Travel tips · 5 min read
From tolls and ferries to shops closed on Sundays and water shoes: what to know before you go.
Croatia is an easy country to travel in. You pay in euros, the country is in the EU, and in tourist areas many people speak English. Still, there are a few things worth knowing in advance. Here they are, topic by topic.
Money and payments
- Croatia has used the euro since 2023. You can pay by card almost everywhere.
- Still, carry some cash for markets, parking meters, sunbeds and small restaurants.
- Withdraw cash from a bank's ATM. The standalone machines in tourist streets often charge high fees.
- If your card is not in euros, always choose to pay in euros when a card terminal or ATM offers to convert. The conversion rate is usually poor.
- Tipping is not compulsory. Round up in a café; in a restaurant about 10 per cent is usual if you are happy.
- In apartments you sometimes pay tourist tax separately, per person per night. Your host will also ask for your passport or ID card, because every guest has to be registered.
Borders and documents
- Croatia is in the Schengen area. Always carry your passport or ID card anyway, as there can be checks at borders inside Schengen too.
- If you are not an EU citizen, check the entry rules before you travel. Since 2025, non-EU travellers have been registered at the EU's external border in the Entry/Exit System (EES).
- Between Split and Dubrovnik, a short stretch of coast at Neum belongs to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Pelješac Bridge takes you around it without a border check.
- Want to take a hire car to Bosnia and Herzegovina or Montenegro? Ask the rental company first. They will give you a green card, often for an extra fee.
- With an EHIC (EU) or GHIC (UK) you are entitled to necessary medical care. Travel insurance is still a good idea. The emergency number is 112.
Driving
- If you drive through Austria and Slovenia, you need a vignette there. In Slovenia it only exists in digital form (e-vinjeta). Croatia itself has no vignette.
- On Croatian motorways you pay tolls by distance. You take a ticket where you join and pay where you leave, in cash or by card. From March 2027 Croatia plans to switch to tolling without barriers, for which you register your number plate in advance. Check hac.hr before you travel to see how it works at that point.
- From the last Sunday of October to the last Sunday of March you must drive with dipped headlights during the day too.
- The alcohol limit is 0.05 per cent (0.5 g per litre). Drivers under 24 are not allowed to drink at all.
- In a strong bora, a cold and stormy north-easterly wind, some coastal roads and bridges close to caravans, campervans and motorcycles. You will find current traffic information at hak.hr.
- The old towns of Dubrovnik, Rovinj, Hvar and Korčula are car-free, and parking nearby is expensive in summer. Choose a place to stay with parking, or leave the car outside the centre.
- You pay for parking at the meter or with an app. Paying by text message usually only works with a Croatian phone number.
Without a car
- Most ferries are run by Jadrolinija. Foot passengers almost always find a place, but with a car you can queue for hours in July and August. Buy your ticket online and get to the port in good time.
- Between cities the bus is usually the best option. There is no railway along the coast, and no train runs to Dubrovnik at all.
- In Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik you can book a ride with Uber or Bolt.
Phone and power
- With an EU mobile plan you call and use data in Croatia at home rates. Otherwise, check your provider's rates, or buy a local SIM or an eSIM.
- EU roaming does not apply in Bosnia and Herzegovina or Montenegro. Near Neum and close to the border your phone sometimes picks a network across the border. Switch off data roaming, or choose a Croatian network manually.
- Sockets are the European two-pin type, at 230 volts. From the UK or the US you need an adapter.
Sun, sea and nature
- Most beaches are pebbly or rocky. Bring water shoes, as there are often sea urchins between the rocks.
- Tap water is safe to drink throughout Croatia. Bring a bottle you can refill.
- In July and August it is often above 30 °C in the middle of the day. Find some shade then, and walk in the morning or towards evening.
- In Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik you can be fined for walking around town in swimwear or bare-chested. In churches, shoulders and knees should be covered.
- You buy Plitvice tickets online, for a fixed day, time and entrance. If you are going in summer, buy them well in advance.
- Swimming is not allowed in Plitvice or in Krka National Park. At Krka, that has also applied to the big Skradinski buk waterfall since 2021.
- The risk of wildfires is high in summer. Don't light fires in nature, and don't throw away cigarettes.
Shops and food
- Since 2023 shops and supermarkets have been closed on most Sundays. Each shop chooses 16 Sundays a year on which it opens. Shops at petrol stations do stay open. So do your weekend shopping on Saturday.
- Most shops are also closed on public holidays, such as 5 and 15 August.
- Fresh fish is often priced by the kilo. Ask how much your fish weighs before it goes on the grill.
- Peka, meat or octopus slow-cooked under an iron lid covered in embers, often has to be ordered a few hours or a day in advance.
A few words of Croatian
In tourist areas many people speak English, and often German or Italian too. A few words of Croatian still make a good impression.
- Dobar dan: good day
- Hvala: thank you
- Molim: please, and also: you're welcome
- Račun, molim: the bill, please
- Živjeli: cheers