Croatia Travel Guide
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Guide
Croatia has a gap in the middle of its own coastline. Bosnia and Herzegovina's only stretch of sea, around the town of Neum, cuts the southern Dalmatian coast from the rest of the country. Before the bridge, driving from Split to Dubrovnik meant passing two border posts within 9 kilometers, and once Croatia joined Schengen in 2023 it got worse, since someone driving from Dubrovnik toward the mainland through Neum would have faced three separate checks.
The answer was the Pelješac Bridge, which opened on 26 July 2022. It is 2,404 meters long, cost 420.3 million euros, and the European Commission paid 357 million euros, 85 percent, of it. It connects Komarna on the mainland to the Pelješac peninsula entirely within Croatian territory, and by September 2023 more than three million vehicles had crossed it. As of 2026 it charges no toll.
Border crossings
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: Doljani, Vinjani Donji, and Bijača
These are external Schengen borders, so a real check applies. One transfer operator's guide reports waits of 15 to 45 minutes at Doljani near Metković in summer, 5 to 15 minutes at Vinjani Donji on the Imotski route, and 30 to 90 minutes at Bijača at peak times, especially on Saturday afternoons.
- Montenegro: Karasovići, and the alternative at Vitaljina
The main crossing on the way to Kotor and beyond is Karasovići near Debeli Brijeg, which the same guide reports can take 60 to 180 minutes in peak summer, with the worst window between about 10 am and 2 pm. Vitaljina, a smaller crossing about 15 kilometers south, is the alternative.
- Slovenia and Hungary, where there is nothing to stop for
They are Schengen neighbors, so you can drive from Ljubljana to Zagreb like any other motorway.
Transit routes
- Across the Pelješac Bridge, and around Neum
The bridge means you can drive between the Dubrovnik area and the rest of Croatia without touching Bosnian territory at all, which avoids the two Neum checkpoints entirely.
- Ferries to Italy are internal Schengen sailings
Jadrolinija runs Dubrovnik to Bari, Split to Bari, and Split to Ancona, plus a high speed Zadar to Ancona service, and the fastest Split to Ancona crossing takes about 11 hours. Because Italy and Croatia are both in Schengen, these are internal crossings, though carriers still ask for ID.
- The Dalmatian island ferries are domestic
Sailings to Hvar and Stari Grad and the rest of the island network do not involve any border formality at all.
Entry point notes
- EES applies at every Croatian external border, including the roads
It has been fully operational since 10 April 2026. First time registration takes about 3 to 6 minutes per person, according to one border guide, and later crossings are verified against the stored biometric data.
- Croatian airports and ports are Schengen entry points
Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, and the other airports are where a flight from outside Schengen is checked. If you connect through another Schengen airport first, that is where the border check and EES registration happens.