Croatia: Travelling

Entry Requirements

Passport and Visa Service: Visa requirements overview of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Visa HQ
Diplomatic missions and consular offices of Croatia

For Further Information

Check IATA Travel Website for visa requirements and health advices.

Organising Your Trip

Transportation From Airport to City Centre:

Airport	Distance	Taxi	Bus	Train	Car Rental
Dubrovnik (DBV)	24 km / 15 miles	EUR 28 / 25-30 min	HRK 30 / 30 min	-	Available

Means of Transport Recommended in the Rest of the Country

Train reservation services: Croatian railways

Major airlines

Name	Type	Domestic Flights	International Flights
Croatia Airlines

You Can Consult The EU Air Safety List. Look Also at the rating of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Visiting

Different Forms of Tourism

Historical: There are six Croatian cultural properties inscribed on the World Heritage list of UNESCO: Old city of Dubrovnik, historical complex of the city of Split with the palace of the Roman emperor Diocletian, historical city of Trogir, Episcopal complex of the Euphrasian basilica in the historic center of Porec, the cathedral of St. James in the city of Sibenik and Stari grad Plain on the island of Hvar.
Cultural: Among the numerous festivals, the most notorious are: Dubrovnik summer festival, Pula film festival, Split summer festival, and the traditional folklore competition of Alka tournament.
Other important festivals are: Motovun film festival, Festival of Dalmatian close-harmony singing groups ("klapa") at Omis, Rijeka carnival and International Children's Festival at Sibenik.
Nature: National Geographic declared Croatia as one of the top destinations in the world in 2006 due to its natural beauty and diversity.

One Croatian natural property has been already inscribed on the World Heritage list of UNESCO: Plitvice lakes national park.

Numerous others are submitted on the tentative list of UNESCO: Velebit Mountain, Lubenice, Primosten vineyards, Kornati national park and Lonjsko polje nature park.

Otherwise, Croatia has eight national parks and ten parks of nature. One of the most famous national parks in Croatia is also Brijuni national park situated on the numerous small Brijuni islands along the south-west coast of the Istrian peninsula including an 18-holes golf course.
Religious: As a catholic country, Croatia has many interesting catholic monuments, churches and cathedrals such as: Euphrasian Basilica in the historic center of the town of Porec on the Istrian peninsula (inscribed on the UNESCO's list), the cathedral of St. Jamens in Sibenik, the Episcopal complex in the city of Zadar, Zagreb cathedral and others.
Thermal: Stubicke toplice (Stubica spa) in Italian - the spring of the ancient Pannonian sea, salty almost as the Adriatic sea, very rich on minerals, warmer than any other known thermal water (96 degrees Celsius at the spring).
Beach: Croatia has a very long and diversified coast line with countless number of beautiful beaches along the Adriatic sea and numerous islands that has always been Croatia's main tourist attraction. Croatia offers more than 1,700 km of seaside and over 1,000 islands to choose from.

In the northern part, there are most famous beaches (to name at least a few of them) at the town of Rovinj (Istria) and on some of the Kvarner gulf islands like Baska on the island of Krk (Vela plaza beach and Stara Baska beach), a beach named Sunny cove on the island of Losinj and Paradise beach on the island of Rab. Along the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic sea there are further beaches at the coastline rivieras like Biograd, Primosten, Makarska and Dubrovnik. On the islands further most attractive beaches are named Zrce on the island of Pag, beaches on the island of Hvar (Milna and Dubovica beaches) and Golden horn beach at the Bol on the island of Brac.
Winter Sports: There are quite limited possibilities and facilities for winter sports like skiing and snowboarding due to the Mediterranean mild climate influences. The best ski resort is called Sljeme not far from the capital of Zagreb.
Outdoor Activities: Sailing, diving, walking/hiking, cycling, kayaking, fishing and hunting.

Top Highlights in the Main Cities
The Mimara museum of art
Archeological museum - The most famous are the Egyptian collection, the Zagreb mummy and bandages with the oldest Etruscan inscription in the world.
The complex of Zagreb Cathedral and Archbishop's palace
Maksimir park
Croatian natural history museum - the world's most extensive collection of Neanderthal remains found at one site
The Croatian museum of naive art - considered to be the first museum of naïve art in the world.

Top Highlights of the Country
Dubrovnik - old city with the ramparts and summer festival
Diocletian palace - Dalmatian retreat of Roman Emperor around which the city of Split was built.
Zagreb - a vibrant Central European city featuring neat architecture, talkative cafe society and cultural events and lot of green areas.
Plitvice lakes national park - Sixteen gorgeous lakes connected by shiny, purring waterfalls, featuring pure turquoise beauty.
Pula Roman amphitheater - the sixth largest surviving Roman arena and the best preserved ancient monument in Croatia.
Kornati islands - a group of about 130 non-populated islands, islets and reefs sprinkled in the deep blue sea of the Adriatic. The unique feature of the islands lies in their rugged shores with many caves and coves.
Brijuni national park - a small group of islands where a former Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito had its residence.
Other top Croatian attractions (a list and description)

Tourism Organisations: Croatian Tourism Board

Living Conditions

Health and Safety

Health Precautions: No specific vaccination is required.
For Further Information on Sanitary Conditions: WHO information

Emergency Numbers

Emergency services - A single country number for all emergency situations	112
Police	92
Fire department	93
Emergency-ambulance	94
Road assistance	987 or +385 1 987 if you are calling from a mobile phone (You may also try (+385 1) 66 11 999)
National headquarters for coordination of search and rescue at sea	9155

Time Difference and Climate

Time and Time Difference: It is %T:%M %A In Zagreb (GMT+1 in winter, GMT+2 in summer)
Summer Time Period: Summer time from April to October.

Map of the Time Zone

Time zone

Type of Climate: Croatia has a continental weather with very hot summers and cold winters except along the coast. The coastal lowlands have a Mediterranean climate with mild & wet winters and warm & sunny (rather dry) summers.
Hotel reservation websites: Official meteorological and hydrological service
Online service of a company specialized in media weather presentation

Average Annual Temperatures and Rainfall

Climate

Eating

Food Specialties: The Croatian food is quite varied. Specially along the coast, it offers numerous fish-based specialties. Most dishes are flavored with olive oil and served with vegetables or rice.
Brodet: dish based of several sorts of fishes and served with rice.
Manistra od bobica: beans and corn soup.
The Croatian dishes are served with rather reputed local wines.
Drinks: Coffee, wine, beer, mineral water and carbonated soft drinks are among the most popular drinks.
Dietary Restrictions: Within the Mediterranean and central European kind of food there are no food restrictions in the country.

Paying

Domestic Currency: Croatian Kuna
ISO Code: HRK
To Obtain Domestic Currency: It is possible to get local currency directly from ATM: They are everywhere and easily accessible. Since June 1994, the currency is the Kuna, which is issued in bills of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 et 1,000 Kunas and in coins (called Lipa). Although it may be little over evaluated, it is a quite stable currency.
Possible Means of Payment: All major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Diners, American Express) are quite widely accepted, especially in hotels and bigger restaurants but also in rental agencies, gas stations and highway toll stations.

Speaking

Official Language: Croatian.
Other Languages Spoken: The country has national minorities; Serb, Slovenian are spoken, as well as Italian, especially along the sea side, also German and Hungarian. Otherwise, especially in bigger cities and in tourist resorts along the coast a lot of people do understand at least the basics of English, Italian and German.
Business Language: English (particularly used in the region of the capital Zagreb), along the coast also Italian and German may be used.

Useful Resources

To Find a Job: Moj posao (My job) - one of the most visited Internet portals in Croatia
Croatian Government employment service
Adecco (in Croatian only)

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