Cheap flights to Zagreb

When to Fly

Flights to Zagreb will take you to a thriving city that’s an ideal vacation destination for any season.

Peak Season

Zagreb flights fill up fast for the summer months (May – September), when hordes of visitors flock to the Croatian capital to see the sights in comfortable, sunny conditions. Many festivities take place during the summer months in Zagreb such as The Day of The City of Zagreb on 31^st May. This particular event is an extremely important time for Zagreb locals as is it a celebration of their hometown. Throughout the day many free attractions and events are organised throughout the city such as tours, processions and live music.

Off-peak Season

Cheap flights to Zagreb are easier to find after influx in tourism brought on by the winter and summer holidays.  Try looking for flights to Zagreb in early autumn (September – November). Days are still long and sunny, and fall weather is agreeable seeing as the impending cold brought on by winter winds won’t set in until late November.

In late October, events such as Zagrebfest will take locals and visitors minds off the cooler temperatures. The festival has been running since 1953 and is dedicated to entertaining spectators with a music style and genre known as ‘Schlager’, which is similar to artists such as Tom Jones and Barry Manilow.

City Overview

Find a cheap flight to Zagreb and see one of the youngest capital cities in Europe (it was named Croatia’s capital in 1991) but the city’s history is centuries old.  Travellers to Zagreb usually stay in the city long enough to catch a connecting flight to other places in Croatia, but those who have stayed there awhile can attest to the city’s charm.

What you’ll see and do in Zagreb mainly depends on the weather, but those lucky enough to land there on a sunny day will find the city alive with energy. Weekdays are aflutter with commuters heading to and from work, lunching on park benches and sipping coffee from sidewalk cafes. The evening comes to life with jazz clubs and candlelit restaurants lining the cobblestone streets.  The flight to Zagreb may just be a stopping point for further travel, but the city’s small town charm will capture the hearts of visitors.

In nearby Scitarjevo you’ll find the remains of Andautonia, an ancient Roman town. The excavations of this once-prominent town are a fascinating sight and are still in progress. You can view a nearly 27,000-square-foot area of the Roman city which was an important economic, political, cultural and religious centre 400 years ago. Ruins visible include the main street, city baths, colonnades and side streets. The present-day village of Scitarjevo is worth a visit too. It represents a typical rural farm area with wooden houses. 

Zagreb climate

Zagreb experiences four distinct seasons: Summers are warm and dry, winters are quite cold and snowy with an average temperature of 1 degrees Celsius, and a slew of rainstorms hit northern Croatia in the fall.  The hardest time of year to find cheap flights to Zagreb is after May, when thermometers in Zagreb hit their highest point at 30 degrees Celsius.

Getting around Zagreb

When your flight to Zagreb lands, you can hop on a bus to the city’s centre. Buses leave every half hour and the trip lasts around 25 minutes. Once in the city, you won’t have trouble getting around between the trams and buses that run throughout the city. Buy your tickets ahead of time at a Duhan or Tisak kiosk for a cheaper rate. Don’t worry if you forget though, you can still get regular-priced tickets once you’re on board.

Getting Downtown

Zagreb Airport< (ZAG): (Pleso) Flights landing at Zagreb International Airport are located just 16 km southeast of downtown Zagreb.

A bus service connects to the city centre’s bus station, leaving from outside the international arrivals hall. A taxi rank is also situated right outside the international arrivals.

What is good to know if travelling to Zagreb?

• The Croatian capital offers stunning urban scenery that makes for the perfect walking tour backdrop.  Start in the lower part of Zagreb’s Old Town district and mosey along Praska Street, which opens up into a number of park squares.  Zrinski Square hosts a music pavilion, the Archaeological Museum and the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences; Tomislav Square is home to the Art Pavilion of Zagreb; and Starcevic Square, which also opens up into the botanical gardens, is home to the City Library.
• Head over to Banski Dvori in Upper Town and the Presidential Palace at least once.  If you found a cheap flight to Zagreb between April and September, you’ll be around to see the Changing of the Guard ceremony in front of the palace, which takes place each day on the weekend at noon.  The building, which is made up of two beautiful Baroque mansions, was bombed in 1991 by the Federal Army and the bombing is believed to have been an assassination attempt on Franjo Tudjman, Croatia’s first president.
• Spend a day or two in the capital enjoying the city’s parks and local lakes that are frequented by locals even in the colder winter months.  Maksimir Park is a favourite for bikers and walkers alike, while Jarun Lake, just southwest of the city, offers hours of lakeside entertainment for those who aren’t ready for the beach just yet. 
• Back in the 17^th century, when Croatian mercenaries impressed Parisians with their traditional knotted handkerchiefs during their service in the Thirty Years’ War, they probably didn’t expect that their neckwear would spawn a fashion craze in Europe that would result in the creation of the necktie. Splurge with the money you saved on your Zagreb cheap flight and snag a gorgeous silk tie from one of the boutiques downtown.
• Looking for something to watch while packing for your flight to Zagreb?  Opt for “From Russia With Love”, the second James Bond movie in the series featuring Sean Connery as 007.   The Cold War thriller’s climax takes place en route to Zagreb, with a train-ride scuffle that Bond narrowly escapes.

What airport do you fly into for flights to Zagreb?

Travellers will need to book flights to Franjo Tuđman (ZAG) if they wish to fly to Zagreb. The Zagreb airport is 10.7 km from the city centre.