Geographical position: Croatia extends from the
furthest eastern part of the Alps in the north-west to the
Pannonian lowland and the banks of the Danube in the east; its
central part is covered with the Dinara mountain range, and its
southern part includes the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Surface: The mainland covers 56,542 km2, and
the surface of the territorial sea amounts to 31,067 km2.
Population: 4,437,460 inhabitants; the majority
of the population are Croats; national minorities are Serbs,
Slovenes, Hungarians, Bosnians, Italians, Czechs and others.
Government system: Croatia is a multi-party
parliamentary republic.
Official language and script: Croatian language
and Latin script.
Time zone: Croatia belongs to the GMT +1 time
zone. The zone changes to GMT +2 the last Saturday in March until
the last Sunday in October.
Religion: The majority of population are
Catholics, furthermore Orthodox Christians, Moslems and members of
Protestant churches.
Capital: Zagreb (779,145 inhabitants) - the
economic, traffic, cultural and academic centre of the country.
Coastline: 5,835 km, out of which 4,058 km
comprise a coastline of islands, solitary rocks and reefs.
Number of islands, rocks and reefs: 1,185; the
biggest islands are Krk and Cres; there are 50 inhabited
islands.
Highest peak: Dinara: 1,831 m above sea
level.
Climate: There are two climate zones in
Croatia; a mild continental climate, partly also a mountainous
climate, prevails in the inland, whereas a pleasant Mediterranean
climate prevails along the Adriatic coast, with an overwhelming
number of sunny days - summers are dry and hot, winters mild and
moist. The average temperature in the inland: January 0 to 2°C,
August 19 to 23°C; the average temperature at the seaside:
January 6 to 11°C, August 21 to 27 °C; the sea temperature
amounts to about 12°C in winter and 25°C in summer.
Currency: Kuna (1 Kuna = 100 Lipa). There are
coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 Lipa, and 1, 2, 5 and 25 Kuna as
well as bank notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000
Kuna.Foreign currency can be exchanged in banks, exchange offices,
post offices, travel agencies, hotels and camps. The working hours
of the majority of banks are from 7am till 7pm on week-days, and
till 1pm on Saturdays.
Credit cards: Most hotels, restaurants,
supermarkets and shops accept credit cards (American Express,
Diners Club, Eurocard/Mastercard, Visa).
Average costs of a meal (plus wine) for two: 40
€
Electricity: Voltage of city power grid - 220V,
frequency 50 Hz.
Water: Tap water is potable throughout the
whole Croatia.
Telephone code: The telephone code for Croatia
is +385.
Travel documentation: Passport or other
internationally recognised identification documents. Tourists may
stay in Croatia for up to three months.
For further information: Diplomatic
representative bodies of the Republic of Croatia abroad, or the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Croatia (phone: +385 1
4569 964).
Customs regulations: Customs regulations of the
Republic of Croatia are in line with the standards of the European
Union countries. Foreign currency can be freely brought in and
taken out of the country, home currency up to the value of 2045
€. More expensive professional and technical equipment should
be registered at the border. If bringing dogs or cats along, they
need to have an International certificate from a registered
veterinarian stating that at least 15 days (and not more than six
months) have passed since their vaccination against rabies.
Tax rebate for foreign citizens: Tourists who
make purchases in Croatia (apart from petroleum derivatives), which
exceed 67 € per receipt, may reclaim VAT ("PDV"). Upon
purchase the sales person will provide the buyer with a form PDV-P
(on request), which should be filled out and stamped on the spot.
Upon leaving Croatia, the receipt must be verified by the Croatian
Customs service. PDV refund in Kuna can be obtained within six
months, either in the same shop where the goods were purchased (in
which case the tax is refunded immediately), or by posting the
verified receipt back to the shop, together with the account
number, to which the refund should be paid. In this case the refund
is paid within 15 days upon receiving the claim.
Health service: There are hospitals and health
centres in all bigger cities, and first aid clinics and pharmacies
in all towns and places. Foreign tourists do not pay for medical
services if the Health Care Convention was signed between Croatia
and the country they come from. The expenses of health services
provided to people coming from the countries, with which the Health
Care Convention was not signed, are charged directly to users
according to the price list. For patients whose lives are in danger
there is the emergency transport via air (helicopter) or sea
(powerboat).
National holidays:
| January: |
1st January - New Year's Day
6th January - Epiphany |
| April: |
Easter, including Easter Monday |
| May: |
1st May - Labour Day |
| June: |
Corpus Christi (Movable feast)
22nd June - Anti-Fascist Resistance Day
25th June - Statehood Day |
| August: |
5th August - Victory Day and National Thanksgiving Day
15th August - Assumption |
| October: |
8th October - Independence Day |
| November: |
1st November - All Saints' Day |
| December: |
25th and 26th December - Christmas Holidays |
Working hours: Shops and department stores are
open between 8am and 8pm, and on Saturdays from 8am till 2 or 3pm.
A smaller number of stores close between noon and 2pm. Many stores
are also open on Sundays, especially in the summer, and a smaller
number of them are open 24 hours a day (in bigger cities). Public
services and companies usually work from 8am to 4pm from Monday to
Friday.
Post and Telecommunications: Post offices are
open from 7am till 7pm, and on Saturdays until 1pm. There are post
offices in bigger cities which are open until 10pm during the
summer. Stamps are sold in post offices and at news-stands. Public
telephones can be used only with phone cards, which can be
purchased in post offices, at news-stands, in hotels and tourist
complexes.
Mobile telephone network: There are three GSM
operators in Croatia: VIPNET (dialing code 091), T-Mobile (dialing
code 098 and 099) and Tele 2 (dialing code 095).
TV, radio and press: There are 4 main Croatian
TV channels: 1st and 2nd channel of HRT, Nova-TV and RTL. State
radio station broadcasts news in foreign languages (English and
German) several times daily during the summer season. Foreign
editions of daily newspapers, weeklies and monthlies can be found
at all news-stands of "Vjesnik" and "Tisak".
Environmental protection: Protection of the
biodiversity is consistent with the EU regulations that are
currently in force. The water quality of the Croatian Adriatic Sea
is high for swimming and consistent with the EU criteria. In case
of an accident or contamination of the sea, please contact the
National Centre for Sea Search and Rescue on the number 9155 (free
of charge), which is a part of international institutions of the
same rank. In case of an accidental environmental contamination on
mainland, report it to the National Information Centre on the
number 01/4814 911. For additional information about the
environment, call phone number: 01/6106 111.
Official Ministry with the Government:
Ministry Of Environmental Protection, Physical Planning and
Construction, phone number: 0800 200 037
Fire prevention: Make sure that you have done
everything to prevent a fire!
Do not throw lit or flammable objects into the environment!
If you see a fire, please inform others in your vicinity; report
it immediately on the telephone number - 93; try to extinguish the
fire till the fire-fighters arrive, but so as not to endanger
yourself or others!
Take notice of signs forbidding the lighting of fires!
Take care that your parked vehicle does not obstruct access to the
fire engine!
Important telephone numbers:
Ambulance: 94
Fire-service: 93
Police: 92
Assistance on the roads: 987; hr987@hak.hr (If calling from outside of
Croatia or using a mobile phone, dial +385 1 987)
General information: 981
Information about local and district telephone numbers: 988
Information about international telephone numbers: 902
Weather forecast and road conditions: 060 520 520
Road information and help: Croatian Automobile Club (HAK), phone number: 01
4640 800
Croatian angels: A project of Croatian National
Tourist board providing the guests with tourist information via
phone. The unified number of tourist information for all of
Croatia: 062 999 999 (international callers, dial: + 385 62 999
999).This service is available in Croatian, English, German and
Italian in the period from 1st April until 1st October. In the off
season, working hours are from 9am till 5pm (one "angel" in shift),
and in the season from 8am till 4pm and from 4pm till midnight (two
"angels" in each shift).
Radio news in foreign languages (during the tourist
season): On the Programme 2 of the Croatian radio, along
with the regular news in Croatian, the Croatian Automobile Club
(HAK) gives traffic reports in English, German and Italian along
with nautical news several times per day. Apart from that, every
hour news and traffic reports are broadcast from the following
studios on the Programme 2 of the Croatian radio: Programme 3 of
the Bavarian radio, Programme 3 of the Austrian radio, RAI Uno,
British Virgin radio and Czech radio. Throughout the day nautical
news are broadcast in English and Croatian.