Zadar Airport, Ferries and Boats: How I Actually Get Around

The first time a friend flew in to visit me in Zadar, she landed, looked at her map app, and texted me: “It says I’m an hour from the sea, is that right?” She’d booked a flight into Split by mistake, thinking any Dalmatian airport would do. It happens more than you’d think, so let’s sort out the transport picture properly — plane, ferry, and the small boats that get you out to the islands — before you build the rest of your trip around it.

Zadar Airport is not Split Airport

This is the mix-up I hear most often, and I understand why: both cities sit on the same stretch of Croatian coast, both get lumped together as “Dalmatia” in search results, and Split’s airport has more flights, so it’s the one people find first. But they are two different airports, roughly 150 km apart by road, serving two different cities.

Zadar Airport (ZAD) is at Zemunik, about 8–10 km from the Old Town. It’s small — one terminal, easy to walk through — which I actually love after years of dragging bags through bigger hubs. If your flight confirmation says SPU, you’re headed to Split, and you’ll need a very different transfer plan than the one below. Double-check the three-letter code before you book anything else.

A confirmation that reads ZAD means a short run to the Old Town, so a pre-arranged ride is easy to set up. Check that the pick-up is named for Zemunik and not for Split, and give the driver your flight number so a late landing does not leave you waiting. You can arrange a Zadar airport transfer with Kiwitaxi once those details match.

Getting from ZAD to the Old Town

Because the airport sits so close to the city, this is one of the easier transfers I’ve dealt with anywhere in Europe. I’ve done it by taxi when I landed late and just wanted to be horizontal, and by shuttle bus when I was traveling light and unbothered by timing.

A few honest notes from experience:

• Taxis and ride-hailing wait right outside arrivals. It’s a short, predictable ride into the Old Town peninsula or the surrounding neighborhoods — I won’t quote a fare here since prices shift, but ask the driver to confirm the price before you get in, or check current rates through your ride app.
• Shuttle buses run in connection with flight arrivals, timed loosely around the airline schedules rather than a fixed public transport table. If you’re catching one, check the current schedule rather than relying on an old timetable — flight-linked shuttles change with the season’s route map.
• Car rental counters are at the airport, which I’d recommend if you’re planning to explore Nin, Pag, or the inland parks — public transport thins out fast once you leave the coast. See my car rental guide for the details I wish I’d known the first time.

For the fuller walkthrough with more transfer options, I’ve written a separate airport transfer guide that goes deeper into each method.

Gaženica: the ferry port that isn’t where you’d expect

Here’s the second thing that trips people up: Zadar’s Old Town harbor, the pretty one right by the Sea Organ, is not where the big Jadrolinija ferries leave from. Those depart from Gaženica, a purpose-built ferry terminal a few kilometers south of the Old Town, opened specifically to take the ferry traffic out of the historic center.

I learned this the inconvenient way — showed up at the old harbor with a bag for an overnight ferry to the islands, and had to scramble for a taxi to Gaženica with twenty minutes to spare. Don’t do what I did. If you’re catching a Jadrolinija ferry to Dugi Otok, Pašman, or further south, build in time to get to Gaženica specifically, and check your route and departure time directly with Jadrolinija before you travel, since ferry schedules move with the season.

Gaženica has its own bus connections into the city center, and taxis run between the two ports regularly. If you’re renting a car for the wider region — Paklenica, the Zrmanja river, or a loop up toward Pag — Gaženica also has car parking, which is worth knowing if you’re leaving a vehicle behind for an island crossing.

The little boats from the Old Town harbor

Confusingly, the Old Town harbor does still matter for boat travel — just not for the big car ferries. This is where the small passenger boats to Preko, on Ugljan, leave from. It’s a short hop, more like a commuter run than a ferry crossing, and it’s the way a lot of Ugljan locals get to work in Zadar every day.

I took this boat on a whim one September morning, mostly because I wanted coffee somewhere that wasn’t the Old Town, and ended up spending the afternoon wandering Preko’s waterfront and looking back at Zadar’s skyline from the water — a view you don’t get any other way.

If you want a version of that trip with someone else doing the navigating, a guided tour to Ugljan, Ošljak and Galevac covers a similar route with commentary, or you can go your own way with the plain passenger boat. There’s also a guided tour to Ugljan, Ošljak and Galevac that runs from the Old Town harbor itself, which is handy if you’d rather not work out the timetable on your own.

If you’d prefer to set your own pace instead of following a scheduled departure, a private boat trip to Ugljan leaves from the same stretch of harbor and lets you pick the hour, which solves the “what if I miss the passenger boat” worry some people have on a short visit.

For getting around the wider archipelago beyond Ugljan — Kornati, Telašćica, Sakarun beach — you’re generally looking at organized boat tours rather than scheduled ferries, since most of those islands don’t have regular public routes from the city.

Putting it together: three departure points, three purposes

I still think of Zadar’s transport as three separate points on the map, each doing one job:

Point	What it’s for	Distance from Old Town
Zadar Airport (ZAD), Zemunik	Flights in and out	~8–10 km
Gaženica ferry port	Jadrolinija ferries to the islands	A few km south
Old Town harbor	Small passenger boats to Preko (Ugljan) and boat tours	In the Old Town

Once that map is in your head, the rest of the logistics fall into place fairly naturally. I’d rather spend ten minutes confirming which port or terminal I need than lose an hour of a short trip to a wrong turn.

If your plans include the inland parks, note that Plitvice and Krka are neither airport nor ferry business — those are road trips, usually by tour bus, rental car, or transfer, covered in my Krka day trip guide and in options like a Krka waterfalls day tour with a boat ride or a Plitvice guided tour.

Both are organized transfers in their own right, which is worth remembering if you’re trying to fill an airport-to-departure gap without renting a car just for one day trip — see my day trips from Zadar guide for how the timing usually works out.

Zadar airport and ferry transfers: frequently asked questions

Is Zadar Airport the same as Split Airport?

No. They are separate airports serving separate cities, roughly 150 km apart by road. Zadar Airport’s code is ZAD, at Zemunik near Zadar; Split’s is SPU. Always check the airport code on your booking before arranging a transfer.

How far is Zadar Airport from the Old Town?

About 8–10 km. It’s a short, straightforward transfer by taxi, ride-hailing, rental car, or a flight-connected shuttle bus.

Where do the big ferries to the islands leave from?

From Gaženica, a dedicated ferry port a few kilometers south of the Old Town — not from the historic harbor. Jadrolinija ferries to the islands depart from there.

Can I catch a ferry from the Old Town harbor?

Not the large Jadrolinija ferries — those use Gaženica. The Old Town harbor is used for small passenger boats to Preko on Ugljan, and for boat tours around the archipelago.

How do I get from Zadar to Ugljan?

By the small passenger boat from the Old Town harbor to Preko, or by joining a guided boat tour that includes Ugljan as a stop.

Do I need a car to visit Plitvice or Krka from Zadar?

Not necessarily — both are reachable by organized day tours from Zadar, though a rental car gives you more flexibility if you’re combining several inland or coastal stops.

Should I book my ferry or transfer in advance?

I’d always check current schedules and availability directly with the ferry operator or your transfer provider before traveling, especially in peak summer months, rather than relying on a fixed timetable found online.