Ferries from Zadar to the Islands: Gaženica vs the Old Town

Two ports, not one

The single most useful thing to understand before booking anything is that Zadar does not have one ferry terminal — it has two, and they serve different purposes. Visitors who assume “the ferry port” is a single place sometimes end up in the wrong spot with a ticket for the wrong departure point, or waste time backtracking across town. Once the split is clear, the rest of the system is straightforward.

Gaženica port, a purpose-built terminal south of the Old Town peninsula, handles the large Jadrolinija car ferries and the longer passenger lines to islands such as Dugi Otok, Pašman, and the more remote islands further offshore (Silba, Molat, Premuda, Ist, and others in that chain). This is where you go if you are taking a vehicle to an island, or catching a scheduled ferry to a destination that is not a short hop from the city.

The Old Town harbour, right on the edge of the historic peninsula, a short walk from the Sea Organ and the Riva, is where the small local boats leave — most notably the crossing to Preko on Ugljan. This is a foot-passenger route, close to everything else you are likely doing in central Zadar, and it does not require the same kind of trip out of town that Gaženica does.

Keep this distinction in mind throughout: Gaženica for the big Jadrolinija ferries, the Old Town harbour for the small boats to Ugljan. Almost every practical question below comes back to which of these two points you actually need.

Gaženica port: the main ferry terminal

Gaženica was built as a dedicated, modern ferry terminal separate from the older harbour beside the historic centre, largely to handle the volume of car ferry traffic that the Old Town harbour was never designed for. It sits south of the peninsula, reachable by taxi, local bus, or a walk that is longer than most visitors want to make with luggage, especially in summer heat.

From Gaženica, Jadrolinija operates car ferries and passenger lines to a range of islands in the Zadar archipelago and beyond. This is the terminal relevant to a trip to Dugi Otok — home to Telašćica Nature Park and the Sakarun beach — and to Pašman, as well as to smaller, further-flung islands that see fewer visitors but still depend on the ferry network for daily life.

Because Gaženica handles vehicle traffic, expect a different rhythm than a small passenger dock: check-in areas for cars, queuing lanes, and a terminal building with the usual amenities of a working port. If you are travelling with a car and heading to an island with a road network worth driving, this is where your journey starts and ends.

Do not assume a specific departure time, price, or crossing duration for any route out of Gaženica — sailings vary by island, by season, and by operator schedule changes, and stating a fixed number here would go stale fast. The reliable approach is to check Jadrolinija’s current timetable directly for your travel dates once you know which island you are heading to.

The Old Town harbour: boats to Ugljan

The crossing to Preko, the main town on Ugljan, works differently. This is a short hop across the channel that separates the mainland from the island, and it leaves from the harbour right at the edge of Zadar’s historic peninsula rather than from Gaženica.

Practically, this means that if your plan for the day is simply “cross to Ugljan and back,” you do not need to leave central Zadar at all to reach your departure point. You can walk from the Riva, past the Sea Organ and Greeting to the Sun, straight to the boat.

Ugljan itself is known for its olive groves and the relaxed town of Preko, which sits opposite the tiny inhabited islet of Ošljak and near the islet of Galevac. It is one of the easiest islands to visit from Zadar precisely because the crossing point is so central — there is no need to arrange transport out to a terminal first.

As with Gaženica, resist the temptation to lock in a specific sailing time or fare from memory or from an old itinerary: local ferry schedules to Preko run more frequently than the longer Jadrolinija lines, but frequency and timing shift with the season, so check the current timetable before you plan your day around a particular crossing.

Comparing the two departure points

	Gaženica port	Old Town harbour
Location relative to Old Town	South of the peninsula, not walkable with luggage for most	On the edge of the peninsula, walking distance from the Riva
Typical routes	Car ferries and longer lines to Dugi Otok, Pašman, and outer islands	Short passenger crossing to Preko on Ugljan
Vehicles	Yes, car ferry check-in and lanes	Mainly foot passengers
Operator	Jadrolinija (main operator)	Jadrolinija and local connections
Best for	Multi-day island stays, trips with a car, further islands	A quick, simple day crossing to Ugljan

Getting to Gaženica port

Since Gaženica is not within comfortable walking distance of the Old Town for most travellers, plan a short taxi ride, a local bus, or a transfer as part of your journey. If you are arriving from Zadar Airport and heading straight to a ferry, it is worth checking whether your route via the Old Town makes sense or whether going directly to Gaženica saves time — the airport, the Old Town, and Gaženica form three separate points around the city rather than one straight line.

If you are staying in central Zadar and taking a car ferry from Gaženica the next morning, build in extra time for the trip out to the terminal, especially in peak summer when both road traffic and port queues for vehicles tend to be heavier.

Reaching the Old Town harbour

This part is simple: if you are staying anywhere near the historic peninsula, the harbour for the Preko boat is already close by. It sits near the same stretch of waterfront as the Sea Organ and the main Riva promenade, so combining a morning walk through the Roman Forum with an afternoon crossing to Ugljan is an easy, low-logistics way to spend a day.

When a ferry isn’t the right tool

A scheduled ferry — from either port — gets you from point A to point B on a timetable, which is exactly what residents and regular commuters need. But if your goal for the day is to see several islands, or to reach somewhere that has no regular ferry line at all, a guided boat tour is usually the better fit.

Kornati National Park, for example, has no roads, no bridges, and no car ferry connection to the mainland at all — it is reached only by boat, and the practical way to visit is a day tour departing from Zadar, Biograd na Moru, Murter or Sali. A boat tour that includes Kornati and stops at Ugljan in the same day, such as a Kornati and Ugljan cruise with three stops, covers ground that a single ferry crossing simply cannot.

Similarly, if you want to see Ugljan without worrying about timetables at all, a private option like a private boat trip to Ugljan runs on your own schedule rather than the ferry’s. For a more general half-day out on the water with a stop for a swim, a boat tour to the islands with a refreshing drink stop is a relaxed alternative to catching the public boat and organising your own swim spot.

If your Ugljan crossing is really just the first step of a bigger day and you would rather have it built into a guided trip than work out ferry times yourself, a guided boat tour to Ugljan and Preko handles the logistics for you.

Planning around the two ports

A few practical patterns help when you are putting together a longer stay. If your trip includes a night or two on Dugi Otok or Pašman, your journey will start at Gaženica, so factor the transfer time out to the terminal into your first or last day rather than treating it as a quick errand. If your interest in the islands is a single day trip to Ugljan, you can build your morning around the Old Town harbour and never need to think about Gaženica at all.

For visitors combining island time with the national parks, remember that neither Plitvice Lakes nor Krka National Park are reached by ferry — both are inland, accessed by road, and are entirely separate logistics from anything described here. Don’t let ferry planning and national park planning blur together; they use different transport systems entirely, and the guide on day trips from Zadar treats them separately for that reason.

If you are unsure which islands are realistically reachable by scheduled ferry versus which are better visited on a organised tour, it often comes down to how many stops you want in a day. A single island, reached at your own pace, suits the ferry system well. Several islands, or a protected area with no ferry line such as Kornati, suits a tour boat better — see the comparison in speedboat vs. cruise boat tours from Zadar for more on choosing between the two approaches.

Practical tips for using the ferries

Arrive earlier than you think you need to, particularly for a car ferry from Gaženica in July or August, when both the port and the approach roads see their heaviest traffic of the year. For the Ugljan crossing from the Old Town harbour, the walk-up nature of the route makes it far more forgiving, but it is still worth checking the current timetable rather than assuming a fixed frequency, since schedules commonly thin out in winter compared with the summer peak.

Bring layers if you are travelling in shoulder season: sea temperatures and open-deck conditions on a longer Gaženica crossing can feel different from a short, sheltered hop to Preko. And if you are combining a ferry crossing with sightseeing on the mainland side, note that Zadar’s Old Town is compact enough to walk between the Sea Organ, the Roman Forum, and the harbour for Preko in well under an hour, which makes it easy to fit a ferry crossing around a morning or afternoon of sightseeing rather than treating it as a separate outing.

Finally, always treat this guide as a description of how the system works, not as a source for specific sailing times or fares — those change by season and by operator update, and the only reliable place to check them is Jadrolinija’s own current timetable for the exact route and date you need.

Frequently asked questions about ferries from Zadar

Do all ferries from Zadar leave from the same port?

No. Gaženica port handles the large Jadrolinija car ferries to Dugi Otok, Pašman, and outer islands such as Silba, Molat, Premuda and Ist, plus longer coastal lines. The small boats to Preko on Ugljan leave from the Old Town harbour, close to the historic peninsula, not from Gaženica.

How far is Gaženica port from Zadar Old Town?

Gaženica sits south of the Old Town peninsula, an easy taxi or bus ride away rather than a walk. It was built as a dedicated ferry terminal, separate from the older harbour right beside the historic centre.

Can I walk to the ferry for Ugljan from the Old Town?

Yes. The short crossing to Preko on Ugljan leaves from the harbour on the edge of the Old Town, within walking distance of the Riva, the Sea Organ and the main squares.

Which company runs the ferries from Zadar?

Jadrolinija is the main operator for car ferries and passenger lines out of Gaženica, and also runs some of the smaller local connections. For exact routes, check Jadrolinija’s own timetables rather than relying on a fixed schedule here, since sailings vary by season.

Do ferry timetables change between summer and winter?

Yes, island ferry schedules in Croatia typically run a fuller summer timetable and a reduced winter one. Always check the current timetable for your travel dates rather than assuming a year-round frequency.

Can I take a car on the ferry from Zadar?

Car ferries operate from Gaženica port for islands that have road networks worth driving, such as Dugi Otok and Pašman. The small boats from the Old Town harbour to Preko are typically for foot passengers and light local traffic, so check in advance if you need to bring a vehicle.

Is it faster to reach the islands by ferry or by tour boat?

A scheduled ferry is the everyday way locals and residents reach the islands, running to a fixed timetable. A guided boat tour or speedboat excursion from Zadar or Biograd typically covers several islands or a national park like Kornati in a single day, which a ferry timetable alone cannot do.

Should I book ferry tickets in advance?

For car ferries in peak summer, arriving early or booking ahead is sensible given demand for vehicle space. For foot passengers on short local crossings such as Preko, tickets are usually bought at the harbour before departure. Check current booking options directly with Jadrolinija rather than assuming a fixed rule.