel class and vehicle capability. Individual sailing times come from the per-line timetables published alongside it.
Do the ferries run in winter?
The state lines do; that is what a public service obligation means. The 17 commercial lines are not obliged to and largely do not.
Do fares change during the year?
Yes. Tariffs switch on 29 May and revert on 27 September. The dates are fixed and are not the same as the dates on which extra sailings are added.
What do you need to work out next?
The network is settled. These are the decisions it forces.
Where to stay
Which coast should I base myself on?
Split gateway carries more registered routes than any other.
Getting around
Can I chain several islands together?
The southern chain has legs that only exist between 3 July and 30 August.
When to go
When do the commercial boats stop?
17 of the 68 routes carry no obligation to sail at all.
Planning
Could a chartered boat replace the timetable?
Seventeen lines in the register are commercial and carry no public service obligation.
Ferry data: Agencija za obalni linijski pomorski promet (ZOLPP), 2026 state coastal line register and per-line timetables.