Travel Tips for Croatia

Part of the experience of finding your way around a new country is doing your daily shopping; the cost of foodstuffs

is still cheaper in Croatia and your supermarket bills will not sting the pocket unduly. The Croatian Mercator supermarket chain

Konzum supermarket chain has shops in most towns and cities around the country. Similarly you will find a number of supermarkets operated by the Slovenian Mercator company and by the Austrian Billa chain. All offer good choice and value.

Almost every village has a baker's shop (pekara), a butcher's (mesnica), and a small mini-market (simply called market or trgovina). Most towns also have a vegetable market (tržnica) and along the coast naturally the fish markets (ribnica) are well stocked with fresh daily catch. It is an absolute delight to wander among the stalls and savour the smells and atmosphere.

There was no difficulty anywhere in Croatia with supermarkets or garages refusing to accept payment by credit card. Similarly you trip over ATMs every few paces in every town and city, so obtaining cash in kunas was problem-free.

	TRAVEL TIPS FOR CROATIA
	Camping cards, Camping Gaz and Internet	Guidebooks and maps for Croatia
	Driving in Croatia	Supermarkets, credit cards and ATMs
	Review of Croatian campsites	Return to Index Page

CROATIAN CAMPSITES: Top of page	There is a multitude of campsites along the entire length of the Dalmatian coastline and islands from Istria in the north-west right down to the Montenegrin border. Although there is no national accreditation agency, commercial competitiveness keeps standards generally high. Of all the sites we experienced, most had an acceptable standard of facilities: clean toilets/showers, and wash-ups with hot water. Where they varied was in the attitude shown by owners, and the level of hospitable welcome and helpfulness: this is reflected in the ratings we have given on our Campsites Review page: Croatian Campsites Review Campsite opening dates: where sites also vary is in their opening periods: there are few sites open all year round, and many open only for the peak tourist months of May~August. But as you can see from our mid-March to end-May trip, if you do careful advance research about site opening dates, it is perfectly possible to put together a viable itinerary for an early-in-the-year trip, when the weather is more tolerable, you'll get discounted prices and certainly sites are almost deserted, allowing you to enjoy this beautiful coastline in peace. It is also worth bearing in mind that even though a campsite is officially closed, they will often let you stay anyway. Websites listing Croatian campsites: the most useful organisation by far to help with pre-trip planning is the Croatian Camping Union; their web site lists all member sites, and they publish this information in brochure form as well as an even more useful listing of mini-camps, smaller privately operated sites - email them for copies: Croatian Camping Union Click on 'The campsite I'm looking for' tab to search for sites by region, either using the interactive maps or regional listings; on the individual campsite page, the price-list chart will give up-to-date opening times, essential when travelling early or late in the season. The Croatian Camping Union is one of the most helpful camping organisations we have found; they readily respond to email enquiries and we were particularly grateful to Ivana Kalčic for her consistent help and advice. Another useful campsite-listing is the web site of the Dutch camping organisation ACSI. Although more selective in the sites it includes, their Google mapping facility is a helpful means of pinning down a campsite's location, essential with the sometimes unintelligible place names. ACSI Croatian campsites web site Campsite prices: by and large, prices charged by Croatian campsites are very reasonable; expect to pay between 80 kuna/night for the small privately-run sites and 120 kuna/night for the larger sites. With the exchange rate currently (July 2008) at just over 9 kuna to the pound-sterling, that's between £9 and £13 per night. Prices will include the local tourist tax and sometimes an additional charge is made for registering your presence with the local police. Discounts are the norm, but be sure to ask for them; any pretext will do: using a Camping Card International (see below), over-60, early in the year and limited facilities. We took a supply of Camping cheques but with such reasonable prices, these were of dubious value in Croatia. Wild-camping: it's illegal in Croatia, and particularly down the coast, infringement of this law will bring problems with the police; but with such a wealth of campsites, there is no excuse for ignoring signs forbidding wild-camping at beaches, rural car parks and harbours. Inland however in the Krajina region and Slavonia, where there are few if any official campsites, it is a different matter. We managed without problem to wild-camp or use unofficial sites for over 2 weeks in order to explore Slavonia and inland Croatia: with awareness of potential security issues, and basic common sense and courtesy, there was always a solution, as the campsite review shows. In fact, by good fortune, we stumbled on some of the most serendipitously memorable experiences during this period of wild camping.

CAMPING CARD INTERNATIONAL (CCI):	The Camping Card International (CCI - Camping Carnet) is a worthwhile small investment; it only costs £4.75, lasts for a year and can be bought through Camping Organisations eg Camping and Caravan Club It gives a degree of camping insurance, and since it also carries passport details, you can offer it to campsites in place of your passport during your stay. But on leaving, always ensure you have been given back the right card. Even more importantly, most Croatian campsites will give up to 10% discount for having a CCI; always be sure to ask for a discount.

CAMPING GAZ IN CROATIA:	Camping Gaz is simply unavailable in Croatia; we failed to find even any semi-legitimate sources of re-filling empty 907 cylinders. So make sure you take a good stock of gas with you.