Hello:

Can anyone advise the cheapest way to get to Croatia from the U.S. Is it cheaper to fly into a major European city, and then take a local airline to Croatia?

I want to travel to Croatia and Montenegro next Spring and have no idea where to begin...

Thanks!

Julia

It would help to know from which city you departing. I leave from Seattle, and many flights connect in either Amsterdam or Frankfort. Fares for this September are running around $1,200, according to Kayak.

Hi.

I'm going to Dubrovnik in October myself. In doing research for my upcoming trip, I found that fares are generally cheapest going through London via British Airways, Dublin via Aer Lingus or Barcelona via Click Air.

Hope this helps.

Ross

I am flying out of either San Francisco or LA. I'm finding that flights are around $1200 at the lowest. But I would like to know whether anyone has experience with perhaps flying cheaper to some other European city and then taking one of those cheap airlines within Europe to Croatia. thank you.

I suggest you go first to Whichbudget.com to see what cheapo European airlines fly into the Croatian airport you want to go to. Then start checking flights from SF and/or LA that go to those airports.

It will take you awhile, but I don't know of any easier way to do it, unless you know a travel agent, or you get lucky on this thread and get an answer from some obliging Fodorite that has gone through the exercise recently. Even then, the picture may have changed by next Spring as sales happen, and cheapo airlines go out of business, etc.

I have flown a few times over the last year from the West Coast and have found Venice to be the ideal and cheapest entry point for Croatia.

here's a link to wikipedia site for Dubrovnik airport. It shows airlines and destinations to/from which you can fly non-stop. No guarantee it's up to date, but it's a place to start.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubrovnik_Airport

Then you can match up LA or SF flights to one of these European cities to find a matching combination.

If you are planning to buy separate tickets US to Europe gateway, then gateway on to Croatia, make sure you know what you're getting into, including risks should one of your flights be delayed and you miss your connection.

Thank you for the suggestions! I will start digging around. LittleVicky- did you take train from Venice to Croatia? I can't seem to find any flights. Thanks.

Frankfurt to Osijek (Croatia) is $1 on Ryan Air!!! Any comments on flying into this town?

Oops, I mean $28 Europs RT.

I believe RyanAir flies out of Frankfurt Hahn airport, not Frankfurt am Main. They are at least 1hr apart.

Train to Trieste and bus to a good transport hub like Rijeka. Will you hire a car or use the buses?

There's a boat that goes from Venice to Istria; I believe it's seasonal though.

We're flying British Air Seattle to London Heathrow, then London Gatwick to Dubrovnik. Since there's an airport disconnect, we're planning a couple days in Brighton in between -- to get over jet lag.

Another site to look at for flights is www.harefares.com. It gives you a choice of surrounding airports.

Beware of RyanAir's $1 fares. By the time you add in all the taxes and fees, the fare gets much more expensive. And then you have to get yourself to and from the distant airports they use.

I am going to Dubrovnik in October. I will fly from SEA to Heathrow, BA ($967.33) where my friend Julia-T will pick me up.

I am going to spend a few days with her in the Cotswolds and one night in London before flying Easyjet ($114 rt) from Gatwick to Dubrovnik. On the return I will fly into Gatwick and because it is a late evening flight, I will spend the night at the nearby Vulcan Lodge and then the next afternoon I fly Heathrow to SEA.

I usually fly SEA-AMS-Zagreb-Dubrovnik and the cost is $1,200-$1,300, with a very early morning flight out of DBV.

Of course that is Julia_t, fellow Fodorite. Here is the Vulcan Lodge -www.vulcan-lodge.com

I am also wondering the best gateway to Croatia, most likely Dubrovnik. We would be flying out of NYC or Newark, NJ? I was told possibly fly into Ireland and then a flight to Dubrovnik from Dublin?

We are considering summer if that makes a difference?

Look into the airport at Split. It's larger than Dobrovnik. We flew Croatia Airlines from Split to Rome. Good flight.

Also check Zagreb.

I asked a friend who is from Croatia and works in the U.S. There are no standard connection airports to get to Zagreb. She rules out London because of the high fees, but connecting airports have been Frankfort, Munich, Copenhagen, Paris. She'll take the flight that is the cheapest with a single stop between the departure city and Zagreb.