Walking in Croatia

Walks and multi-day treks through the best of Croatia’s mountains including the Dinaric Alps (Gorski Kotar and Velebit), Istria, Croatia’s islands and around Zagreb. Ranging from easy to hard, the routes introduce this outstandingly rugged walking destination. Full background, history, cultural, accommodation and planning information.

January 2006

Introduction

General

The Croatian coast continues to become more and more popular as a holiday destination – all the more reason to visit the country’s mountains, which still remain remarkably peaceful!

Travelling to Croatia

Note that British Airways (www.britishairways.com) no longer flies to Zagreb, but instead operates services to Split and Dubrovnik, both from London Gatwick. While this may not be such good news for those who wish to travel to Zagreb on a regular basis, as flights with Croatia Airlines remain comparatively expensive, it is excellent news for those travelling to the coast. Split, in particular, is very convenient for those planning walks in the Dinaric Alps (Velebit, Mosor or Biokovo). Flights to Split currently operate daily except Monday during the summer, and three times a week out of season. There are daily flights to Dubrovnik in the summer; out of season flights operate three times a week. Return fares start from as little as £99 to Split and £109 to Dubrovnik, but tickets get booked up early, so book as far in advance as possible if you want to get a cheap seat. Arriving in Dubrovnik is less convenient for those heading for the mountains in Croatia, but is perfect for travelling over the border into Montenegro….

The most convenient ‘budget’ flights from the UK to destinations close to Croatia are as follows:

Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) to Trieste, in Italy. Trieste (Trst in Croatian) has bus connections to Zagreb (Croatia Bus, www.croatiabus.hr/english, departs 5pm Tuesday-Saturday, no service Sunday or Monday, €11, 4hrs 15mins), leaving from the main bus station (Piazza della Liberta 11, next to the railway station). There are also trains to Zagreb (departing from the Villa Opicina station, not the railway station in the centre of Trieste; a connecting bus service departs from Piazza della Liberta). There are also buses to Rijeka (Fiume in Italian) and Pula (Pola in Italian) run by SAF and Saita (for further details and timetables, see the ‘Getting There’ section of Visit Croatia’s website, www.visit-croatia.co.uk). There is a regular shuttle service between the airport and the main bus station.

Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) to Graz, in Austria. Graz has bus connections to Zagreb (Croatia Bus, www.croatiabus.hr/english, departs 4pm Monday-Saturday, no service Sunday, €13, 3hrs 50mins), leaving from Post ver and from the railway station (Hauptbahnhof) 10mins later. Alternatively, there is a train from Graz to Zagreb, departing Graz at 6.30pm. There is a shuttle bus and a train service between the airport and the railway station (for timetables, see www.flughafen-graz.at).

Easyjet (www.easyjet.com) to Ljubljana, in Slovenia. From Ljubljana the most convenient onward route is by train to Zagreb (departs 5.45pm, 2hrs 20mins; and 7.50pm, 2hrs 45mins with one change of train; for timetable see ‘International timetable’ section of www.hznet.hr/ENG).

In all the above cases, you should book as early as possible to get a cheap seat, particularly during the summer. The web site www.visit-croatia.co.uk is a good source of information on travelling to Croatia.

Routes

Walk 7: Northern and Central Velebit

Stage 3 (Extension): The hut at Veliki Lubenovac (p.130) burnt down recently. Although a new one will undoubtedly be built in the future, there is currently no hut at Veliki Lubenovac.

Walk 8: Southern Velebit and Paklenica

Stage 2: Water can be collected from a well at the Ivine vodice hut (p.148). Note that you cannot camp at Ivine vodice – the flat grassy area here is a helipad! The hut at Vlaški grad (p.149) has now been rebuilt; allow 1hr 10mins to descend from Sveto brdo to the hut at Vlaški grad. Water is more reliable at the Ivine vodice hut, however.

Road-building on Velebit

Despite ongoing protests by environmental groups and walkers, roads continue to carve their way into Velebit, destroying huge numbers of trees and damaging the natural habitat of numerous animal species. In central and southern Velebit, they threaten the integrity of Premužiceva staza and the VPP (Velibitski planinarski put), Croatia’s most extensive long-distance footpath.

You can show your support for those trying to oppose this destruction, by writing to: http://www.velebit.planine.org/index_eng.php (see the ‘Support our Campaign’ section; add comments by clicking ‘Upišite Vaš komentar’), and HPD Zagreb-Matica (www.zagreb-matica.hr, email zgmatica@zagreb-matica.hr), Croatia’s oldest Mountaineering Society, which has been particularly active in opposing these developments.

b) ERRATA - apologies for these….

Location of Walks Map (pp.12-13)

Please note that in the map and key, the colour key for areas A and B are reversed.

Walk 4: Gorski kotar

Route Map (p.73): Please note that the short route to Suhi vrh should approach from the SE, not from the W as indicated.

Walk 8: Southern Velebit and Paklenica

Stage 2: The timing for the descent from Sveto brdo to the shelter at Ivine vodice (p.148) should read 2hrs, not 2hrs 30mins.