Croatia Travel Resource

Geography

Croatia is located in Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia. The terrain of Croatia is geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coast, coastline, and islands.

Climate and Weather

The part of Croatia that is best known and most visited by tourists is the Dalmatian coast and its islands in the Adriatic Sea.
This region has a Mediterranean type of climate with mild winters and warm, sometimes even hot and sunny summers. The coast is backed by the high mountains of the Dinaric Alps - rising up to 1800 m ( Velebit, Biokovo…) Winter rainfall in this part of Croatia is quite heavy.
The most unpleasant feature of the coastal Croatia’s winter weather is a cold and brisk wind, the BURA. Bura brings cold air from central and Eastern Europe down to the coast for a few days at a time. Bura is very strong in the north of the Adriatic Sea around Gulf of Kvarner and North Dalmatia.
Summers on this part of Croatian coast are not completely rainless, and the bright and sunny weather is sometimes disturbed by thunderstorms so having a light waterproof overcoat is essential.
Sunshine averages in Croatia are from about four hours a day in winter and from ten to twelve hours a day in summer.
Moving towards continental part of Croatia, inland climatic conditions swiftly become more typically Eastern European with cold winters and warm summers. Summers in continental Croatia tent to get the wettest season too.
Much of inland Croatia is mountainous and hilly. Winters in Continental Croatia are full of snow that stands for long periods in the higher Croatian regions.
Slavonia and Eastern Croatia is mostly fertile flat land in the valleys of the river Danube (Dunav), river Drava, and River Sava where winters are very cold with snow and ice.

Population

The population of Croatia is relatively fairly small. A 2007 survey assessed the population in Croatia as being just under 4.5 million people. Croatia is made up of a number of ethnic groups Croat 78%, Serb 12%, Muslim 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, other 8.1%.

Transportation

Flights connect Zagreb to swag of European cities. Croatia's international airport is 17km (11mi) southeast of Zagreb. The departure tax is usually included in the price of the air ticket.
Buses run between Zagreb and several cities in Hungary and Germany, as well as to Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and Brussels (Belgium).
Trains connect Zagreb to Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Slovenia and Serbia-Montengegro, while many ferries link Croatia to Italy.
Travellers with their own vehicle can use four border crossings between Hungary and Croatia, 29 between Slovenia and Croatia, 23 between Bosnia-Hercegovina and Croatia and seven between Yugoslavia and Croatia.
Croatia Airlines has regular flights from Zagreb to Brac, Dubrovnik, Pula, Split and Zadar. The country's excellent bus network is far-reaching and reasonably priced. Trains are cheaper and more comfortable than the bus, but also slower except for the new high-speed train between Zagreb and Split.
All the usual car rental chains are represented in Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik and most Istrian towns. Drive on the right side of the road. The spectacular Adriatic highway from Italy to Albania runs along the steep slopes of Croatia's coastal range, and is one of the most exciting drives in the world.
If you can get where you're going by ferry, then do it - cruising among the islands of the Adriatic certainly beats sitting on a bus, no matter how cheap or fast it is. Jadrolinija coastal ferries ply the waters between Dubrovnik and Rijeka, stopping at Split and Korula.

Top Attractions

1. Diocletian's Palace.
2. Archaeological Museum.
3. Mljet Island.
4. Makarska.
5. Hvar Island.
6. Franciscan Monastery.
7. City Walls.
8. Marin Drzic's House.
9. Cathedral Treasury.
10. Dubrovnik Riviera.

Best Travel Time

As regards the weather in Croatia, May to September is the best time to visit, but the coast becomes pretty crowded during July and August, and September is better as the hordes have gone home leaving the beaches open and off-season rates applying. Spring Time Jazz Fever over March/April in Zagreb brings the cool cats to town, and over July/August the Summer Festival gives classical music lovers their turn.
Dubrovnik gets into the act with its Summer Festival, held in July and August, when it showcases the dramatic and classical music stars of the country, and in the first week of July Zagreb puts on the International Festival of Animation.

Food and Drink

National specialties:

• Hungarian, Italian and Austrian influences can be found in Croatian food, with hearty meat stews and goulashes dominating the menu in the hinterland.
• The Adriatic coast is renowned for its variety of seafood dishes, including scampi, seafood risotto, seafood pasta, white fish, squid and mussels. Fish is either chargrilled or fried.
• In the interior, visitors should sample kulen (spicy sausage) or fis paprikas (spicy freshwater fish stew).
• Prsut (raw ham that has been either cured or air-dried) and Paski sir (salty goat’s cheese from the island of Pag) are served in restaurants throughout the country.

National drinks:
• The regional wines are good.
• Sljivovica (plum brandy), travarica (herb brandy) and grappa (a fiery grape-based spirit) are commonly drunk at celebrations and after dinner.
• Croatia has a coffee culture, with Italian espresso, bijela kava (milky white coffee) and macchiato (espresso served with a shot of milk) all popular.

Local Products/Shopping

Traditional handicrafts like embroidery, woodcarvings and ceramics make good souvenirs. Tourists can reclaim VAT on expenditure of more than 500 Kn. Visitors should ensure that all receipts are retained after any purchase is made, as financial police have the power to fine visitors without relevant documents. This is to prevent VAT evasion by shopkeepers.

Travel Resource