How do I get from Zadar Airport to the city centre, Sukošan or Biograd?

The airport bus: €5, but timed to flights

The shuttle is run by the city bus company Liburnija Zadar. A ticket costs €5 one way including luggage, is bought from the driver in cash or by card, and stays valid for 90 minutes, so you can change onto a city line in town. The route is airport – main bus station (Autobusni kolodvor, platform 8) – Liburnska obala on the edge of the old town. Allow about 20 minutes to the bus station and a few more to the old town.

The key thing to understand is that the bus does not run to a fixed interval — it runs to flights. Departures from the airport are scheduled 20–30 minutes after the larger arrivals (Ryanair, Lufthansa, Croatia Airlines), and departures from town are timed to get you to the airport 1.5–2 hours before departure. The timetable is reissued monthly and in winter, with only a handful of flights a day, there may be just two or three runs. Check the current version on the airport's public transport page. If your flight is more than an hour late the bus may already have gone, and a taxi is your fallback.

Taxi, Uber and Bolt: typical fares in 2026

Figures are for a standard car up to four passengers in summer 2026 and are indicative. Taxis at the terminal have no single regulated tariff, so agree the price first or insist on the meter. Both Uber and Bolt operate in Zadar and pick up at a marked point outside arrivals; in July and August, however, surge pricing of €40–60 with 15–25 minutes' wait is normal when several flights land together. A pre-booked transfer (€28–40 to Zadar, €30–45 to Sukošan) costs more than an app ride but the driver tracks your flight and the price is fixed — for a family with four suitcases it is usually the calmest option.

Hire cars at the airport

Around 20 rental companies operate at Zadar Airport. The international brands have desks in the arrivals hall; local firms work from cabins opposite the terminal or collect you and drive you to a car park a few hundred metres away. A car makes sense if you are staying in Sukošan, Bibinje or Biograd, where without one you depend on two or three buses a day. From the airport you reach the D8 coast road towards Sukošan in 12–15 minutes via Babindub and Bibinje without entering Zadar at all. What to check at pick-up (deposit, excess, fuel policy) is covered in Prenajom Auta Chorvatsko Co Vediet; if you only want wheels for a couple of day trips, look at Rentals Zadar.

Which airlines fly to Zadar in 2026

Zadar is one of Ryanair's three Croatian bases (with Zagreb and Dubrovnik), which is why it has dozens of seasonal routes: the UK and Ireland (London Stansted, Manchester, Dublin among them), Germany (Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf-Weeze, Memmingen, Karlsruhe, Nuremberg), Italy (Bergamo, Bologna, Pisa, Bari), Belgium, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. Lufthansa flies from Frankfurt, Austrian from Vienna, Eurowings from Cologne and Berlin, and Croatia Airlines links Zagreb year-round. From June 2026 Wizz Air added Budapest and Warsaw. Seasonal flights also run from Prague, Bratislava and Košice. In winter the schedule shrinks to a few flights a week, which is why the airport bus becomes so sparse.

A terminal extension completed in 2024–2026 added nine gates and roughly 2,000 m², so summer departure queues are shorter than they used to be. Arrivals are still compact: you can be at the bus or a taxi within 15 minutes of landing if you have no checked bag.

Mistakes people make

• Expecting a bus to Sukošan. There isn't one. The shuttle goes only to Zadar; from the main station you would change to an intercity bus towards Biograd (via Sukošan, roughly €3–4 and 20 minutes), which runs rarely in the evening and on Sundays.
• Trying to walk. There is no footpath from the airport, not even to Zemunik village, and the road has no hard shoulder.
• Taking a taxi without agreeing the fare. Late-night arrivals (Ryanair often lands after 11 p.m.) carry a 20–50% surcharge; a fixed price or an app protects you.
• Underestimating the drive back in August. On Saturday changeover days the D8 between Sukošan and Zadar crawls; leave for the airport two hours before departure even though it is only 10 km.

If you are staying in Sukošan, most apartment owners can recommend a reliable local driver — ask when you book. All accommodation in the area, booked directly with the owner and without commission, is listed under accommodation.