Review of Croatia Airlines flight from Split to Zagreb in Economy

Hi everyone,
Here's the third part of my trip to Croatia and Montenegro. The whole trip plan looks like this:
31.08.2016 - WAW - ZAG, LOT, Q400 - http://flight-report.com/en/report/18736/LOT-Polish-LO-611-Warsaw-WAW-Zagreb-ZAG
31.08.2016 - ZAG-SPU, CROATIA AIRLINES, A319 - http://flight-report.com/en/report/18843/Croatia-Airlines-OU-654-Zagreb-ZAG-Split-SPU
11.09.2016 - SPU-ZAG, CROATIA AIRLINES, A319 - you are here
11.09.2016 - ZAG-WAW, LOT, Q400 - coming soon
My trip was sadly coming to the end. We visited Split, Makarska, Dubrovnik, Kotor and Trogir which was the best place to stay before our flight back to Zagreb as the Split airport is located just 4 km away from this small and beautiful town and more than 20 km from the city of Split. As before at the end of this report I will post some pictures from my stay.
Our flight to Zagreb was scheduled to depart at 6:15 a.m. so we needed to get up really early to catch the 4:00 a.m. bus number 37 to the airport but the fact is we didn't really need it, it would have been enough to take the one at 4:30 a.m as the bus ride took only 10 minutes and there was completely no rush at the airport. The bus stop was a little bit away so being still half asleep we walked like zombies with our luggage.
The outside of the terminal looks really great, especially at night but you can't say it about the inside part which is really small with almost no place to seat.

The check-in desks

Our flight was the only one to depart so early, we could have chosen to take the later one but as we needed some time to see Zagreb a longer stopover was required. By the way Croatia Airlines has a very strange timetable with two flights to Zagreb departing one after another and then a big gap as the next one was in the early afternoon.

When we came to the airport it was almost completely empty but minute after minute it got really crowded and I understood everyone was to take our flight as it was the only one departing that hour. We used the self check in kiosk and then the fast bag drop point which made the whole procedure really easy and fast. I managed to notice people flying SPU-ZAG-CDG or SPU-ZAG-FRA-IAD. Almost everyone had a connecting flight in Zagreb.
The safety control was very smooth and uneventful, literally nothing to write about. As far as the domestic departures are concerned there are only two gates, one small toilet, one machine with drinks and snacks and almost no space for all the passengers flying an A319, so many people had to stand or seat on the floor.

There were two A319 parked as the second flight to ZAG was supposed to be operated by the same type of aircraft.

Boarding itself took a while as the flight was supposed to be full and lot of passengers despite seating at the rear took the front door so there was quite a mess onboard as the two masses of people met in the middle of the aircraft. I noticed our A319 to be the same one that brought us to Split 10 days before, 9A-CTG named "Zadar".

We were the first and only to depart so the taxi was really quick and we became airborne 5 minutes after schedule. We took off southwards and made a long deep turn right over the city of Split and the islands.

Once at the cruising altitude we were greeted by the pilot who informed us about foggy morning in Zagreb and that the flight time will be 35 minutes. The LF in economy section must have been 100% as I couldn't see an empty seat. There were 3-4 pax in the business class too.

Standard glass of water

ZAG new terminal news in the onboard magazine

The descend to ZAG was very smooth with some foggy landscapes beneath

Fortunately there was no fog over the airport. The touchdown was one of the smoothest I've ever experienced, it seemed we were still in the air while being already on the ground. Great job!

Sunrise

New terminal

Other A319's and Trade Air F100 flying for Croatia Airlines

View of the old terminal

Our aircraft during deboarding

We were taken to the terminal by bus. The old building looks quite nice inside despite being terribly crowded.

I checked at the information desk how can we get to the city center and how long it takes. The bus runs every 30 minutes and it takes 30 minutes to arrive to the bus station in Zagreb. So here we go. I will post some pics from Zagreb describing the ZAG-WAW flight.
Beneath you will find some bonus photos from Dubrovnik, Kotor and Trogir. Enjoy!
The old town in Dubrovnik seen from the upper station of the cable car. In my opinion an attraction not to miss as the view is splendid. Be sure to be there early in the morning as we did to avoid crowds.

Apart from the cable car view Dubrovnik looks great from the old town city walls. The tour lasts about 1,5 hour and is worth any time, money and effort.

Sponza Palace and clock tower

Saint Blaise church

Rector's palace

The city looks marvellous at night

From Dubrovnik we went by bus to Kotor in Montenegro (3 hours by bus including border queue) situated at the Kotor Bay which is the biggest fiord in the southern Europe.
View of the bay from Saint John's castle

The old town and the big ships coming every day to Kotor

The old town in Kotor

Kotor is a city of cats, they are everywhere and they are allowed to do absolutely anything, you can find them in the shops and under restaurant tables trying to get some food

We made a small cruise to Perast, a small city close to Kotor with two small islands: Gospa and Saint George

I'd like to try Montenegro Airlines once. The second after Podgorica Montenegro airport is located in Tivat near Kotor so next time it would be a good idea to fly there instead of passing long hours on the bus.

It took us 7 long hours to get back from Kotor to Split and 20 minutes more to get to Trogir - a beautiful old town close to the Split airport.

So that's it. More pics to come on the ZAG-WAW leg.
Many thanks for reading!