From Poland to Croatia earlier than ever: the 2026 flight season starts as early as March
Polish travellers planning a spring or summer trip to the Adriatic in 2026 have a significantly wider choice than in previous years. According to currently available flight schedules and airline announcements, in the 2026 season there are 30 direct air routes available from Poland to six Croatian airports – Split, Dubrovnik, Zadar, Pula, Rijeka and Zagreb. Some connections begin as early as the second half of March, which means that the Croatian coast and the south of the country will be reachable even before the main summer wave, including the Easter period and the beginning of May. Such a schedule further confirms the trend of extending the pre-season, which Croatian tourism institutions have highlighted in recent years as one of the key goals of tourism development.
For the Polish market, it is particularly important that flights are no longer concentrated only at the peak of summer. The offer includes routes from nine Polish airports – Warsaw, Warsaw-Modlin, Gdańsk, Katowice, Kraków, Lublin, Wrocław, Poznań and Rzeszów. From the traveller’s perspective, this means greater flexibility when planning shorter city break trips, weekend stays and classic summer holidays. For Croatia, at the same time, this means better accessibility of key regions, from central and southern Dalmatia to Istria, Kvarner and Zagreb as an increasingly visible urban destination.
Three carriers account for the bulk of the offer
Direct flights between Poland and Croatia in the 2026 season are offered by PLL LOT, Ryanair and Wizz Air. Each carrier occupies a different market niche. LOT continues to rely on Warsaw as its main hub and maintains year-round connectivity with Zagreb, alongside seasonal flights to Split and Dubrovnik. Ryanair builds most of its network through Adriatic destinations and Polish regional airports, while Wizz Air further strengthens the offer on routes to Split, Dubrovnik and Rijeka. In practice, this means that travellers from Poland can choose between carriers focused on transfers and a broader network, as well as low-cost models targeting tourist demand directly.
It is particularly significant that Ryanair is announcing its largest operations in Croatia to date for summer 2026, with 118 routes and more than 850 weekly flights on the Croatian market. Such expansion does not relate only to domestic passengers in Croatia, but also to international source markets, among which Poland is playing an increasingly important role. On the other hand, LOT continues to maintain a strong position on the Warsaw–Zagreb route, a line that has both business and tourism importance, while at the end of 2025 Wizz Air additionally announced new Polish connections to Rijeka, thereby integrating Kvarner more strongly into the network available to air passengers from the Polish market.
The first wave of flights starts already in March
The earliest part of the season opens already in March 2026, and this very timing may be crucial for travellers who want to avoid the biggest summer crowds and higher accommodation prices. Among the routes starting before the end of March are connections to Split, Dubrovnik and Zadar, that is, to three destinations that traditionally account for a large part of Polish interest in the Croatian coast.
In that first wave, flights to Split are available from Katowice and Kraków in Wizz Air’s offer from 29 March to 23 October, as well as the Warsaw–Split route by the same carrier from 30 March to 23 October. PLL LOT also flies on the same route, starting on 29 March with a planned end on 21 October. Dubrovnik enters the early part of the season even earlier, because LOT’s Warsaw–Dubrovnik route begins on 21 March and lasts until 24 October. Ryanair then introduces Dubrovnik from Katowice, Kraków and Poznań from 29 March, while the route from Wrocław takes off on 30 March. Zadar is also strongly represented in the pre-season: at the end of March Ryanair opens flights from Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań and Gdańsk.
In practical terms, this means that already from the last week of March, most of the Dalmatian coast will be accessible without transfers from several Polish cities. In the context of travel habits, this is an important change because Croatia, at least when it comes to air traffic, is positioning itself ever more clearly as a spring destination as well, and not only a summer one. Such accessibility also favours shorter trips of three or four days, which is a segment that is growing particularly strongly in markets with good air connections.
The beginning of May brings further network expansion
After March and April, a second important expansion of the network follows around the beginning of May, when additional connections to the Croatian coast become visible in sales and schedules. During that period, Ryanair starts on the Katowice–Zadar route from 1 May to 29 September, followed by Warsaw-Modlin–Zadar from 3 May to 22 October and Rzeszów–Zadar from 3 May to 29 September. Although the Katowice–Pula connection is listed in the Polish original schedule around the May holiday weekend, the currently published start date of operations for that route is 1 June, so in reality it fits into the early summer wave rather than the May wave of flights.
For Polish travellers, the beginning of May is traditionally one of the most important periods for the first major trip of the year. When this is combined with the fact that some Croatian destinations already have an active tourist offer at that time, but still do not have peak seasonal pressures, it is clear why Zadar is emerging as one of the most accessible and practical entry points into Croatia. The location of Zadar Airport also suits travellers targeting northern Dalmatia, as well as those continuing via road connections towards Šibenik, Biograd, the islands or further south towards central Dalmatia.
Rijeka and Pula further open up Kvarner and Istria
The summer part of the schedule also brings important territorial expansion beyond Dalmatian destinations. Rijeka, which had more modest visibility on the Polish air market in previous seasons, gains stronger momentum in 2026. From 9 June to 24 October, Wizz Air plans flights from Gdańsk, Katowice and Lublin to Rijeka, while from 3 June to 30 September Ryanair also introduces the Wrocław–Rijeka connection. This makes Kvarner significantly more accessible not only to travellers targeting Rijeka and the Opatija Riviera, but also to those continuing on to Krk, Crikvenica, Cres, Lošinj or Gorski Kotar.
Pula, as Istria’s main air gateway, also remains in the Polish seasonal network. According to available schedules, Ryanair is introducing Poznań–Pula from 3 June to 30 September, while the Katowice–Pula route begins on 1 June and lasts until 30 September. For Croatian tourism, this is an important signal because Istria and Kvarner are increasingly relying on markets that do not arrive exclusively by car. The Polish market is traditionally strong in road arrivals, but the growing number of air routes shows that some travellers are increasingly choosing a shorter, faster and more comfortable arrival, especially for shorter stays.
Split, Dubrovnik and Zadar remain the key points of demand
Despite the expansion of the offer towards Kvarner and Istria, the bulk of interest is still carried by Split, Dubrovnik and Zadar. In the summer part of the schedule, Split additionally gains connections from Gdańsk and Wrocław, which Wizz Air plans from 8 June to 23 October, as well as a route from Lublin from 9 June to 19 September. Dubrovnik, alongside LOT and Ryanair in the earlier part of the season, further expands through Wizz Air’s Warsaw–Dubrovnik route from 29 March to 24 October, Ryanair from Gdańsk from 4 June to 22 October, and Wizz Air from Katowice from 23 July to 13 September. Zadar, meanwhile, also gets Wizz Air’s connection from Warsaw from 9 June to 19 September.
Such a distribution is not surprising. Split and Dubrovnik remain the most recognisable points for travellers targeting central and southern Dalmatia, including city breaks, circular trips and onward travel to the islands. Zadar, on the other hand, is a very functional entry point for travellers who want to combine a stay on the coast with shorter transfers to national parks, marinas and private accommodation. That is precisely why Zadar remains one of the best-connected Croatian airports on the Polish market.
Zagreb retains a year-round rhythm and a different passenger profile
Unlike most Adriatic airports, Zagreb is not primarily a seasonal story. The Warsaw–Zagreb route operated by PLL LOT remains available throughout the year and thereby retains a different profile from the other connections between Poland and Croatia. It is important for business travel, short city stays, events, the congress segment and transfers to other destinations. At the same time, it shows that Croatian-Polish air traffic is not linked exclusively to summer and the sea, but also to a broader economic and urban transport flow.
For Zagreb, this is also important from a tourism perspective. In recent years, the Croatian capital has been increasing its visibility in the short-trip market, while the Advent and spring periods further fuel demand from Central European source markets. LOT’s year-round presence, confirmed in the current offer of the carrier and Franjo Tuđman Airport, therefore carries weight greater than that of a single route itself: it suggests a stable demand base that does not depend only on the peak bathing season.
The Polish market remains among the most important for Croatian tourism
The importance of such a flight network is not only transport-related, but also tourism-related. According to data from the eVisitor system, published in early January 2026 by the Ministry of Tourism and Sport and the Croatian National Tourist Board, Poles generated around 1.2 million arrivals and slightly more than 7 million overnight stays in Croatia in 2025. This kept Poland among the most important source markets for Croatian tourism, and by the number of overnight stays it entered the very top of foreign markets.
When these data are compared with the schedule of direct flights, a logical correspondence between demand and accessibility can be seen. The highest number of overnight stays was achieved precisely in the counties that gravitate towards the main entry airports: Istria County, Split-Dalmatia County, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Zadar County and Dubrovnik-Neretva County. This means that air connectivity does not act merely as a marketing add-on, but directly supports the most sought-after Croatian regions on the Polish market. At the same time, greater flight availability in the pre-season and post-season can contribute to a more even distribution of traffic throughout the year, which is a goal openly highlighted by Croatian institutions.
Faster arrival is also changing the way holidays are planned
For travellers from Poland, the added value of such a network lies in travel time. Flights to Croatian destinations from most larger Polish airports generally last less than two hours, which makes Croatia competitive also for spontaneous short breaks. This is especially important in periods when travellers no longer plan only one big summer holiday, but several shorter trips during the year. In such a model, the availability of a direct flight often decides between several Mediterranean destinations.
For Croatia, this opens up additional space in segments that go beyond the classic summer holiday by car. Cities such as Dubrovnik, Split and Zagreb can profit through city break offers, cultural events and gastronomy, while Zadar, Rijeka, Pula and the surrounding regions gain a better position in the struggle for guests seeking a flexible arrival and a stay of several days up to a week. In a broader sense, stronger connectivity with Poland fits into the strategy of strengthening the accessibility of Croatia as a destination that can be reached quickly even outside the main July-August peak.
What the current schedules say about the 2026 season
If one looks only at the flight schedule, the message for the 2026 season is fairly clear: on the Polish market, Croatia enters the year with a very broad and geographically diversified network of direct air connections. Dalmatia remains the strongest magnet, but Kvarner and Istria are gaining a more visible place in the offer than before, while Zagreb confirms that it has a stable year-round function. For travellers, this means a simpler choice of dates and departure points, and for Croatian tourism, confirmation that an important part of demand is relying less and less exclusively on road arrivals.
If the published schedules are maintained without major corrections, travellers from Poland will be able to choose between a very early spring departure, travel around the beginning of May, the peak summer season and autumn dates that, on some routes, last all the way until the end of October. At a time when competition among Mediterranean destinations increasingly depends on transport accessibility, precisely such a broad and seasonally extended network could be one of Croatia’s more important advantages on the Polish market in 2026.
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