Home to stunning coastlines, a rich history and a vibrant culture, Croatia is a beautiful country that has seen a huge rise in tourism over the past few years. However, figuring out how much spending money you need to visit Croatia is extremely important if you want to explore everything this Adriatic gem has to offer.
That's where we come in! At Crown Currency Exchange, we understand that every explorer has their own budgetary requirements, and to make things as easy as possible, we've detailed what you need to consider when putting your travel budget together, along with the average costs.
How Much Spending Money Do I Need for Croatia?
When it comes to working out how much spending money you need for Croatia, the first thing to do is think about your personal travel style. Are you a budget traveller? Or, are you looking to create the holiday of a lifetime with no expense spared? Either way, here's what you can expect to spend each day across three different travel styles per person:
Budget Travellers
Anyone who wants to visit Croatia but spend as little as possible in the process should set aside around €80 EUR per day. This will afford you a comfortable space in a hostel or campsite, allow you to eat a few dishes at food stalls throughout the day, and see you travel by public transport.
You'll still be able to enjoy some fantastic activities within this budget as well, including a trip to The Museum of Hangovers and a guided tour of the 'Game of Thrones' set.
Mid-range Travellers
Travellers looking to experience Croatia and stay in slightly more comfortable accommodation should allocate around €150 EUR per day for their travel budget. This will allow you to book a private apartment through Airbnb, eat at one of Croatia's ostrijaris (small bistro-style restaurants), and take the ferry to go island hopping.
In terms of activities, this budget will allow you to enjoy some adventurous activities, such as snorkelling or kayaking around Dubrovnik's medieval walls or cruising around the Elaphite Islands.
Luxury Travellers
For those looking to create a high-end, memorable holiday for a special occasion, a daily budget of around €320 EUR would be best. For this, you'll be able to stay in a small yacht or get a room in a luxury hotel, eat and drink at some of Croatia's best restaurants and wine bars, and hire a car for the entirety of your trip.
The activities you'll be able to enjoy will be much more memorable too, and include things such as a speed boat tour of the islands and a day's guided hiking at Plitvice Lakes National Park.
What Goes into a Travel Budget?
- Accommodation: The first thing to think about is where you'd like to stay when you visit Croatia. There is something for everyone, but figuring out your accommodation options will make it much easier to work out this portion of your travel budget.
- Food & Drink: You'll also need to eat when you're away, so knowing what your options are will help you assign enough money to food and drink, as well as give you a better idea of where you can eat in Croatia.
- Activities: There's so much to see and do in Croatia, so it's also essential that you allocate a set amount of money to activities, whether that's visiting museums or taking part in some thrill-seeking days out!
- Transportation: It's also important to think about how you're planning to get around when you're in Croatia. From public transport to car rentals, there's an option for everyone, but the pricing is significantly different.
To help make creating your Croatia travel budget much easier, we've broken down each of the above categories and included average prices across accommodation, food and drink, transport, and activities.
What is the Cost of Accommodation in Croatia?
- Budget Travellers: For those looking to spend as little money as possible on accommodation costs, hostels and campsites are your best bet, with average prices ranging from €30 to €40 EUR per night.
- Mid-Range Travellers: Those with a little more money to allocate to accommodation costs may be more comfortable in a rented apartment or villa, which comes in at an average of €110 per night.
- Luxury Travellers: Whether you're looking for luxury or a unique experience, travellers with a larger budget may find that yachts or a luxury hotel are the best options. Prices for these start from €200 per night.
Different Accommodation Options:
- Hostels: The least expensive type of accommodation in Croatia, hostels offer either a shared room or a small, private room for an average price of €30 EUR per night. Many offer breakfast or a small snack within this price as well, helping you save money on food prices throughout your trip.
- Campsites: Croatia also has some fantastic campsites, which are an ideal place to stay if you're keen on exploring wilder areas and want to keep your accommodation costs low. On average, you can expect to pay €40 EUR per night for a space on a campsite.
- Airbnb Apartments & Villas: Ideal if you're visiting Croatia in a large group, private apartments and villas found on Airbnb offer a little more privacy and security than hostels and campsites. The price you'll pay depends on the type and size of accommodation booked, but renting a 3-bedroom apartment will cost an average of €110 EUR per night.
- Boats: One way of making your trip to Croatia truly unique is by staying in a boat, and with so many beautiful views of the Adriatic Sea to choose from, this is truly memorable accommodation. It's also relatively inexpensive, and the nightly cost of staying in a yacht comes to an average of €140 per night. Again, this depends on the size though, and some yachts may be more expensive.
- Luxury Hotels: For those with a larger budget or simply wanting to enjoy a higher-end experience, Croatia has some beautiful luxury hotels to choose from. Naturally, these prices are quite high, and you can expect to pay around €200 EUR per night for a luxury hotel room.
Our Money-Saving Tips for Accommodation Costs:
- Research Sales: At certain times of the year, some hotels and other forms of accommodation in Croatia hold sales that offer a set amount of money off your booking. A good way of keeping an eye on this is to find a hotel you think you might like to stay in and sign up for their mailing list.
- Book Off-Season: Like many other countries, Croatia has an off-season where tourism dips. This falls from November to April in Croatia, and during this time, you may find that you're able to bring your accommodation costs down quite significantly as hotels strive for business.
What is the Cost of Food in Croatia?
Croatian cuisine is a diverse mix of Mediterranean, Central European, and Balkan, which means there's a huge variety of options to sample. However, when it comes to budgeting, you'll need to think about where you can eat more than what you'd like to sample! Here are some good places to eat in Croatia:
- Street Food: Food stalls in Croatia are very popular with tourists looking for a budget friendly way of getting something to eat and drink. This is also a great way of sampling traditional Croatian cuisines, such as cobanac and brodet, for as little as €4 EUR per dish.
- Restaurants: There are some incredible restaurants to try in Croatia, each with its own mix of traditional and international dishes. Prices in Croatian restaurants are relatively inexpensive, and you can enjoy a three-course meal for €50 EUR.
- Ostrijari: Essentially small bistros, ostrijari are casual eateries that serve simple, traditional meals focused on locally sourced ingredients. A meal in an ostrijari will cost around €15 EUR, but menu choices are often limited because of the emphasis on local, seasonal ingredients.
- Wine Bars: Croatia has some beautiful vineyards, and in these regions, you'll find many wine bars (or 'Vinotekas') to eat and drink in. Prices are pretty moderate, with a glass of wine setting you back €6 EUR on average and small dishes ranging from €1.50 - €3 EUR each.
Our Money-Saving Tips for Food Costs:
- Choose Lunch Over Dinner: Many restaurants in Croatia operate with multiple menus throughout the day, and you may find that some lunch menus are cheaper than dinner menus. So, eat a large meal and lunch and enjoy a couple of dishes at food stalls in the evening to keep your food costs low.
- Avoid Tourist Areas: This may sound counterintuitive since you're technically a tourist, but avoiding crowded areas packed with tourists can keep your food costs lower as eateries in these spots often operate with inflated prices, especially during peak season.
What is the Cost of Transport in Croatia?
Getting around Croatia is quite easy and there are loads of different transport options available to choose from. However, when it comes to looking at your transportation expenses, it's good to know what your options are before you start budgeting:
- Buses: Croatia has a great public transport system with buses that connect major cities and towns. FlixBus, Autotrans, and Croatia Bus are amongst the most popular service providers, and the average cost of a bus ride will set you back just €2 EUR.
- Ferries and Boats: Given Croatia's islands and extensive coastline, ferries and boats are one of the most popular ways of sightseeing. Jadrolinija is Croatia's main ferry company, and the average price of a return trip is €10 EUR.
- Taxis: You can also get around Croatia by taxi, and this is ideal if you'd rather avoid public transport or you're headed somewhere inaccessible by bus. Prices will vary significantly depending on where you're headed, but on average, you'll spend £2 EUR as a starting price and each kilometre travelled will add another €1 EUR.
- Car Rentals: For those who would rather move at their own pace or have the ultimate freedom on where they go, renting a car may be the best option. It is a little more expensive than all other transport costs though, with rental car prices in Croatia averaging €30 EUR per day.
Our Money-Saving Tips for Transportation Costs:
- Buy a ZET Multi-Day Card: You can save money on public transport costs by purchasing a ZET Multi-Day Card, which allows unlimited travel across a 3, 7, 15, or 30-day period.
- Rideshare: Another great way of saving money on transport costs, especially if you're headed somewhere only accessible by car, is to see if any fellow tourists are interested in splitting the cost of a taxi. This doesn't only bring costs down, but gives you the opportunity to make new friends on your travels!
What is the Cost of Activities in Croatia?
Whether you're a thrill-seeker, hiker, or history-lover, there's plenty to do in Croatia. To help you work out how much you need to put into the activities portion of your Croatia travel budget, let's take a look at some of the most popular tourist destinations:
- Take a Speedboat Tour: The perfect activity for anyone who wants to explore as much of Croatia's coastline as possible, a speedboat tour that stops at five islands, including the Blue Cave and Hvar, will cost an average of €145 EUR per person.
- Kayak or Snorkel Around Dubrovnik: A great day out for watersports enthusiasts and a good option for anyone trying to stick to keep things budget friendly, a kayak or snorkel tour in the waters around Dubrovnik's medieval walls will cost around €28 EUR per person.
- Visit the 'Games of Thrones' Set: Ideal for any fans of the smash hit TV show, for €25 EUR you can take a walking tour around some of the 'Game of Thrones' set. You'll also have a guide with you throughout, many of whom were extras in the series, who will tell you some behind-the-scenes stories from their time on set.
- Cruise Around Dubrovnik Elaphite Islands: Another great way of exploring the coastline, a full-day cruise around Elaphite Islands costs around €55 EUR per person and includes lunch with an open bar. This is also a great way of combining your activity and food costs for the day.
- Experience the Museum of Hangovers: One of Croatia's most unique experiences, the Museum of Hangovers is a great budget friendly activity costing just €10 per person. Here, you can take part in a 'Drunk Walking' experience and enjoy many other playful exhibits, all with a beer firmly in your grasp.
- Hike Plitvice Lakes National Park: For the adventurous hiker or anyone looking for a full-day activity, you can take a guided tour of Plitvice Lakes National Park for €110 EUR. This tour includes the drive to the park, freeing up some money in your transport costs that day in the process.
Our Money-Saving Tips for Activity Costs:
- Choose Full-Day Activities: By choosing an activity that lasts all day long, you won't have to worry about finding something else to do once you're finished, and, most importantly, you won't have to spend any extra money doing so.
- Combine Costs: Many tours, such as boat tours and hiking, allow you to combine certain daily costs. Things like included lunches or transportation to the activity mean that you're able to save money or allocate it elsewhere within your budget.
Other Expenses to Consider for the Trip
Those are the 'big four' expenses you'll need to cover when planning a trip to Croatia. But there are also a few other things that you should put some money aside to cover, including:
- Travel Insurance: While travel insurance isn't the most glamorous or exciting thing to think about when visiting Croatia, it's incredibly important. A good travel insurance policy will cover you for lost luggage, medical emergencies, cancelled trips, and more, so it's definitely worth getting before you travel.
- Souvenirs and Gifts: You'll likely want to bring home some gifts and pick up a few mementoes of your trip for yourself, so make sure you leave some room in your budget for souvenirs, too.
- Emergency Fund: We all know how unpredictable life can be, so make sure you put a chunk of money aside to cover any unforeseen circumstances that your travel insurance doesn't cover.
Most Cost-Effective Way to Take Euros Croatia
You may be tempted to use your debit or credit card when travelling through Croatia, but doing this can actually incur costs from your bank or credit card provider, who may charge you an 'International Transaction Fee'. To avoid this, we highly recommend taking Euros in cash to Croatia.
This is also the most cost-effective way of taking your spending money, and at Crown Currency Exchange, you'll get fantastic AUD to EUR exchange rates and zero commission fees.
