Last updated: 2026-07-04
- A buggy is a side-by-side (UTV) with two or four seats, a roll cage, seat belts and car-style controls; a quad (ATV) is a straddle machine steered by handlebars.
- Buggies suit couples, families and anyone who wants a passenger beside them; quads suit solo riders who want a physical ride.
- We run buggies only — automatic Can-Am Mavericks; category B licence and 18+ to drive, kid passengers from age five.
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Booking an off-road tour above the Old Town, you will meet two machines with confusingly similar marketing: the buggy and the quad. For most visitors the buggy is the better booking — you sit inside a machine with seat belts and a roll cage rather than balancing on top of one — though quads keep real advantages for a certain kind of rider. I maintain our fleet of Can-Am Maverick side-by-sides for a living and have ridden quads on these same karst trails for years, so here is the honest comparison — including the reasons a quad might genuinely suit you better than what we run.
What is the difference between a buggy and a quad?
A buggy is a side-by-side UTV: two or four seats inside a welded roll cage, a steering wheel, pedals, and seat belts. A quad is an all-terrain vehicle: you straddle it like a motorbike, steer with handlebars, work a thumb throttle and balance it with your body.
That single design difference — sitting in a machine versus sitting on one — drives everything else: who can ride, how it handles rough ground, what the passenger’s day is like and how much dust ends up in your teeth.
How do buggy and quad tours compare, point by point?
| Feature | Buggy (side-by-side / UTV) | Quad (ATV) |
|---|---|---|
| Seats | Two or four — driver and passengers share the same forward view | One rider; some tours add a pillion seat behind the driver |
| Licence | Category B (a standard car licence), drivers 18 or over; passengers need none | A driving licence is required by reputable operators too — always confirm before booking |
| Stability | Wide track, low seating position, roll cage and seat belts; forgiving on loose gravel | Depends on rider balance and body position; no cage, no belts |
| Passenger experience | Belted in beside the driver — can talk, navigate and film the whole way | Perched behind the driver, holding on, looking at a helmet |
| Dust | You sit within the frame and behind the front wheels; goggles still essential on dry karst | Fully exposed to dust, spray and branches |
| Who it suits | Couples, families with kids from five, photographers, first-time off-roaders | Confident solo riders who want a physical, motorbike-like ride |
Read the table honestly and the pattern is simple: the buggy is built for people sharing an experience; the quad is built for one person having a workout.
Which is easier to drive on the Srđ trails?
The buggy, without question — because you already know how to drive it. Steering wheel, accelerator, brake, and a fully automatic transmission in every Maverick we run: if you hold a category B licence, the controls are the ones you use at home, and most guests are relaxed within the first five minutes behind the guide. That matters on the plateau above the city, where the trails mix loose gravel, exposed limestone and the odd sharp switchback with a view you will want to actually look at.
A quad demands more. Handlebar steering with a thumb throttle feels alien to non-motorcyclists, and on rocky karst you steer a quad as much with your body weight as with your hands. Experienced riders love exactly that. First-timers tend to spend the tour managing the machine instead of enjoying the ridge.
Which is safer?
No off-road machine is risk-free, but we chose side-by-sides for our fleet for three concrete reasons: the roll cage, the seat belts, and a wide, low stance that tolerates the mistakes beginners actually make on gravel. Add the format of the ride — you drive your own buggy in a convoy behind a lead guide who sets the pace to the least experienced driver — and the risk profile suits people who have never driven off-road before, which is most of our guests.
On a quad, the machine’s protection is your gear and your skill. Ridden well, quads are fine; ridden badly, there is no cage between you and the limestone. Whichever tour you book, with us or anyone else, insist on helmets as a minimum — we include helmets, goggles and a full safety briefing on every departure, and our guides brief in English or Croatian.
What about passengers and kids?
This is where the buggy stops being a preference and becomes the only sensible answer. In a side-by-side, your passengers are belted into proper seats with the same view you have — which is why children from age five can ride with an adult driving, and why couples so often tell us the passenger had the better deal: all of the scenery, none of the steering. Pricing follows the same logic: adults pay €40 each when two or more ride together (a solo driver pays €50), and kids aged 5–11 take the passenger seats for €20.
On a quad, a pillion passenger sits above the rear axle holding the driver’s waist, taking every bump through their spine with nothing to brace against. For an adult it is tolerable. For a child it is a bad idea, and most reputable quad operators will not allow it.
What does a buggy tour here actually look like?
Since the comparison only matters if you know what you are comparing against, here is our format in one paragraph. We run brand-new automatic Can-Am Maverick side-by-sides — two- and four-seaters — from the upper cable-car station on the Srđ plateau: ride the cable car up from just outside the walls, or take a taxi up the ridge road. Every departure starts with a briefing and a gear fit (helmets and goggles included), then you drive your own machine in convoy behind the lead guide for a solid half hour: gravel track, karst outcrops, and photo stops at viewpoints over the Old Town, Lokrum and the Elaphiti islands.
Departures go out every 30 minutes from 09:00 to 18:30, daily from March to November. The self-drive tour costs €40 per adult when two or more ride, €50 solo, €20 for kids 5–11; if you would rather be driven, the private chauffeur tours run €290–€330 per vehicle with hotel pickup included. You pay the full price online by card when you book — nothing left to pay on the day — and cancellation is free up to 48 hours before the tour.
One more difference worth naming: swapping drivers. Because the seats are identical, licence-holders can trade places at a photo stop — driver becomes photographer, photographer becomes driver. On a quad tour, whoever starts on the pillion tends to stay there.
So which should you actually book?
Book a quad if you are a solo traveller with riding experience who wants the physical, motorbike-flavoured version of off-roading — that is a real and legitimate preference, and the machine rewards skill.
Book a buggy for essentially every other case: couples, friends who want to share a machine, families, photographers, and anyone whose off-road experience so far is a rental car on a gravel driveway. You get the cage and the belts, the car controls, the shared view — and on our routes, the ridge itself: Old Town viewpoints, the trails past Fort Imperial, and the backroads behind Bosanka village.
If that sounds like your side of the table, start with the flagship self-drive buggy tour or go all-in on the three-hour private tour with its self-drive finale. Dates and departures are live on the booking page, with free cancellation up to 48 hours before you ride.