Brijuni National Park sits just off the west coast of Istria, a 15-minute boat ride from the small fishing town of Fažana, 8 km northwest of Pula. The park's own boats are the only way across — cars stay on the mainland.
Brionska 10, Fažana, Croatia (park office and boat departure point)
Every visitor reaches Brijuni this way — the park's own boats from Fažana are the only public access, and cars are never transported. The crossing covers 2 km of the Fažana Strait to Veliki Brijun in 15 minutes. From June to August, up to twelve sailings run daily between 09:00 and 22:00, with returns until 23:00; November–March drops to just two boats a day (09:00 and 11:30), the last one back at 16:00.
Buy timed tickets at shop.np-brijuni.hr or at the park office, Brionska 10, Fažana. The crew boards you only within the hour printed on your ticket — arrive at the quay half an hour early.
Pulapromet's suburban line 21 connects Pula to Fažana, 8.4 km away, in 15 to 21 minutes. It's cheap and drops you in the town where every park boat leaves. The catch is frequency: departures are irregular, with gaps of several hours mid-morning, so check the current timetable on the Fažana tourist board site or Pulapromet's own before committing.
From the Fažana stop it's a short walk to the quay and the park office at Brionska 10. Coming from Pula Airport, take a shuttle or taxi to Pula's bus station first, then line 21 onward — the full airport-to-Fažana bus fare is still just €2.20 for the second leg.
The Istrian Y motorway feeds down to Pula, and Fažana is signposted off it — 8 km and about 15 minutes from Pula itself. Park in Fažana and walk to the quay; there is no ferry for vehicles. Ignore the Boraca 9 car park near the park hotels: at €12/day (€15 in summer) it looks tempting, but it's reserved for hotel guests, not day visitors.
August is the problem month. The coast road clogs and parking near the waterfront gets scarce, so arrive early and expect to walk from a farther spot. Give yourself at least an extra hour beyond what the map suggests if you're driving in from Rovinj or Poreč in peak season.
Pula Airport is the nearest airport, 15 km from Fažana. From the terminal, take a shuttle or taxi into Pula to the bus station — taxi fares aren't fixed, so agree a price first — then catch Pulapromet line 21 to Fažana for €2.20. Count on roughly 30 minutes by road plus the 15-minute boat crossing.
Alternative airports exist but cost you a drive: Rijeka's airport on Krk is 120 km away and Trieste 150 km. Flying into Pula and basing yourself there makes the logistics easy — the airport-to-island journey is under an hour door to jetty if the bus times line up. Check line 21's timetable before booking flights, since those mid-morning gaps are unforgiving.
Rovinj, Istria's pastel-coloured fishing town 21 km up the coast, is the prettiest base near Brijuni — but there's no direct park boat from there. You'll need a bus, shuttle or rental car to Fažana (about 35 minutes), then the official park boat across. Aggregators like Omio and GoOpti list transfers from around €17.
A rental car may beat the shuttle on price once you're two or more people, and it frees you to time your arrival to the boat schedule. Either way, remember the park's strict timed boarding: a late shuttle means a lost ticket, no refund and no rebooking. Build in a fat buffer, especially in August when the coast road slows to a crawl.
You park in Fažana and board the park boat at the quay. The lot at Boraca 9 costs €12/day (€15 June–September), but it's reserved for hotel guests, so day visitors hunt street parking near the waterfront — scarce in August. Arrive early and expect to walk.
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| From | Mode | Time | Cost | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fažana (the only departure point) | Official park boat | 15 min each way (2 km crossing to Veliki Brijun) | Included in the park ticket: €50 adults Jun–Sep, €35 Oct–May; children 7–18 €20 / €15; under-7s free | Entry is strictly timed — the crew boards you only within the hour printed on your ticket, and missing it means no refund. Book at shop.np-brijuni.hr or the park office at Brionska 10. |
| Pula Airport (PUY) | Taxi or shuttle to Pula bus station, then Pulapromet line 21 to Fažana | ~30 min by road to Fažana, plus the 15-min boat | Taxi fares not fixed; onward bus €2.20 | Rijeka's airport on Krk (120 km) and Trieste (150 km) are the next-nearest options, but Pula saves you half a day. |
| Pula city centre | Pulapromet suburban bus line 21 | ~15–21 min (8.4 km) | €2.20 | Departures are irregular, with gaps of several hours mid-morning — check the Pulapromet or Fažana tourist board timetable before you rely on it. |
| Pula by car | Car via the Istrian Y motorway (Fažana is signposted off it), then the park boat | ~15 min (8 km) | Parking in Fažana; the Boraca 9 lot is €12/day (€15 Jun–Sep) but reserved for hotel guests only | In August the coast road clogs and waterfront parking is scarce — arrive early, expect to walk, and build in an extra hour beyond what the map says. |
| Rovinj | Bus, shuttle or rental car to Fažana, then the official park boat | ~35 min to Fažana (21 km), plus the 15-min boat | Listed from ~€17 via aggregators such as Omio/GoOpti, on top of the park ticket | There's no direct boat from Rovinj — everyone funnels through Fažana. Driving in from Rovinj in August is where the strict boat departure times bite hardest. |
Reserve at shop.np-brijuni.hr before you travel — the crew boards you only within the hour printed on your ticket, no earlier, no later. In summer the first thing to sell out isn't boat capacity but language slots on guided tours (Croatian, English, German, Italian, Russian), so booking ahead locks in your English departure. Aim for the 09:00 sailing and head straight to the bike rental desk; the park keeps around 300 bicycles and admits that's sometimes not enough at peak times.
The coast road from Pula clogs in August and parking near the Fažana quay is scarce, so give yourself at least an hour more than the map suggests. The €12/day (€15 Jun–Sep) car park at Boraca 9 belongs to the park's hotels, so day visitors should plan to arrive early and walk from central Fažana. Miss your timed departure and there's no refund and no rebooking.
Pulapromet line 21 runs the 8.4 km from Pula to Fažana in about 15–21 minutes for €2.20, but departures have gaps of several hours mid-morning. Check the current timetable on the Fažana tourist board or Pulapromet site before relying on it — a missed bus means a missed boat time. From Pula Airport (15 km away), take a shuttle or taxi to Pula's bus station first, then line 21.
The adult fare drops from €50 to €35 on 1 October, and late September still gets eleven boats a day with thinner crowds and a sea warm enough for swimming. Shifting your trip by a few days saves €15 per adult on the identical excursion. If you're locked into July–August, the €15 evening ticket (boarding 18:00/19:00/20:00, returns until 23:00) gets you a golden-hour island without the day crowds — though the museums shut at 19:15.
Reduced tickets for students, over-65s and visitors with a disability aren't sold online — email [email protected] instead, then collect the ticket at the park office on Brionska 10 in Fažana half an hour before departure. Seniors pay €30 off-season and €40 in summer, against the €35/€50 full adult rate. Hotel guests on the islands get 20% off, and groups of 25 or more qualify for discounts.
The only way in is the park's own boat from Fažana, a small fishing town 8 km north-west of Pula. The crossing to Veliki Brijun covers 2 km of the Fažana Strait and takes 15 minutes, and it's included in your park ticket. Boats leave from the quay in the centre of Fažana's waterfront.
No. The park's boats don't transport cars, so you park on the mainland in Fažana and walk aboard. The only vehicles on Veliki Brijun are the ones you can rent there — the park keeps around 300 bicycles plus electric cars for self-guided visitors.
Yes, Pulapromet suburban line 21 links Fažana with Pula for €2.20, taking roughly 15–21 minutes over 8.4 km. Departures are irregular, though — gaps of several hours mid-morning are normal — so check the current timetable on the Fažana tourist board or Pulapromet site before you rely on it.
Park in Fažana itself and walk to the quay. The lot at Boraca 9 costs €12/day (€15 June–September) but is reserved for hotel guests, and parking near the waterfront gets scarce in August — arrive early and expect to walk.
Pula Airport (PUY) is the closest, 15 km from Fažana — about 30 minutes by road plus the 15-minute boat. Take a shuttle or taxi (fares aren't fixed) to Pula's bus station, then line 21 to Fažana. Rijeka's airport on Krk is 120 km away and Trieste 150 km, both much further options.
There's no direct park boat from Rovinj, so you travel the 21 km to Fažana first — about 35 minutes by car, with bus and shuttle options listed from around €17 through aggregators like Omio and GoOpti. Then you board the official park boat for the crossing.
From June to August there are up to twelve sailings daily between 09:00 and 22:00, with returns until 23:00. April, May, September and October drop the 20:00 boat, and from November to March only two sailings run each day (09:00 and 11:30) with the last boat back at 16:00. In January and February no individual tickets are sold at all — visits are for groups, on request.
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