In aviation, where customs or immigration is required, it has to be observed at both ends of the journey.
So if flying to say Losinj (which has customs+immigration) you can fly there direct from Botswana if you like, but you have to leave Botswana at an airport which has customs+immigration.
You need customs because Botswana is non EU. You need immigration because Botswana and Losinj are non schengen.
Around the world, most airports are either “international” (have both customs and immigration) or are not (have neither). And in “aviation speak” this capability is just called “customs”.
In Europe, largely due to schengen, this is sometimes separated, so you have to be more careful about the usage of these two words. In Germany many airports have immigration (on a PNR probably) but not customs. Same in Italy. In France, I believe almost none today. The UK is easy because the GAR form makes every place an international airport.
Also each of the two countries doesn’t care about the other so if e.g. you flew LFLN (non international) to LDLO (international), Croatia will be fine with that. But you broke the law in France. What exactly happens depends… often you can get away with such a departure but if you keep doing it eventually they will get you. I have some notes on this here.
In EDMJ they can call the custom, they normally don’t show up. So your option might be to do a short hop there and continue your trip.
As an alternative stop, I would mention LOLS Schaerding. Located near Passau, it has very short (3hr) PNR for customs (poloce often not showing up) and avgas for 1.99 eur/l
Whether this is attractive, obviously depends on fuel planning, preferred route, weather etc.
http://www.lols.at
Hi Peter, thanks for your detailed information about that. Thanks to a_kraut and ch.ess for your information, but I think that landing in Portoroz and then doing that stuff there will be the best option for me.
The farthest south I’ve been is Pula; no problems there. In hindsight I really regret not visiting at least one island… I’m jealous! Portoroz both ways for the Schengen stop, which was friendly and very easy. I’ve only been by car, but Bovec is famous for Bovški Sir, a pecorino-like cheese which I really like.
When flying over Hohe Tauern (Großglockner) be aware of the (federally legislated) nature reserve (illegal to cross).
Hi everyone,
@Snoopy: I’m aware of that, I flew that route last time I was in Portoroz 
So for now, I’m constantly watching out for the weather conditions: It seems as if I booked the best VFR-conditions in Croatia for my flight – no Bora, no clouds
Even the mountain passes seem to be completely without clouds, so I hope to get there without any problems. I now have two routes planned, both of them end in Villach (waypoint NIPEL). I would like to cross the German-Austrian border at Reit im Winkl, then fly over St. Johann in Tirol to Mittersill with crossing the Hohen Tauern between Großvenediger and Großglockner. Then I will follow from Matrei the valley of the Drau until just after Lienz and then change south to the valley of the Gail river. Then I will follow the Gail valley until Villach/NIPEL.
The second option would be with also entering the Austrian airspace at Reit im Winkl, following it until Mittersill. But then, I would turn east until Altenmarkt im Pongau and then turning south to cross the mountain pass along Untertauern, Obertauern and then reaching Mauterndorf. From there on I would head a little south-west, passing by Rennweg and Gmünd in Kärnten. After that I’d reach Spittal an der Drau and continue also to Villach/NIPEL.
I’ve attached both routes to this post, but you’ll find better versions as always with my direct links:
http://www.marx-fds.de/ostern2019/Tauernroute.jpg
http://www.marx-fds.de/ostern2019/Mauterndorf.jpg
Just one more point: I know the compulsory reporting points in control zones already. Are the reporting points at the VFR-Routes in Slovenia and Croatia also compulsory?
Thank you for your kind help!
And I forget to mention: I got the approval to land and stay overnight in Losinj as well as in Brac. So we’re searching for an accomodation there. Do you have any tips for us? We’re two guys (and lucky to sleep in separate rooms), the only thing necessary would be a warm, tight bed for the night. We would also like to see some historic centers of cities along our routes, but as well visiting a club in the evening (we’re 35 and 29 years old, so rather young).
Thank you all!
For short-notice stuff I use booking.com. AirB&B has advantages (mainly, you can get a large apartment for the price of a hotel room) but the hosts can cancel you anytime, though this is unlikely out of season, and they can take a long time (too long to be useful) to confirm the booking.
On Mali Losinj the main places to see are Mali Losinj, walk to Veli Losinj (a lovely 1hr walk along the coast), and a bus to Cres.
On Brac you have a number of places: Bol (right under the airport, but small), Supetar (a proper town), and various other places like Pucisca. Lots of scenic places to see.
I recall a night club in Mali Losinj and there will be a few in Supetar. Not sure about Bol. I don’t do clubbing (already have a gurl so no point ) but have seen them around.
From Brac there are also boat trips e.g. Hvar which is nice. From Losinj there is a boat trip which I have done, to another little island, and believe me it is not worth doing
Hey @TobiasM, I flew the Zell am See route last year down to Croatia, absolutely stunning, I remember discarding the Tauernroute, it was a little to high for my performance. Regarding reporting points, in Slovenia I remember using them to Enter and Exit the country, that’s all, otherwise I barely talked to them. Also your flight plan HAS to go through an Entry/Exit reporting point when you enter/exit the country. In Croatia radio was pretty relaxed, we just followed the routes, they would usually ask us to report at a certain point after take off and then leave us in peace for the rest of the flight :) Anyways I had an amazing time, you’re gonna love it! Regarding visiting, we also flew to Zadar (PPR mandatory), very charming, and in summer the night life was really nice, a lot going on (were were both 27), I can recommend it ( don’t know for easter though).
Have fun!
