It's the last weekend in July, the traditional peak of the high season in Croatia
We've been writing about traffic jams taking place all over Croatia, but apart from the overall number of tourists, the ongoing weekend also broke another record: the ferry port in Split has never seen such a large number of passengers, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on July 29, 2017.
Ante Mrvica, Jadrolinija's coordinator for the wider Split maritime area, was prepared for the onset of tourists. He said more than 60.000 passengers could pass through the port this weekend – 10.000 more than in any other previous season. Mrvica listed 33 operating ferry lines and 8 catamaran lines currently sailing to islands around Split.
"Even if we had 20 cats to Hvar, we would've filled them all. This way, we had to redirect people to take the ferries. We repurposed two of our biggest ships that usually sail to Ancona; Marco Polo was sent to Stari Grad on Hvar yesterday, while Tin Ujević sailed out to Supetar. All ships have been jam-packed in both directions starting from 5 in the morning, as many people are heading back home from holiday this weekend. An enormous number of tourists travelled to what we call 'outer islands', Vis and Lastovo. In some cases, we didn't manage to fit all the vehicles into a ferry and they had to wait to be first in line for the next one. We introduced a special line Split-Brač", stated Mrvica, adding there's no EU registration plate he hasn't seen this weekend.
"There are not many Italians yet, but we're expecting them in large numbers starting from next week, when they start their traditional 'ferragosto' leave. This morning, 440 people and 110 vehicles arrived on a ship from Ancona. Next weekend, that line is going to be sold out. The pier of St. Peter has around 70 tourist boats at berth, the ones I call 'mini cruisers'. This weekend, they'll transport at least 2000 passengers", said Mrvica.
Despite these record numbers, there haven't been any incidents or long-lasting jams in the ferry port. "There was a traffic jam in Zvonimirova street this morning, nothing serious. I advise the locals to avoid the street on Saturday and Sunday mornings, if they're not travelling to the islands", added Mrvica.
