Croatia holidays, Croatia Travel Tips

Croatia holidays. Croatia is one of the most visited countries during the European summer. Nothing to be surprised about. People love Croatian coastline views, islands, sunny weather, and cuisine.

In this post, you can find a lot of useful information, that will help you plan your trip to Croatia. What’s the currency and language used in Croatia, and what is the plug type? And many more.

And if you are searching for information on where to go in Croatia and what to do during holidays on the Croatian coast, check out this blog post.

Best time to visit Croatia for holidays

Croatia has a lot to offer. It’s a relatively small country, with many different types of views. That’s why you can visit Croatia at any time of the year. For example, during the Christmas market season, as Zagreb Christmas market won the title of best European market a couple of times.

However, most people look at Croatia as a typical summer destination.

The best time to go to Croatia is between May and October, and the absolute best months are June and September. It’s already (or still) very summer weather, but without huge crowds yet.

The most touristy months in Croatia are July and August.

What is the voltage and plug socket type in Croatia

Croatia uses the same plug socket type as other European countries, called ‘Euro’ plug (type ‘C’ plugs and type ‘F’ plugs). The standard voltage in Croatia is 220 V and frequency is 50 Hz.

If you are coming from the UK you will need a plug adapter. If you are coming from US, you will need a combo of plug adapter and voltage converter.

What is drinking age in Croatia

In Croatia, alcohol can be sold or served to people starting at 18 years old.

Language spoken in Croatia

The language spoken in Croatia is Croatian, as simple as that. Croatian is part of the South-Slavic group of languages and uses the Latin alphabet.

I believe that for foreigners, sometimes it may sound like Croatian people always argue with each other. No, it’s just the accent and the tone of the language.

It’s no problem to communicate in English, also German, or Italian in Croatia, especially in touristic places.

Check out more information about Croatian language here.

How to say Hello in Croatian

It’s always nice to learn a few words when you visit any country for holidays. Here you can find the basic ones:

Hello – Bok

Good morning – Dobro jutro

Good afternoon – Dobar dan

Good evening – Dobra večer

Good night – Laku noć

Thank you – Hvala

Is Croatia in the EU and Schengen?

Yes, Croatia is the EU. Country joined EU in 2013.

Croatia is also in Schengen; they joined it in January 2023.

And in NATO since 2009.

Which currency is in Croatia?

As of January 2023, Croatia uses Euro.

Before, the local currency was called kuna (HRK). At the moment, you can only pay in Euro, but you will still see two prices: in euro and in kuna everywhere (it’s an obligation until the end of 2023).

Although you can pay by card in many places, remember to have cash with you, for example, to buy things at local markets.

Why is HR the country code for Croatia?

It comes from the local language. Croatia, in Croatian, is called Hrvatska. That’s why you can see HR in the country code, domain name, etc.

Croatia time zone

Croatia is in the same time zone as most of the European countries (same as France, Germany, etc.) meaning Central European Time: CET in winter (GMT+1) and CEST in summer (GMT+2).

Croatia capital

The capital of Croatia is Zagreb. City with around 800,000 inhabitants. It’s a nice and interesting city to visit, so you can think about it in the context of a city break. Especially during Christmas markets season, as markets are spectacular in Zagreb!

Zagreb is in the north of Croatia, not on the coast. Keep in mind that in the middle of summer, it may be a little bit hot to visit the city.

Is Croatia expensive?

It’s not cheap, definitely there are cheaper summer destinations in Europe. And it’s getting more and more expensive in recent years. Now you can probably compare it to the price of holidays in Italy.

However, as always, it depends on the time of visit (July and August or off-season?) and the place.

The most expensive is Dubrovnik; it’s one of the most expensive European destinations (and also one of the most crowded!).

Croatia where to fly into

The capital of Croatia is Zagreb. And this is where many airlines fly directly, especially off-season.

Croatian national airlines are called Croatia Airlines, and they are part of Star Alliance (so together with Lufthansa, SAS, or Turkish Airlines).

During the season, there are many direct flights to cities at the coast. So other than Zagreb, the airports in Croatia are:

Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar, Rijeka, and Pula.

Choose the one that is closest to the place where you will stay, as the journey through the whole coast from north to south is long.

Thinking about flying to Zadar? You can find information on what to see there and how to get from Zadar airport to the city here.

Do you have flights to Rijeka airport? Read here for some useful information about getting to the airport and about Krk island.

Ferries in Croatia

Croatia is a country with a long coastline, and many islands. There are 1244 islands and islets, of which 68 are inhabited, 50 permanently. Islands are very worth visiting. They have a specific atmosphere that can’t be easily described in words.

Of course, due to this geography, water transport is very developed in Croatia. You can take ferries to all inhabited islands, especially during the summer season. Note that sometimes ferries are available for cars, sometimes only for passengers. There are many companies that provide ferry rides, but the most known is national line Jadrolinija.

Which islands to visit? Pick the islands that are closest to the city you are planning to arrive at or stay in. If you stay in Split, think about, for example, Hvar island. Staying in Dubrovnik? Look at Korcula (although this island is somewhere ‘between’ both of the mentioned cities). There are also many islands that are easily accessible from Zadar.

Croatia is also a perfect place for yachting and sailing between islands type of holidays.

I wrote a little bit more about it here.

Are Croatian beaches sandy?

There are sandy beaches in Croatia, but they are in the minority. Most Croatian beaches are rocky or have pebbles.

Remember to have with you shoes for water. It will be easier to enter the water because of the stones, but also safer. In Croatia, you can meet a lot of sea urchins, and it’s really painful if you step on them barefoot.

I hope I’ve answered most of these basic information questions. I’ve been to Croatia at least 10 times, sometimes for shorter holidays, sometimes for a month. And I still haven’t seen everything I would like to!

You can read more on my blog about Zadar, about Krk island and more generic information about where to go and what to see in Croatia.

Enjoy your stay in this beautiful country!