Zagreb Flights

I flew into Zagreb Airport with Croatia Airlines. It was a wonderful, smooth flight, with a brand new plane and a great crew.

The Airport is quite small. There's a money exchange stall down to the left as you exit customs. It's just past the information exchange on the left, the third stall afterwards. It says "no commision" and the rate is pretty reasonable.

The bus leaves from the main exit and costs 30KN. It takes 25 minutes to reach the main bus station. It is an express route and doesn't stop anywhere else, so no worrying about where to get off. The bus is supposed to leave every thirty minutes, on the hour and half past the hour, but I found the one I got on just waited until it had filled up with passengers from the last flight in, so no rush.

The local airport is rather small and fast. I felt great already on arrival with a quick passport control. Same when I left, was quick service and nice dury free shopping as well.
The airport shuttle to the city is just on the exit and it's fast and cheap as well.

Croatia Airlines has a very young fleet and connects Zagreb with many european cities. Croatia Airlines is a regional member of the Star Alliance network as of 15th December 2004. For more information check their website!

They usually have special offers and their domestic flights are really cheap if you book some months in advance. I flew from Zagreb to Pula and from Split back to Zagreb and didn't pay more than EUR 60.00 (!!!) for both tickets. That's pretty cheap!!! But don't forget to book a few months in advance, especially if you consider travelling during the high season.

You can take the airport bus to get to the main bus station in Zagreb. The coach leaves every 30 minutes and the bus station is located immediately at the International Arrivals Exit. Tickets are bought from the driver and cost 25.00 kn.

Zagreb Airport which is located a half an hour bus ride away from the city centre (see next tip) is so tiny I bet it's possible to get off the plane, show your passport, go to the toilet, have a cigarette, collect your luggage, go through customs, get money from the ATM and board the airport bus in 5 minutes.

It's not a very exciting airport but very convenient because of the short distances. Killing a few hours here isn't too interesting though because there is only one souvenir shop, a few cafes, a newsagents and after check in there's a big duty free shop.

People who work at Zagreb airport seem to be allergic to batteries. You aren't allowed to have ANY batteries in checked in luggage, your bag will be returned to you straight away and you will have to search your bag for any remaining batteries in any hidden corners, in cameras, phones, laptops or other stuff you carry around in your luggage.

I was smart enough to had put everything into my carry on luggage. At least I thought I was smart .... At the security check my rucksack was returned to me because there were batteries (no ***, sherlock, where else should I put them??). Apparently you have to put them through the x ray machine separately so it might be wise to put them in a little bag before coming to the airport. It saves you the time to search through all your luggage as I had to do.

Just a little tip if you are flying into Zagreb from Germany or around the area. Sit on the right side of the plane on your flight to Zagreb so that you will see the beautiful alps from the air. On the left side there aren't the high mountains.

It was the first time I saw mountains from the plane (basically because I normally go into other directions when I fly) and it was the most beautiful view I have ever had. It was so beautiful I even forgot I had to be scared ;)

Considering Zagreb is the capital and Croatia's largest city, the airport is relatively small. I took this photo at around 6am the day I left and not much was open inside the airport except the cafe and, of course, the ticket counters. However, the small size makes it a snap to find your gate and catch your flight without too much effort.

The airport is located about 10 km from the town center.

Originally, I used a free ticket on US Airways to get to Amsterdam and then bought a ticket on Lufthansa which stopped in Frankfurt where I changed planes and boarded a Croatia Airlines Airbus which I flew to Zagreb. However, a little over a week after I had booked, Amsterdam went on sale, so I called US Airways and had them credit my miles back. I paid $299 to get to Amsterdam, but received 40,000 miles back, plus I received about 12,000 miles for the actual miles, a 1,000 mile online booking bonus and a 10,000 mile bonus for flying to Europe before March 31st. Wow. For less than $300, I got about 63,000 miles!

Well, the downside was that it took about 18 hours to get from Charlotte to Zagreb, but I did it all for about $450, which isn't a bad price. The flight on Croatia Airlines was pleasant and comfortable, even if the food wasn't the greatest I've ever had!