Taking the ferry from Split to Ancona is the easiest and cheapest way to get to Italy from Croatia.
This post covers our experience.
Jadrolinija does the Split – Ancona route 3 times a week in the summer (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday), twice a week in the winter (Monday and Wednesday). The ferry leaves Split at 8 pm and arrives in Ancona at 7 am. With excellent train connections, Ancona is a convenient transit point in Italy (we were continuing on to Lecce in Puglia, a 5 hour ride on a high speed train). If heading to Rome, you can get there from Ancona in 4 hours.
Buying your ticket
Firstly, you can buy your ticket on the Jadrolinija website. That’s what we did. We actually paid more and got ourselves a cabin with a private bathroom.
Cost (September 2024): 66 Euros each for the ferry (that’s about $74 USD). The Cabin for 2 people cost 209 Euros (about $233 USD). That’s a bit expensive for the cabin and in retrospect I’m not sure if it was worth it. But we had a full day of travelling the next day and wanted to arrive fresh in Italy.
If you don’t buy your ticket online you can buy it at the ticket office before departing.
Checking in/Immigration & security/boarding
They tell you to check in 2 hours before your ferry ride. The international ferry terminal in Split is the large building across from the bus station.
It’s easy – when you go there just follow the instructions for Italy. You’ll get to a reception area. There you can buy your ticket or, if you’ve bought your ticket online, show them your receipt (on the phone is fine) and they’ll print out a boarding pass for you.
From there you go to immigration where they’ll take your passport and stamp you out of Croatia. We didn’t go through any security procedure.
You then walk out of the terminal building to the ship. There staff will look at your boarding pass and point you in the direction of the stairwell or elevator (if you have a cabin like us you’ll be taking the elevator to the 5th floor).
Arriving on the 5th floor, a hostess points you to the reception desk. It’s just like a hotel. Reception gives you a key and points you in the direction of your cabin. The cabin is not large but comfortable and clean, with a good sized bathroom (with shower) and a corner to keep luggage.
The whole process was fast, efficient and friendly. We had arrived at the ferry terminal at 6 pm. By 6:30 we were in our cabin.
Facilities on board
The ship has a large restaurant as well as a large bar area with lots of seating. People who didn’t get a cabin end up here because there’s not really any other seating on the ship. You can also go outside and walk around the deck for some fresh air. Note that there is no wifi on board.
In our case we had a couple of beers at the bar before going to the restaurant. It’s good to know that the restaurant only serves food until 9:30 pm. It also has surprisingly good food. Lissette had some fried calamari, I had the mixed grill plate.
By 11 pm we were back in the room and in our pyjamas. The bunk beds are not very wide but they’re clean and comfortable.
At 6 am the next morning the intercom wakes up passengers, letting us know we will soon be arriving in Ancona. We shower and change and get our bags ready.
Arrival
Despite the ship having left Split 30 minutes late it arrives right on time at 7 am.
We walk off the ship, turn right to a large building. There we get in line for immigration where we get our passports stamped. 10 minutes later we walk out of the building.
Ancona
Arriving at 7 am in Ancona there don’t seem to be any transport options. There’s no ATM (that we saw. And we searched) in the Terminal building and no information of any kind. Ahh, to be back in Italy…
We decide to walk to the train station (as we would find out, it’s a 30 minute walk). There’s only one way to go and that’s right along the road. Along the way you’ll find an ATM about 5 minutes away from the ferry terminal. There are also a few bus stops. But we didn’t stop – we didn’t have change anyway (and we never did see a bus pass by).
Continuing to walk along the road (with sometimes no sidewalk), we pass the Portia Pia, a monument built in the 18th century signalling the entrance to the town. From here there are signs indicating the way to the stazione, the train station.
I can’t say that Ancona looks like the most interesting city. And this side of the Adriatic doesn’t have the dramatic mountain scenery of the Dalmatian coast. It’s rather flat and featureless. But we spend about 90 minutes in a café at the train station having Cappuccinos and Italian pastries. Locals come in and stand by the bar, chatting with the owner in animated conversation, taking 2 minutes to drink an expresso before leaving. Ah, it’s nice being back in Italy.
Taking the Train
People used to make fun of Italy’s train system. No more. It’s great. I had pre-bought our train tickets on the Trenitalia website. But really there is no need. You get to the station and you can buy it from a teller or an automatic machine which has multiple language options. Easy peasy.
At 10:30 we get on a high speed train and are soon whizzing down the Adriatic coast towards Lecce.
Related: A Local’s Travel Guide to Italy
Related: Getting from Italy to Corfu, Greece…and regressing to the 80’s
Related: The Best of Croatia (and around) Itinerary
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Hi Frank,
I was wondering if you might know what the latest one could check in at the terminal? Although I don`t like to be that person. My partner and I are expecting to do a day trip to the blue cave, which is due back at 6 PM. As it is just down from the drop off location we are wondering if we would make it to the ferry in time!
Thanks!
Hi Liam. They tell you to check in 2 hours before ferry departure. I don’t want to tell you anything to the contrary. But in all honesty we did a lot of sitting around on the boat during those 2 hours. It was winter though, that 2 hour notice is probably as a precaution to the heavy traffic in summer.
I would think logically you’d be ok if arriving at 7…but don’t hold me to that, I don’t know what the situation is like this time of year.
A ship is the most romantic transport, at least, for me, especially in the Mediterranean Sea. I remember how we crossed the North Sea on the way to Sweden in winter. It was really scary.
Aww…Lissette says you’re romantic. You’re making me look bad.
Why was it scary? I’m assuming big swells and waves? I used to work in the shipping industry (administratively, not on board a ship) and always had the greatest respect for merchant marine. Imagine crossing the North Atlantic on a cargo ship during a winter storm? I don’t know how they do it.
I think the most scary thing was knowing that the temperature of the water overboard is +5. In emergency, you have no chances to be alive there more than 5-10 minutes.
Really looking forward to your Lecce blog! (Oh, but no pressure…) We spent a month there two years ago. Not sure we’d pick that part of italy again, but we had a good time there. Great tomatoes… and the mozzarella!
We really enjoyed our month as well Paul. I don’t think we’d go back because really we saw everything there is to see – so many other places to explore. But we’ll always have fond memories of the place, the people, and the incredible food.
I’m planning to post something hopefully next Sunday 🙂
Hi John. No, that should be coming up over the next week. Thanks for asking 🙂