Safety
Croatia is very safe country with very little street crime and almost no violence. However, as everywhere, take care of your belongings, especially when using public transport.
Internet
Roaming charges
Since summer 2017, roaming surcharges within EU countries don’t exist any longer. This means that, if you are with any EU mobile provider, you will pay the same prices for data, calls and SMS as you would pay at home.
Is Croatia part of EU & Schengen visa regiment
Croatia is a member country of the EU. However, the country is still not a part of the Schengen visa regiment. This means that you’ll still need to show your documents at the border entering Croatia from the neighbouring EU countries, and vice versa.
Beaches
Sea and sun are still two main reasons for so many people to visit Croatia. Croatia has over 6.000 km of coastline, and over 1.000 islands. Two most popular coastal regions are Istria to the north, and Dalmatia to the south.
Croatian coast is mostly rocky with pebble beaches mostly formed in coves, and bays. Makarska Riviera, located in central Dalmatia, offers the most beautiful beaches in all Croatia. Perfectly round and small pebbles that feel almost like a sand but that don’t stick on you forever.
The sea is limpid clear, you can often see the seabed from faraway. My in-laws have a seafront property in Komarna, in southern Dalmatia, and I can see the fish swim in the sea from the third floor of their house.
So, if you search for that perfect sandy beach, you might get disappointed with beaches in Croatia. Although there are some sandy beaches here too, they are simply not Croatian thing.
In Istria, coast is a bit rougher than in Dalmatia, and pebbles are rare to find. However, the beaches here feel less crowded, due to the well preserved coastline.
We’ve put together few posts on beaches in Croatia if you’d like to read further.
Parking
If you travel to and around Croatia by car, you might wonder about parking situation in Croatia. Generally speaking majority of hotels and private accommodation offer a parking spot free of charge.
However, bear in mind that city centres are usually car free zones, or have a limited car traffic. If your accommodation is within a city centre enquire about parking before booking.
There are three types of parking: garage parking, open air parking lots, and street parking. Expect to pay around 8 to 12 kn per hour in towns’ centers.
Parking in Dubrovnik is especially expensive, at some places as high as 75 kn per hour.
We talk more in-depth about parking in our destination guides. Don’t forget to check them once you decide on your destination.
Language
You don’t speak Croatian? No worries, most of Croatians speak at least some English, and many speak at least another foreign language. Besides English, German and Italian are most widely spoken in Croatia.
