Geography
Croatia is located in Southeastern Europe and borders on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Montenegro, Slovenia and Serbia. In the west of Croatia, the entire country borders the Adriatic coast. In addition, Croatia has a lot of variation in geography and nature. Croatia is generally very mountainous, has more than 1100 islands and has a beautiful nature with many different types of plants, trees, animal species and of course the world famous national parks such as the Plitvice lakes and the Krka waterfalls.

Do you need a visa for Croatia?
Even prior to EU entry, foreign visitors did not normally require visas to enter Croatia. Citizens of the U.K., EU countries, the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand did not (and do not) need visas to visit Croatia. Visitors can visit Croatia for up to 90 days in any 180 day period. For other countries, please check the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website for visa requirements for Croatia. If you do need a visa, please contact the Croatian Embassy in your country for more information.

 

Vaccinations
You don’t need vaccinations for Croatia.

 

Drinking water
The quality of drinking water in Croatia has risen sharply in recent years, mainly due to improved water supplies. The Croats themselves just drink the water from the tap, because they think this is safe enough to drink. Yet as a precaution it is advisable to buy bottles of water.

 

Language
The language spoken in Croatia is Croatian. In addition, a very small part also speaks Serbian or Italian. At most campsites, hotels, restaurants and tourist spots, English and German are also commonly spoken.

 

Currency
Since 01.01.2023 the official currency of Croatia is the Euro, before the official currency was the Kuna.

Cash withdrawals in Croatia
It is possible that ATMs charge a commission when debiting money, but this is not necessary if you perform the correct actions! If you choose the English language when paying by PIN, press ‘without conversion’ after you have pressed ‘withdrawal’. If you choose ‘with conversion’ you will receive fewer kunas in return than you should actually receive, because you then pay commission to the relevant ATM machine.

 

Motorways
In recent years, the Croatian government has invested a lot of money in the infrastructure of Croatia. This has greatly increased accessibility and safety. For instance from the Netherlands you can usually reach Croatia via Cologne, Frankfurt, Munich, Austria and then through Slovenia. Of course you depend on where you leave in the Netherlands, but in general this is the fastest route.

 

Vignettes
You don’t have to drive a vignette in Croatia, but you have to drive in Austria and Slovenia. If applicable, it is possible to avoid these countries via Italy, but this is not particularly practical. In Austria, one vignette is usually valid for 10 days, these costs around € 9,00 each. In Slovenia you usually spend around € 30,00 for a monthly vignette.

 

Airplane
Flights from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany to Croatia take on average around 2 hours, depending on where you fly from. Flying from Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Dortmund or Düsseldorf is the most obvious, since most aircraft depart from here and the journey time is the shortest.
These are the largest airports in Croatia:

Dubrovnik, Pula, Rijeka, Split, Zadar, Zagreb