Croatia 2012
Croatia will again in 2012 be the holiday destination for around 7.000.000 tourist from all over the world, if you are one of them, you might want to read our small Croatia 2012 guide, where you among other can find information about, How to get to Croatia, where to find accommodation, what to see during your stay, what to avoid, and of course information about events in Croatia in 2012.
Getting to Croatia:
Well obviously there is 4 main ways of accessing Croatia, by plane, by car, by bus or by ferry.
By Plane:
During the last 5 years an increasing number of airline companies have set up routes to Croatia, here is a few airlines you might want to check, germanwings, ryanair, Wizzair and of course Croatia Airlines
As arrival destination in Croatia, you have Zagreb, Pula, Rijeka, Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik from the Airports you have and Airport bus going to the centre of the cities, alternative you have taxi or can pre order an airport transfer.
By Car:
Main part of the roads and especially the new Motorway is in excellent condition, so you should have no worries going around by car, avoid speeding as police are controlling frequently in the main season.
On the Croatian Motorways toll fees apply, so please check out our post about the Croatian Motorway, for budget planning you should also remember the cost for the Vignette in Slovenia, if you access Croatia via the Slovenian Motorway.
By Bus:
Companies like Eurolines have daily departures to Croatia, as bus is the preferred form of public transportation, you have an excellent inter Croatian bus network, buses are relatively cheap and quit reliable.
All major cities have a good local bus service, it is cheap and available from early morning till around midnight. Here you can read more about buses in Croatia
By Ferry:
If you access Croatia from Italy, you could to do it by the ferry, there is e.g. a whole year service between Ancona and Split, in the summer season you will have several ferry and catamarans from Bari, Pescara, Venice and of Ancona, on the Croatia side they have landing point in 6 Istrian cities, Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik.
If you are heading for the Croatian island, you have large number of local ferries, some operate whole year and some operate only in main season, here you can find more information about Ferries in Croatia.
Where to stay and where to find accommodation:
Where to Stay:
Well, Croatia basically offers everything from a cheap hostel to a five star luxury hotels, so I would personally start out by checking potential spots in relation to what I would like to do in my holiday, is the priority, beaches, sight and daytrips, Nature or national parks or maybe the nightlife. As Expats living here, we have meanwhile visited quite a few places here in Croatia, so you might find some inspiration, if you browse around on the blog, or use our search function in the top right corner.
Fell free to post of comment if you have any question or need reply help with the holiday planning.
Where to find accommodation:
The easiest way to find accommodation is on the internet, for private accommodation and smaller hotels, you generally have two ways to book.
- Through local travel agency, this has been typical way of booking in the last decade.
- Second option is to book direct, as only a few accommodation owners has their own webpage, and those who have more or less are invisible on the internet, the best option is to find accommodation portal, which offers direct contact to house owner.
Easiest way to get a good overview of potential accommodations, is to Google something like vacation rentals in Croatia, as you would see there is quiet a few pages offering accommodation, check if the page you land on, is an agent or a page which offers direct contact to the owner.
Which one is the best is hard to say, but the latter is normally the cheapest option.
Be aware that you often cannot book online, but only make an inquiry, reason for this is that most owners have their accommodation, placed on several pages, where they are not updating the availability calendar.
Once you find accommodation you like, see if you can find a name of it, and then Google the name to see if you can find and recommendations on the internet, if there is lots of good comments you should have no worries.
Camping:
Croatia is a popular camping destination, no wonder, here you really have a large selection of camps in all categories to choose between, I personally can recommend Camp Oliva in Rabac and Camp Galeb in Omis.
From a price perspective camps are not much cheaper then in e.g. Italy, but if you are not looking for 5 star facilities, you can find camps which are gentle to your budget.
What to see in Croatia:
Depending of region of your stay, you have wide selection of sight to see like e.g. the Diocletian palace in Split or the National park Plitvice Lakes, as we have seen quite a few of the sights to see here in Croatia, you should be able to get some inspiration from browsing our blog, as example I can mention our guide through Istria and our Split Guide.
What to Avoid:
If you are on a budget I have the following recommendation
- Don’t take taxis if you don’t have to, compared to general price level they are quite expensive.
- Buy your daily goods at LIDL, if you have one close to where you are staying, they have the best prices / quality relation. – check out prices in Croatia.
- Limit cell phone usage, and AVOID usage of mobile data connection, that could ruin your holiday.
- Avoid staying in the sun around noon, you can get seriously burned.
- In several towns you some have night clubs, which you should avoid visiting, as it can get quite expensive, check out where to go like e.g. here in this Guide to the Nightlife in Split.
In generally Croatia’s is a secure place to walk around, this of course does not been that there is no bad guys here, so to be on the safe side, don’t run around waving with your money.
Don’t go hiking or sailing with our checking local weather forecast, and remember to bring number to the local rescue service (by hiking).
Event in Croatia 2012:
Local tourist board and other Croatian organizations offer and a large variety of event during the summer months, some of them are one time events, but the majority are recurring events which are enhanced from year to year, below I have listed some of the most popular events.
Croatia Boat Show in Split: Event takes place every year in March / April
Histria Festival in Pula: Concert and dance events with international artists, Jul / Aug
Motovun film festival: International film festival, August.
The Garden Festival (Zadar): Music festival, with several stages in Petrčane, July
Split summer festival: one month of entertainment, music, ballet, art and more Jul / Aug
Of course this is only a few of the events which is on the program, we will in the nearest future publish a list, with the 40 to 50 most important events in Croatia.
See you in Croatia in 2012
No related posts.
Tags: 2012, accomodation, Airport, Croatia, Dubrovnik, Events, ferries, Istrien, Roads, shopping, Split, zadar
42 Comments »
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Ferie Kroatien
Odmor u Hrvatskoj
Semester Kroatien
Urlaub Kroatien
Vacance en Croatie
Vacanze Croazia
Hi,
My fiance and I are looking to go to Croatia for 9 or 10 nights at the end of August/beginning Septembe – our main dirver is to visit Plitvice Lakes and grab some relaxation time in the sun.
We are looking to fly into Zadar, spend a night there before heading up to stay in Plitvice for a couple of nights, then wish to head back south to Split and Hvar for relaxation.
Is anyone able to suggest a workable itinerary for us? We would be looking to hire a car for some or all of the holiday and are happy to fly out from Split or Dubrovnik on the return leg. Also, any idea of driving times between these areas?
Also, any idea what we should budget for this length of time, car hire and accom?
All ideas welcome!
Thanks
Vicki
Hi Vicki,
I would suggest the following 1 night by Plitvice from there you head to Split, maybe you stop at Krka NP on the way, then you have see two of our beatiful National parks. Stay in Split for 3 night, visit Trogir on a day trip. Spend 4-5 days in Hvar and eventually one extra night in Split depending on how Catamaran and departure of your plane match. If you fly out from Dubrovnik you should schedule one night there for sure.
If you do like this you would only need a car from Zadar – Plitvice – Split (2-3 days). I would guess you can rent car for about 50-60 Euro a day (Smaller car)
Driving times – Zadar – Plitivce 2-2.5 hours – Plitvice – Split app. 3.5 hours.
Rest of trip you can get around by ferries / catamaran and Bus, if you wish to explore Hvar it is cheaper to rent car or scooters for one day on the island, instead of bringing car from mainland.
Wish you a nice trip
Morten
Oh, and also any tips on hotels or where to stay would also be appreciated!
Thanks,
Vicki
When i go to Hvar i stay by my friends at there place here more photos from my last visit to Hvar you can see here on my FB account
best, Morten
Hi, me and two/three friends are planning a week in east europe in june or july. we’ll be travelling from budapest and are wanting to go to a really good ‘party beach’. I heard that Pag/Novalja has a good reputation, are there others which are any better? or dates in the summer that are recommended?
Am just generally asking for any tips for hostels or hotels and beaches to stay at!
Hi Beth, in month number 7 and 8 Novalja is for sure the place to be if you wish to Party, another place which is also great for Parties is Makarska. For Hotels and Hostels you will have to search the way trough the jungle on the internet
Best, Morten
Hi there,
My friends and I are wanting to visit the island of Pag in June after we finish Uni and were wondering how to get from Split (where we would fly to) to Pag over the course of a week. Ideally, we were hoping to go via a couple of islands so would it be advisable to get a coach straight to Pag and then ‘island hop’ a few around there?
Any help/advice would be super..
Thanks!
Hi Jess,
the easist way is to go by bus, first from Split to Zadar and then Zadar to Pag. You dont really have any ferries going to Island Pag except for the one to the mainland, so Island hopping is a bit difficult, in the evening you have small ship from the peak of the island to Island Rab. from Zadar you have connection to several Islands, but you will have to go back to Zadar to continue to Island Pag
Regards,
Morten
We are coming in June via cruiseship and we have two questions:
1.What is close to port to see
2.We have U.K. passports and we were told we need a visa, if so how do we get one and how much is it.
Thank you in advance
Hi Diana
at which port do you arrive?
Ask the cruise company regarding the Visa, if you need it they would normally take care of it, for all passangers
Best,
Morten
We are coming to Dudrovnik.
I did some further checking and I contacted the Croatian Embassy in London and they say we do not need a Visa but the ship says we do need one and it would be approximately $100.
So we are still confused, actually more so.
Thanks
Diana
Hi,
I live in the UK, and will be visiting Dubrovnik for my honeymoon at the end of March, and was wondering how much spending money to bring. I already have the cost for where we’ll be staying. Basically, we’re looking at taking a trip on the cable car, taking the ferry to one or two of the islands, and then money for food, including eating at a few restaurants. How much would you recommend I change into HKR? or would it be better to change my money to Euro’s?
Thanks,
Matt
Hi Matt,
if you calculate with about 100 Euro a day for both of you, i think you should be fine.
Morten
Hi,
My daughter is camping in Split for a week over Easter, and needs to take money for food & travel (buses) whilst there.
Could you give me an idea as to prices of fast food over there, so I have an idea of how much money to send her with?! I don’t want to give her too much money that she’ll waste, but I need to know she has enough money to eat all week!!
A rough idea on bus fares would be helpful too!
Many thanks,
Karen
Hi Karen, if she will be eating stuff like pizza, and other fast food, she would need rougly 20-25 Euro a day to cover lunch and dinner including drinks, whit this daily amoung she should also have enough for bus tickets from camp site to split centre.
Best,
Morten
Hi,
We are thinking about taking a weekend trip to Croatia in late May. If we wanted better beaches, should we fly in to Zadar, Split, or Dubrovnik? Thanks for the help!
Michael
Hi Michael, depeding on how you define better beaches, i would say that all 3 cities would do fine
Best,
Morten
Hi Morten,
I’m travelling through Croatia with my girlfriend and will be stopping on the island of Hvar for 3 nights in September. For quiet beaches where would you recommend us to stay?
Kind regards,
Sam
Hi Sam, in september i think you should find appartment in Hvar town, the beaches should not be to growded at this time of year
Best,
Morten
Hello there from sunny South Africa!
My friend and i are 5th year medical students and are trying to plan a working holiday in Croatia. Unfortunately, the time scheduled in our academic year is July/August, as i understand, your busiest time of year! It seems we are going to be working in Zagreb. I was wondering if anyone could give us ome useful tips about where to stay (that is close to Zagreb Unvisersity of Medicine) that is cheap? Also, there is so much to do in croata, how does one decide? If anyone can give some useful hints as to what we should definitely see and what we can save for a next time (obviously we are on a students budget and can unfortunately not visit all teh attractions, but we are keen to explore as much of croatia as possible. I was also wondering if it is a viable option to travel to italy by ferry for the weekend? I’m sure this is a very expensive outing, but i was hoping there might be a way to cut costs?
It would be great if someone could get back to me regarding these questions!
Lindi, Croatian enthusiast
Hi,
Excellent information, thank you.
I am travelling to Croatia this year 2012 towing a small caravan.
Can you tell me if it is possible to use the ferry to Hvar from Drvenik with a caravan?
And are the roads through Sucuraj and along the Island suitable for same?
Regards,
Peter P
Hi Peter,
if it is same ferry as i used be, you should be able to bring caravan, i have seen the ferry take trucks before.
Last time i went in the area of Sucuraj, the roads was not to perfect, but if you drive slow i think you should be ok.
Best,
Morten
Hi there,
I would be grateful for your advice on Zadar. I have booked a flight to Zadar in mid August as it is a good deal and it arrives in Zadar at 9pm.
I would like to visit Plitvice Lakes National Park, Split and Dubrovnik but not sure to where to stay. Is there any public transport to anywhere other than Zadar at this time? Which of those areas including Zadar is the cheapest to stay in?
Many thanks,
Jemma
Hi Jemma, at the time of day, i think your online options is Zadar, at least if you would like to use public transport from the airport, in zadar there is accommodation in all price ranges, starting from hostel beds at about 15 euro.
Brgds
Morten
Hello,
We will fly into Split and have 2 nights at Marmontova Luxury Rooms before driving to Lake Plitvice for 2 nights. Upon returning we have booked 3 nights at Le Meridien Lav Split in Podstrana – Is this good location?
Would it be better to spend a night in Hvar or would a day trip to Hvar be suffice?
If either of these hotels are not ok please let me know and also, if 2 nights stay at Lake Plitvice is too long.
Thanks in advance.
Hi Oliver, i dont know the Marmontova Luxury Rooms, but location is good so i think you would be ok their, alternativly i can highly recommend Hotel Luxe in Split. Le Meridien Lav is a great Hotel, but it is situated about 8 km outside of the city center, so if you you plan to spend most of your time in the city, you should maybe reconsider this Hotel, if you are looking to relaxe the hotel is excellent.
If you wish to see Hvar you will have to stay there for at least one night, do to ferry and Catamaran schedules it is hardly possible to make a real day trip to Hvar. Considering you already spend 2 night in Split before going to plitvice, my personal choise would be to spend at least one of the 3 remaining days on Hvar.
2 night stay at Lake Plitvice to long? well depends, you will need about a whole day to see the park, so depending on arrival and departure 2 nights is maybe not so bad an idea.
Cheers,
Morten
Hello,
I am traveling to Croatia in June with my husband and 9 year old. We fly in and out of Dubrovnik and we are interested in going to a few of the islands. Maybe Vis, Hvar, and Korcula? We love good food and great scenery, we don’t need any party night life. We looked into chartering a sailboat, but it’s very expensive and we can’t find any that will go for only 5 days. We will be there for a full week, but would like a day or so in Dubrovnik. We would love any recommendations you have for us, like which islands to go to, and what is the best way to get there.
Thanks so much
Brenda
Hi Brenda, the easist Island to reach from Dubrovnik is Korcula, that one you should for sure see, getting to Hvar is also possible but, ferry departures are not that frequent so is a bit more tricky (Unless you drive to Split and take ferry from there). you could also consider Island Mljet, whcih is easy to reach from Dubrovnik.
Best,
Morten
Hi Morten,
Thank you so much for your help. We are very interested in Vis as well. It seems that the only way to get there is from Split, is that correct? Would it be possible to go from Dubrovnik to Korcula for 2 days. Korcula to Split. Split to Vis for 2 days. Then Vis to Split and bus back to Dubrovnik ? Seems like we would have to skip Hvar ;( It looks like such a great island. We arrive in Dubrovnik Sunday at 2 pm and depart one week later, on a Sunday at 2:30 out of Dubrovnik. Any help navigating these islands would be great. Thank you so much.
Brenda
Brenda,
glad if i can help. Vis is a beatiful island, you will for sure not regret visiting. I think your plan is duable but you of course will have quite a bit of traveling time. From Dubrovnik you have a Catamaran to Korcula (town), and from Korcula town or Vela Luka you have katamaran Split, from Split you have an afternoon catamaran to Vis. Here you can find all ferry schdules http://www.croatia-expert.com/ferries-in-croatia/ (From all ferry companies). With a tight schedule it would be possible to take one day on Hvar and one on Vis
. Bus to Dubrovnik, yes that is for sure no problem there is plenty of daily departures, the fast buses (Via Highway) takes about 4 hours.
Regards,
Morten
Hi , can I enter coartia by shingen visa ?
Am from kuwait and I will travel to Spain and Coartia .
hello,
My friend and I are travelling to croatia for 6 nights, 7 days in june. we are arriving in zagreb in the afternoon and are hoping to catch a bus to the plitvice lakes probably arriving around 9 that night, staying over night and visiting the lakes the next morning. we are then planning on taking the bus to split after seeing the lakes. we will arrive there mon evening and are flying home from split sat morn. we’re not sure how long to stay in split as we would like to see all the sights spend some time on the beach and possibly like to visit one of the islands. at the moment we’re planning on visiting hvar. also we would like to factor in nightlife. we still havent booked our accommodation so help with that would be great.
Thanks
Hi Aoife
if i understand you correctly you will have about 5 days and 6 night in Split, i think that should be enough for you to see all the main sights and also spend a bit of time on the beach
Visiting Hvar is a bit tricky as the ferry / Catamarans will not enable you to do that with out staying overnight. but as you havent booked any accommodation i would for sure reccommend you to spend one day and night in Hvar. Accommodation, well you have pretty much the whole range in all 3 places, you can check our our page here http://www.croatia-expert.com/apartments/ or any of the many other pages on the internet, i am sure you will find something suitable.
Have a nice trip,
Morten
Hi Morten ,
I hope do not forget Me
can I inter croatia by Schengen Visa ?
Am from Kuwait
Regards ,,
Hi there
Coming to Tucepi in 3 weeks and staying there for 2 weeks. Does anyone know how long it takes to get to Dubrovnik for the day and can we take a local bus? How much in kuna should we allow for lunch/evening meals, drinks and maybe three day trips which are Dubrovnik, Hvar and Brac. Someone mentioned using mobiles is expensive and recommended buying a sim card and getting a croatian number, once we have done this, do we then put money on via the kiosks?
Thanks
Hi Diane, Mobile (Roaming) can be very expensive, you can buy sim cards in kiosk or mobile stores and also top up you can buy at the kiosk.
Morten
Hi Morten,
We will be travelling from South Africa, although we’ve heard so much about beautiful Croatia and are dying to get there, I cannot find ANYONE to give us any sort of useful advice. We should be flying into Munich on about the 23rd June 2012, and then into Croatia (where is the best airport to fly into?) We have 12 – 14 days to spend in Croatia. We are 2 adults and 2 teenage boys (17 and 16 years) I thought maybe booking a guided coach tour so that we get to know Croatian history and culture and where some of fun places are – Maybe do that for 7 days and then get onto a boat/yacht for another 6 – 7 days and see the islands and just take in the sun and relax, hopefully with a bit of activities for the boys?
Any advice/guidance/tips/info would be grateful.
With many thanks
Nela
Hi Nela
well the easist might be that you fly into Zagreb, from here you can than take croatia tour or you can rent a car and make your “own” tour. if you cant find any tours let me know, what you would specifically like to see, then i can help you with an itinerary for the first 7 days. Chartering a boat, great ida, you will for sure not regret, i can recommend the guys from http://www.ultra-sailing.hr (Have boats in Trogir, Split and Dubronvik)
Best,
Morten
hello,
My chid will participate to ESDU dance competision in Porec. How are the price there, they will stay in Delfin Hotel, and they willl have to eat lunch in particular. Some persons told me that the price are very high, so i ask you about 2 persons buget for lunch in a restaurant in that aria.
Thank you.
Hi Cristina, Porec are fore sure at the higher end of the croatian pricing scale, but depending of location you can find lunch from about 50 kuna / person and up. the top spot locations in oldtown are the most expencive, but even at those place you can still find meals like spagetti or pizza for resonable price.
Morten
Hi Morten,
Not many people know (atleast in my country – India) that there is Heaven on earth at Plitvice nationak park.
We are 5 Adults and 2 Small Kids (age 3 & 6) from India, planning to visit Plitvice Lakes National Park in 3rd Week of Oct. Querries :
1. Weather & Sunlight details. Clothes to bring in.
2. We are coming from Italy. Best way to reach Zagreb from Venice/Milan. Suggestions Pls !!!
3. We intend to will do a day-trip from Zagreb. Pls suggest if Car hire is possible in Oct and whats the cost.
4. Suggested Hotels at Zagreb.
Thanx. Kind Regards
Anand
Hi Anand,
1. In October you should bring warm clothes and good walking shoes, if you catch a sunny day, you should have sun from about 9 am 6 pm (My guess)
2. I never drove from Italy to Zagreb so i can’t say for sure, but meanwhile you should have highway more or less the whole way so it should be straight forward.
3. Day trip from Zagreb to Park is possible. Rent a car? just browse the internet, you should be able to find plenty of good offers for that time a year.
4. Hotel in Zagreb, well it is really hard to suggest something without knowing more details, like lenght of stay, special wishes and budget.
Brgds,
Morten