Documentation

Passport: For British Citizens your passport should be valid for the proposed duration of your stay; you don’t need any additional period of validity on your passport beyond this. Carry your passport with you at all times. You must be able to show some form of identification if required, including when checking into hotels. 

VISA's: Not required for British Citizens. EU member - Croatia is not a Schengen member. Visits to Croatia within the previous 180 days before your date of travel will count against the 90-day limit. As Croatia is not within the Schengen area, visits to other EU countries will not count against this total.

EHIC: You should apply for a free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) before you travel. If you already have an EHIC, make sure it hasn’t expired. 

Driving licence: Visitors can drive using a valid UK or other EU/EEA driving licence. You will need to get an International Driving Permit (IDP) to be able to drive in some European countries as a visitor if there’s a no-deal Brexit. 

Vehicle Importation Documents: If you bring your own or rented vehicle into the country, you may need to provide proof of ownership by presenting a V5 log book. If you fail to produce this when asked you will be refused entry and the car might be impounded until you can prove ownership. Contact the Croatian Embassy in London if you have more detailed questions about bringing a vehicle in to the country. The British Embassy is unable to help individuals attempting to bring vehicles into Croatia who do not have the correct documents at the border. If you’re driving to or through Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the 20km strip of coastline at Neum on the Dalmatian coastal highway, make sure that you have a Green Card that includes cover for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Insurance: You can’t buy insurance for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Neum border crossing.

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Logistics

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Roads: You must drive with dipped headlights from the last weekend in October until last weekend in March, even during the daytime. Take care when overtaking and be wary of other road users unexpectedly overtaking in slower traffic. Minor roads are usually unlit at night. You must have winter tyres on your vehicle between 15 November and 15 April. You must not use a mobile phone whilst driving.

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Roadside Assistance: Emergency road help (HAK) may be reached by dialling (385 1) 1987. This service is staffed by English speaking operators. Traffic information in English is available on 98.5FM during the tourist season only.

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Safety Equipment: It’s obligatory to carry a fluorescent vest in your car whilst driving in Croatia. You must keep the vest in the car and not in the boot. You should wear the vest while attending to a breakdown. All passengers must wear seat belts and special seats are required for infants. 

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Explosive remnants of war: Land mines are still a danger in some isolated areas.

If you are planning to travel outside the normal tourist resorts beware of unexploded mines in war-affected areas like Eastern Slavonia, Brodsko-Posavska County, Karlovac County, areas around Zadar County and in more remote areas of the Plitvice Lakes National Park. For more information about mine-affected areas visit the Civil Protection website (in Croatian only) or contact the Civil Protection offices.

If you’re travelling in these areas, avoid leaving cultivated land or marked paths. If in doubt seek local advice.

 

Weather: The weather in the Croatian mountains can change quickly, even in summer and temperatures can get very low overnight.

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Fuel: National Petrol Station networks. Scarcer in Northern areas and Islands.

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Water: Readily available at most campsites and garages

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Food:  

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Vehicle / trailer repairs: Main cities. 

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Bottle Gas or Refills: The following bottled gas retailers sell gas in the Czech Republic:

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• Campingaz Gas Locator. Camping gas cartridges only appear to be available here.  

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Gas adapters: A Dish adapter is used here.  

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LPG: In addition to cooking gas for those with tanks, LPG is also used to power vehicles. Details of LPG gas stations and connectors can be found on the website myLPG.eu. A list of Points of Interest (POI's), a list of stations, can also be downloaded in other applications and on other devices like Garmin, TomTom, Google Earth and iGO primo. Links can be found here.

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Currency: The Croatian currency is the Kuna (not the Euro!), which is divided into 100 lipas. (The word ‘Kuna’ means marten, a weasel-like animal, whose fur Croats used as payment many centuries ago. The word ‘lipa’ means lime tree, but we don’t know the connection here!) When listed as a price, Kuna is abbreviated to Kn. Major credit and debit cards are accepted in most banks and hotels. There are plenty of ATMs that accept standard international credit and debit cards. Pounds sterling, US dollars and euros are easily exchanged for local currency. Only exchange money at reliable places such as banks and currency exchange bureaux.

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Sailing: The Croatian Government requires all skippers to have an International Certificate of Competence (ICC). Zero tolerance to alcohol consumption for Skippers.

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Health

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The legal status and regulation of some medicines prescribed or purchased in the UK can be different in other countries. If you’re travelling with prescription or over-the-counter medicine, read this guidance from NaTHNaC on best practice when travelling with medicines. For further information on the legal status of a specific medicine, you’ll need to contact the embassy, high commission or consulate of the country or territory you’re travelling to.

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Pets

 

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Places to stay 

 

Name / Point of contact / Email / Tel No / Website

Price per night

Hotels

Campsites including places (like hotels) that allow camping within their grounds

 

Wild camping

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Croatians live off of tourism, especially on the coast.  So, be prepared to find big “No Camping” signs all over the place.  However, just because the laws state otherwise, it is still perfectly possible to find remote places in Croatia for wild camping – just be discreet!

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Things to do and places to see

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• Brijuni National Park

• North Velebit National Park. Walking / climbing 

• Paklenica National Park. Walking

• Split (Old Town). Unesco listed

• Makarska. Beaches. Walking and mountain biking

• Dubrovnik

• Ston. Mussels / Oysters

• Zagreb. Capital of Croatia

• Kopački Rit Nature Park. Wetlands

• Motovun Film Festival. Film festival July.

• Others?

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Any other suggestions / Information 

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Earthquakes, forest fires in the summer month s and flash flooding are common. You should keep a close eye on weather forecasts and follow the advice of local authorities.

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Local News

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• Balkans Insight

• BBC News Croatia

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