How to get from Zagreb Airport to Zagreb City Centre

The city of Zagreb is Croatia’s capital and the largest city in Croatia. Zagreb Airport is the largest airport in Croatia, with many international and domestic flights.

How to get from Zagreb Airport to Zagreb city centre?

You can get there by shuttle bus, city bus, or private transfer. All the details are in this blog post.

It’s useful information in any case: if you are travelling to Zagreb only as your final destination or if the Croatian capital is just a point during your journey and you are travelling via Zagreb to the coast.

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Zagreb Airport basic information

Zagreb Airport’s full name is Franjo Tudman Airport, and the code is ZAG. It’s Croatian airport with the biggest traffic (in 2022, it has reached almost 3 million passengers).

It has domestic connection (for example, to Dubrovnik) as well as many international connections. You can fly to Zagreb from many European cities, but also from non-European cities like Dubai, Doha, and Toronto.

There are many airlines that operate at Zagreb Airport, including standard airlines and low-cost airlines (Ryanair). The national Croatian airlines are called Croatia Airlines. The airport terminal is nice and modern.

How far is Zagreb Airport from Zagreb City Centre?

Zagreb Airport is 15 km (9 miles) from the city centre of Zagreb. It’s close to the town Velika Gorica.

How to get from Zagreb Airport to Zagreb City Centre: Taxi

Obviously, there are taxi services available at the airport. Before entering, double check the payment options and price. Here, you can check flat rates for different parts of the city.

How to get from Zagreb Airport to Zagreb City Centre: Private Transfer

Probably the most comfortable way to get from Zagreb Airport to Zagreb city centre is a pre-booked transfer. You can book your airport transfer service here.

Rent a car at Zagreb Airport

If you are planning to rent a car and use it during your stay in Croatia, you can do it directly at the airport. There are counters of many rental companies. Click here to compare options and rent your car.

How to get from Zagreb Airport to Zagreb City Centre: Shuttle Bus

There is a shuttle bus service that goes every half an hour, run by Pleso Prijevoz. The same company runs buses from airports in other cities as well, for example, in Split or Rijeka.

On the company website, you can check the exact schedule and buy the ticket. Online ticket is only for the date, not for a specific hour. You can also buy tickets offline just before the journey.

The ticket price is 8 Euro one way.

Pleso bus brings you to the bus station (in Croatian: Autobusni Kolodvor Zagreb).

The bus station is around a 5-minute tram ride (it’s around 20-minute walk) from the main train station (in Croatian: Glavni Kolodvor) and Tomislav’s Square. And around a 10-minute tram ride (around a 40-minute walk) from Ban Jelačić Square, the main square in the city.

It’s possible to buy a tram ticket from the driver only with cash (best if it’s exact cash). In January, a  2024 tram ticket from the driver cost 80 cents.

If you are staying purely in the city center, I suggest you take the tram, not to walk with a bag (it’s also not the most pretty part of the city, so you will not lose a lot of ‘visiting’ if you take the tram).

During my last visit to Zagreb, I stayed in in Court 5 Apartments, it was a great location, in the heart of Zagreb, and a nice, very modern apartment. The tram stop was very close to the apartment.

Pleso platform at the Zagreb Bus Station

Platform for the Zagreb airport bus Pleso is separated; it’s not together with other platforms. This platform is ‘at the end’ of the station building and outside the building (at the side further from the tram stop). It’s not even needed to enter the station building. It sounds a bit complicated, but it’s not at all, I just wanted to mention it so that you don’t worry if you don’t see this bus on the schedule boards.

If you want to buy the ticket there, it’s possible, just again, in a separate ticket office where the platform is and not in ticket offices in the main building.

The bus journey takes around 35-40 minutes; the exact time depends on the traffic conditions.

How to get from Zagreb Airport to Zagreb City Centre: Public Bus

There is also an option to take a city bus, it’s bus number 290. It will take you a little bit longer; journey time is 45-50 minutes.

This bus line arrives at Kvaternikov Trg (Kvaternik Square), so it is not purely in the city centre. If you stay exactly in the city centre, close to most of the attractions, you will need to take a tram to or from the Square.

I’ve taken a shuttle bus, and all went well and smoothly, with comfortable vehicles. But as you see, there are many mode of transportation options, and you can choose the one that is most suitable and comfortable for you.

It’s great you are planning to visit Zagreb; it’s absolutely worth visiting!

Check out more information regarding Croatia in the Croatian section of the blog.

Here, discover some more Zagreb information.

Check out how to get from Zagreb to Split.

Review 20 amazing coastal towns.