• Introduction
• Reports (4)
• Useful information

  Identity card

  Know before you go

  Driving in Croatia

  Practical A to Z

• History and culture

  Croatian landscapes

  Birth of a nation

  Art and culture

  Croatia today

• Addresses
• Eating out
• Electricity
• Embassies and consulates
• Health
• Money
• Museums and churches
• Post
• Public holidays
• Safety
• Shopping
• Telephone

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Addresses

Due to Croatian grammar, names are conjugated which can lead to confusion. Hence, a street named after Stjepan Radić will be referred to as “ulica Stjepana Radića” on street signs and will be abbreviated to “Radićeva” on town maps. The enigmatic “bb” after some street names means a street without numbers.

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Eating out

Opening hours

A distinctive characteristic of Croatian restaurants is that they seem to be open all day long, or at least from 11am to 10-11pm and 6 (sometimes 7) days a week.

Tips and Bills

Service is included but bread and a cover charge are extra (Kn20 maximum).

Useful advice

Don’t expect the dishes to be served in the order you planned; they are served when and as they are ready.

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Electricity

The voltage in Croatia is 220V, but plugs are standard two-pin continental plugs, so you will probably need an adaptor.

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Embassies and consulates

British Embassy –Ivana Lučića 4, 10000 Zagreb – t 01 6009 100 – http://ukincroatia.fco.gov.uk/en/

Irish Embassy – Turinina ulica 3, 10010 Zagreb – t 01 6674 455 – irish.consulate.zg@inet.hr

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Health

Also see Know before you go.

Emergencies

Universal European emergency number: t 112.

Police: t 92. Fire brigade: t 93. Medical emergencies: t 94.

Swimming

Most of the beaches are pebble and the rocky seabed can be very sharp (not to mention sea urchins!). However, plastic sandals are available in all seaside resorts.

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Money

Currency

The currency of Croatia is the Kuna (abbreviated locally to Kn).

Banks / exchange

Foreign currency can be exchanged in post offices, banks, travel agencies, hotels and some shops in large towns. You will have no problem changing your kunas back into your own currency on leaving, particularly in airports.

Credit card and traveller’s cheques

Most hotels, restaurants and shops accept the main international credit cards. If staying in a guesthouse or in a private home, you will have to pay in cash. ATMs are available everywhere. Traveller’s cheques can be changed in banks or post offices.

Budget / cost of living

Shoestring budget travellers should allow €35-40/day per person, including campsite or youth hostel accommodation, snacks or picnics and public transport.

Low budget travellers should plan on spending €45-65/day per person, which will cover a night in a private home or small hotel, meal in a tavern, a picnic and public transport.

Medium budget travellers can expect to spend €100-130/day per person, which will cover a night in a good hotel or charming guesthouse, two meals in a restaurant and a car rental.

Those with more money to spend will get a night in a luxury hotel or charming villa, meals in gourmet restaurants and a car rental for €250/day minimum per person.

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Museums and churches

Most museums are closed on Mondays. Their opening hours can be haphazard and in places off the beaten tourist track, don’t hesitate to knock on the door.

Churches are often closed, particularly in winter, outside services. Enquire at the neighbouring convent about opening hours.

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Post

Post offices are open Monday-Saturday from 7-8am to 7-8pm, and sometimes even on Sunday morning. The main post office branches in large towns can be open 24 hours/day or at least for very long periods.

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Public holidays

1 January

6 January – Epiphany

Easter Monday

1 May

Corpus Christi – Moveable feast

22 June – Anti-fascist Resistance Day

25 June – National Day, Declaration of Independence in 1991

5 August – National Thanksgiving Day

15 August – Assumption Day

8 October – Independence Day

1 November – All Saints Day

25 and 26 December

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Safety

Mined areas still remain, despite ongoing mine-sweeping work. Travellers should be particularly careful and not venture off signposted paths in the following areas:

- Eastern Slavonia and Baranja (regions of Vukovar, Osijek and Kopački rit);

- a rectangle bordered to the south by the Bosnian frontier (between Jasenovac and Nova Gradiška) and to the north by Virovitica and Slatina (zones of Daruvar, Pakrac and Lipik);

- the vicinity of Sisak (region of Glina);

- the region from Gospić to Sinj via Gračac and Knin.

Do not leave the main roads on the Karlovac-Plitvice-Gračac-Zadar and Gračac-Knin-Split itineraries.

Mined zones are generally indicated by signposts.

In former war zones, only camp in authorised areas and do not enter abandoned houses, which may be booby trapped, mined or simply risk collapsing.

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Shopping

Opening hours

Shops are open Monday-Friday from 7am to 7pm, occasionally 8pm. However at noon on Saturday (3pm in Zagreb), all the shops close until Monday morning. Opening hours are more flexible on the coast in the high season. In Istria and Dalmatia, midday closures can last until 5pm in summertime.

Tax-free purchases

If you make a purchase over Kn500 in the same shop, you can claim a VAT (22%) refund by presenting the bill and tax cheque provided by the retailer to the customs authorities.

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Telephone

Calling Croatia from abroad

00 + 385 (country code for Croatia) + area code without the 0 + number of the person.

Calling home from Croatia

00 + country code. For the United Kingdom: 44; for Ireland: 353.

National calls

In the same region, dial the 6- or 7-digit number. From one region to another, dial the area code (including the 0) and then the number of the person.