Croatia was one of the most difficult places we’ve travelled to. My first draft of this post was a bit less forgiving, but then we went to Korcula and the people became friendlier, the weather cooler and the beaches more inviting. I realized that for as many unfriendly, unhelpful people as there are working in the service industry, there are just as many kind, welcoming and hard-working people who are ready to show you a good time. Chatting with our friendly taxi driver in Zagreb, we caught a different perspective. “People in Croatia don’t like to work,” he said. “Sometimes the wages are so low that you don’t have the will for a smile.”
Holidaymakers soak up the sun on a beach in Pula.
I don’t know what to say to that. When I’m travelling in a country I take notice of the socioeconomic conditions. I’ve travelled to poor regions before, none poorer than Bolivia. And everyone there had a genuine smile on his or her face. Thailand was also full of friendly people, despite the fact that many of them live in substandard housing and I saw a few bathing in the Chao Phraya River.
Economically Croatia is nowhere near as poor as these two examples. Perhaps they feel so because of their proximity to the Schengen area countries? Is this a good excuse for such consistently rude, unwelcoming behaviour to visitors? I’d love to hear from other readers on this issue.
Those who keep up with us on Facebook and Twitter may know that we cut our time there short by two weeks. Croatia is a very beautiful country and we didn’t even get to some of the most attractive cities and areas. It isn’t cheap, however, and we’re celebrating our one-year wedding anniversary this month. We don’t want to deal with unfriendly people and a lot of nonsense. But I want to be helpful and for visitors to have the knowledge to make the most of their time. Here are my do’s and don’ts for exploring and preparing for your Croatian adventure so that you can have hopefully have a better time than we did.
DO Choose your accommodation carefully
Yes, you can stay in a hotel. But you’ll pay a lot more money and have a much more impersonal time than if you go on a site like HostelBookers and find an apartment. We stayed in two: one in Pula and one in Korcula. These had amenities like satellite television, free wireless internet and kitchens. At Nina we had an entire apartment to ourselves with our own kitchen, air conditioning and a table. Both times we were hosted by kind families who did our laundry, made us breakfast, gave us tips on what to see and do and we got to experience the local people. Our hotel experiences were nowhere near as nice. In Zadar we were yelled at as we checked in because the woman hadn’t bothered to check her email from the online booking site we used. In Rab we left three days early because our tiny hotbox hotel room had mosquitoes and their idea of a sea view room meant you had to stick your head out the window and look around the corner.
Our favourite spot in Croatia was Korcula. This is a view of Korcula Town from the water.
DON’T Expect great service
You might be blown away by friendly, attentive service at a shop, restaurant or hotel, but let this be a pleasant surprise rather than an expectation. Croatians don’t exchange the normal pleasantries you might be used to elsewhere in the world (unless they know you and then they’ll chat for twenty minutes while the rest of the customers stand there waiting to be served) and quite a few of them just have no idea how to assist someone with questions. On a positive note, everyone speaks at least a little English so you’ll have no problems with language barriers. Even the tourism office is no guarantee. When we visited the one in Rab we were trying to get to Split. “Good luck,” said the guy behind the counter with a straight face. It was only after I outlined the options we’d already researched and became frustrated about the fact that we’d come to him for help (the old, ‘you’re the expert, if you don’t know who does?’ trick) that he finally became helpful, even friendly in the end. Which brings me to my next point.
DON’T Try to island hop
Our itinerary included the islands of Rab, Brac, Korcula and Hvar with plans to stay three to five nights in each place. We thought it would be a breeze to get from one to another. Wrong. Each journey involved about three legs even if the islands seemed close. Ferries don’t run from one island to the next with any regularity. In most cases you have to take a ferry (or two) and then a bus to your destination. The hubs are Rijeka, Split and Dubrovnik with connections from some of these requiring careful timing. Most of the ferries are run by Jadrolinija, but smaller operators do exist. We had some long travel days and probably would have been happier choosing our favourite island and staying there the entire time. How do you know which island you’ll like the best? You don’t until you visit. For us, Korcula was the best, but this may be simply because of the experiences we had there. It’s the gastronomic island, with great food, nice beaches and a pretty little town. Rab was our least favourite and isn’t really suitable unless you have a boat. Many people swear by Hvar but it’s the most popular and can be very expensive. We ended up forgoing travel there so we could enjoy more time in another country.
Jadrolinija runs most of the ferry services in Croatia.
DO Bring the right gear
Croatia’s beaches are not the sandy affair you might be used to. While sand beaches do exist, most of them have pebbles or sharp rocks, so purchase some reef shoes. Don’t um and ah about it: it will make the difference between skipping happily into the water or wincing as you tiptoe for fifteen minutes out to the deep part. You’ll also probably want some snorkel gear and a beach towel as even the more expensive hotel we stayed at in Supetar didn’t provide these. Hats and sunscreen are a must.
DON’T Visit in August
This was probably our biggest mistake. It’s stinking hot, teeming with German and Italian tourists (which is fine but you might get tired of constantly being addressed in German when you’re speaking Croatian or English) and many locals are absolutely sick and tired of foreigners. I suspect this was our biggest foible but, unfortunately, this was the only time we had this year to visit. Everything is more expensive, more crowded and more aggravating.
DO Bring cash
Even if the door of the establishment has the Mastercard and Visa logos on the door and even if you see the credit card machine sitting there on the counter, don’t assume that your card will be accepted. We came across more ‘cash only’ businesses in Croatia than anywhere in South America. And bring plenty of money in general. The only bargains are beer and transportation.
DO Enjoy the nice local food
We didn’t have a bad meal in Croatia. From delicious grilled meats to fresh seafood to excellent Italian dishes, you can’t go wrong with restaurants. For those with a sweet tooth, you’ll find a gelato shop every 50 metres and bakeries have excellent pastries and desserts. In general, ‘caffes’ serve coffees, ice cream and specialty drinks while restaurants and takeaway shops have the food. Diversity is not common – restaurants of a similar type will offer pretty much the same menu and we didn’t find much in the way of international cuisine. Be sure to try cevapcici and the delicious fish such as Sea Devil, which is like monkfish.
Our favourite restaurants were:
Bistro Palute – Put Pasike 16, Supetar, Brac island
Vinotoka – Jobova 6, Supetar, Brac island
Kod Kadre – Arsenalska 3, Pula
Pizzeria San Marco – Rapske brigade 6, Rab island
Laid-back Korcula town
DO Be prepared for some shocks
Some things might truly surprise you, especially if you’ve never visited the Balkans before. People sound more aggressive when they speak and it takes awhile to realize that they aren’t yelling at you. In Pula we sat through a dinner across from a pregnant woman in her third trimester smoking cigarettes and drinking beer and no one besides us was batting an eye. On a beach in Supetar I was taking pictures of the sunset when a local started throwing rocks at me because I was unknowingly in the way of his photos. Never mind the fact that there was a whole empty stretch of beach to his right. When John came over to tell him to stop, the guy became even more aggressive and grabbed his arms, pushing him away. After we went back to our table their teenage daughter followed up by giving us the finger repeatedly, making faces and yelling obscenities at us. The owner of our hotel told us that some people are a bit crazy because of the war, but that was just too crazy for me.
A gorgeous Korcula sunset
I’m sure many people travel to Croatia and have a positively wonderful experience. The locals we met who weren’t in the service industry were lovely people, so please don’t take this review as a commentary on Croatian people in general. It’s always nice to feel welcome in a country when you’re travelling, otherwise it can be a challenge to stay somewhere for a long time. For us, it was just too aggravating to justify the cost of being there. Sometimes beauty just isn’t enough.
Have you visited Croatia? What are your top tips?
This is not just a blog for travellers. We hope to inspire our readers, whether they’ve visited dozens of countries or barely make it to the next town once a year. We're John and Andrea, a couple of thirty-something travellers and expats. Our travel style is laid-back luxe and we are constantly seeking out the best experiences each destination has to offer. 
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Although some of the things you mention are true. MOST ARE NOT. The guy that threw stones at you was probably a tourist and by my experience most likely from Greece. People in all of Croatia are like the taxi driver you mentioned. All Croatians would like to be on a beach with the sun high up and the sea close. I lived in Croatia for 14 years and had an absolutely lovely experience. Many people do not go to the coast from Zagreb and the other big cities because of their job, but most that have children take time off to go swimming. You should have done more research before going there go find out the average temperatures, pricing and accommodations. There are good and bad B’n'B places everywhere. It took me about two hours to find out where to eat, sleep and swim in any place in Croatia. When I first got there I learnt the basics of the language in about two weeks and from there I could have a conversation that was a mixture of English and Croatian, but people understood what I was saying and I never met a person that did not smile every five minutes or less. After living abroad for a long time I got accommodated to the customs of the different countries I spent time in and found that Americans like you are stiff, strict, dumb and generally eat at McDonalds, Pizzahut and other fast food places that can be found almost anywhere. I would walk up to any person on the street that looked like they were in a good mood and I would find out anything I wanted to know. Your review will not make people want to visit Croatia, but the fact that in 2008 more then 11MILION people went there I would say that you are one of the Americans that does NOT know how to relax.
Joe Smith (if that IS your real name), you make assumptions that are both incorrect and outrageous. The guy that threw rocks at Andrea was indeed a Croat, because he told me when I asked where he was from. And then you assume he was Greek, so I guess that you have a basis for this assumption – maybe on YOUR personal experience? How can you say that all people in Croatia are nice? Have you met them all? We write about the personal experience that happened to us and it’s the truth. I’m glad you had a wonderful experience in Croatia for 14 years, but because you loved it has no bearing on what we encountered.
Just to enlighten you, I speak fluent Macedonian which you may or may not know is similar to Croatian. So I spoke it at every chance and NO, not everyone smiled at my questions or conversation attempts. We’ve both lived abroad and enjoyed many different cultures, but this didn’t happen in Croatia. Because you take it so personally and resort to name-calling and ridiculous generalisations about eating habits, only reflects on the sad state of mind you must have. I am actually Australian, so please feel free to hurl some more abuse my way.
Your brilliant knack of spotting people “in a good mood” must be amazing. But what if the one person behind the counter is not in a good mood and you need to pay for what you’re buying – do you simply leave the product and then find another shop?
For your information, this review was not intended to persuade or dissuade people to visit Croatia. It’s just OUR blog with OUR experiences. If you don’t like it, I really don’t care.
As I previously wrote – the country is truly beautiful. I have personal relationships with many Croats due to being very close – like family – with a family that splits their time between California and Croatia. I am considered part of the family by the branch still in Croatia as well as the branch in the states. That all being said, when dealing with the country as an obvious tourist, I felt very taken advantage of & slightly bullied in almost every venue – restaurants, hotels, taxis, stores. As many people here have mentioned it is extremly expensive for foreigners – more expensive then any of the hassels are worth. When a 4 star hotel costs more then a 5 star hotel in Paris, something is seriously wrong with their system. I chalked alot of this up to the fact that they are relatively new to having such a large influx of tourists and see everything as merely an immediate money making situation rather then building a culture of tourism based on bring tourists back year after year. When I was with my Croatian family friends, the Croats treated me totally differently then when I was without them. They have a very strong culture patriotism towards their country, they have had to be due to their tumultuous history – and I constantly felt like they were in theory bullying me with how much better their coungtry was from the rest of the world. I actually had people say – the world does not appreciate the greatness of our country. Some of that may be true, but they still have a lot to learn on the friendly tourism scale. But as I said. it is a beautiful country. And Joe, most of the people who have spent time traveling Croatia in the last decade have not gone there looking for McDonald’s.
since is winter here and i have some time to waste, i have to say few words to pamela and john
first to john: macedonian IS NOT similar to croatian, no matter macedonian is also slavic language, and younger croats do not know even word of macedonian, especailly youngs born after 1990. And i, born in ex yugoslavia do know only few words of macedonian, and even i ex yu times we croats allways considered macedonia like foregin country which is somewhere far far away on east, which sucks our money earned in tourism … one more thing, some of macedonian words are like and sounds like serbian , and we do not love serbian …. so next time, just stay on english
pamela. “the fact that they are relatively new to having such a large influx of tourists” … ehhh this your statement is just not true, it is rediculous … since we have not yet reached the pre-war figures in toursim, nor in nuber of guests or in overnight stays …. only if you think that our tourism starts with you
.. well go to my second post and read it again …
on the other hand, you can foreget all i said, simply do not come to croatia, we will not miss you
Mario, I completely disagree with your gibberish about Macedonian. The FACT is that every time I spoke it, I received a response. Once again, you make things personal and using the excuse to include Serbia in your comment is just childish.
Mario – all you seem to keep doing is supporting all that has been written concerning the bullying culture towards tourists. In almost – and I say almost because I can’t say all – situations I was met with attitudes such as yours. I have traveled all through Asia, Europe, Eastern Europe, and Croatia rank (with a few others) at the top of my list of arrogance and bullying towards tourists. It is a beautiful country – but there are a lot of beautiful countries and cultures that are kind and appreciative towards tourism.
On the Serbia issue, I was constantly told by Croats that the EU wouldn’t accept (though it is currently in the process of) Croatia into it because of, what the Croats termed, their “bad neighbors” – Croats couldn’t understand that it was due to Croatia’s own issues and their ability or inability to get their house in order. Their distaste for Serbians is very present to tourists – which is something the country will have to learn to deal with in what they present to people who travel far to get there. Driving from Split to Dubrovnik, through the Serbian check point, is not a great tourism experience.
nevermid, just forget that i said anything
simply, do not come here, problem solved
ps: it must be some other mario mangaing my tourist bussines, when my guests likes me sooo much, aussies included … or maybe i do not understand english well enough, who can tell …
ohh, just now i noticed “serbian check point”
well, thank god, we solved all serbian check points in croatia in 1995, once and for all
serbian issue in croatia is case closed, we do not even think about them anymore
A pretty amusing read from a Croatian perspective. Some of your grievances sound very valid, and I’d certainly agree much has to be done to improve quality of service in Croatia, especially in parts of the country with a shorter tourism tradition. But I’d like to tackle the “genuine smiles” issue, as someone whose family has been in tourism for many decades.
Has it really never occurred to you that people in Bolivia and Thailand were so friendly precisely because they’re poorer? They’re thrilled at having tourists and ready to bend over backwards to get an extra dollar. My grandparents were the same when they started, back in the 50s. They chatted to them with mega-watt smiles, no matter how dull and irritating the tourists might have been. By the 70s they’d put their children through school and become more comfortable financially, and the impetus for pretending to always be happy and enchanted by every tourist was gone. Don’t get me wrong, my family are still polite to tourists and the service is not lacking. But the age when they had to have a smile plastered on their face at all times is long gone, thank god. The tourism industry is hell on the service providers. Especially at the ridiculously low prices necessary to stay competitive in the rooms/apartments market in all but the most elite tourist spots in Croatia. Most tourism workers can’t wait for end of season, when they get to see the backs of the tourists. Yes, even in Bolivia and Thailand. Especially there, I’d say, since people have so many other things to worry about in life.
Tourists are perfectly entitled to choose another destination for their next holiday, of course. It’s just slightly misguided when they act as if they were somehow wronged by people not being exhilerated at the sight of them. Or when they just about ask for their money back because they weren’t smiled at often enough. Also, maybe it’s because I grew up surrounded by tourism, but I can’t understand why people want those plastered on smiles anyway. They’re smiling at your money, not you. There are exceptions sometimes: some tourism workers are genuinely friendly and cheerful in the extreme, or sometimes tourists and tourism workers really do connect (I know of quite a few lifetime friendships started that way), but in most cases they’re just counting the seconds till you leave.
Also, about your room having mosquitos? A friendly tip: almost all rooms in Croatia in the summer have mosquitos from time to time (sometimes happens when parks maintenance aren’t punctual with their spraying, but can also happen despite it… either way, out of accommodation providers’ hands). If a tourist is bothered by them so greatly, they can simply pop into the nearest store and get the very affordable little mosquito-repellent machine thingy (can’t recall its name in English):
Anyway, to sum it all up: tourists are a dime a dozen in Croatia nowadays (to my perpetual grief; IMO we should focus more on building up proper, stable industries, less stressful to our people, infrastructure and environment). It doesn’t take much to figure out why they smile at tourists less than the Bolivians.
Thanks for your insightful comment, Ana. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression – I don’t need plastic smiles when I’m travelling – that certainly isn’t the reason that we won’t be running back to Croatia. I need to re-read this post again but I think I mentioned the examples of Thailand and Bolivia simply because of the taxi driver’s comment about the fact that everyone was so unhappy was because of their economic situation. I think it has come across to you that I expected the locals to fawn all over me, which is certainly not the case. When I’m travelling I actually prefer to just blend in – and thus receive a similar treatment as any other person would. My feeling was quite opposite to that: a few people went out of their way to be unpleasant because we were foreign. That is the primary source of my dissatisfaction.
Personally, in every encounter with every human being I meet, whether I’m in a customer service situation or just on the street, I aim for a certain degree of pleasantness. Just the basic civilities. I realize that anywhere in the world you can encounter rudeness, ambivalence, whatever…the point is that to feel like nobody wants you around for two weeks when you’re visiting a place is just not appealing to me. And having travelled the world I have to say that nowhere did I feel not just fatigue towards tourism, but out and out hostility from a majority of people towards foreigners (not all), than during our time in Croatia. It is good to know from your comments that I don’t need to take this personally, it’s just the normal mode of operation. I think your idea of building up other industries is a very good one. Because certainly passion and enthusiasm for providing great service and at least a basic level of respect are in order if anyone is going to succeed in the tourism business. This is not something that any operator anywhere in the world can take for granted.
It is good to know from your comments that I don’t need to take this personally, it’s just the normal mode of operation
Well, I’m glad to be of any help to you, but,just to clarify, I certainly don’t mean to say that outright rudeness is the norm. There’s quite a bit of it, unfortunately, but definitely not the norm. It’s the very perfunctory attitude to dealing with tourists that’s quite par for the course (depending of course on the individual tourist worker, the region of Croatia, the season, the type of tourism in question – ie. mass vs. elite, etc. etc. ).
And from my experiences from travelling across Europe, my friendships with tourist workers from other countries (yep, mostly started while they were hosting me as a tourist, or when my family was hosting them), people’s feelings (or lack thereof) towards tourists are esentially similar (throughout Europe, at least). So I guess much really could be down to cultural peculiarities – ie. some cultures being more predisposed to smile a lot and make lots of small talk, whether they genuinely feel like doing it or not. (Not casting aspersions on people who do that, btw, I just personally don’t see the need, or miss it when other people don’t).
Of course, I don’t wish to push any issues of downright rudeness under the carpet. People like that have no excuse, but unfortunately, with the kind of unchecked, mostly mass, tourism taking place and growing on the Croatian coast, I can only realistically expect it to get worse. Take, for example, the cruisers which stop in Dubrovnik every couple of days, paralysing the entire city, only for the bazillions of tourists who stop off to spend virtually nothing in the city. All they do is lower the appeal of the city to tourists who actually do spend in the city and the quality of life for the locals. It’s a barely tolerable situation. I’m not blaming those tourists, of course, but the country’s inept administration and non-existent tourism plans and policies.
Also, I trust that you didn’t want people to fawn over you, which is great to hear. There are many who do, usually the same ones who are bitter at everything not being dirt cheap. Also, quite a few utterly uninformed people like Pamela. Unsurprisingly, can be quite frustrating for tourist workers, but also for locals not in the tourism sector (of which there are quite a few, me being one now too). Anyway, I sincerely hope you’ve had/will have a better time on your other travels. And that you’ll have better luck if for some reason you ever do find yourself in Croatia again.
Pamela, there is no Serbian checkpoint between Split and Dubrovnik. What there is is the state border of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (twice). Driving from Split, you cross into Bosnian territory, and soon after into Croatian territory again. It’s a historical thing, to do with the Ottoman Empire centuries ago. I won’t bore you with the details. Serbia is a coutry many, many miles to the East of that spot. It only borders Croatia (and Bosnia) on their eastern sides.
i told before that im quit with this, but it keep pops up in mailbox
so dear americans, aussiess and all others from far far away .. here is little bolog from american living in croatia, read it, it is really funny one
http://zablogreb.blogspot.com/?view=magazine#!/
Look Everyone, There is bound to be a spectrum of hospitality wherever you travel. It can seem exaggerated in either direction by how much you let someone else’s behavior affect you. I live in the Mid West and have vacationed in Miami (still home, right) only to be treated like a bothersome tourist because I didn’t use fluent Spanish when conversing with the service providers. ( I knew I should have studied harder in high school!) I say this because of the obvious welcoming generousity Spanish speakers were recieving around me. Then again my time spent in Australia was incredibly hospitable. Locals struck up conversations with my American co-ed group and spontaneuosly invited my group (about 7 of us) to follow him to his place so his Aunt could have us for tea. His family greeted us kindly and put out a huge meal for us, then we ranged their farm in cars to chase kangaroo herds, they demonstrated shearing sheep for us and took us back to our hotel. My friend and I were asked to join a beauty contest on the beach in Victoria, and we were invited to exclusive clubs in KIngs Cross. Life is what you make it- just try to spread the kindness you hope to find! Good Luck!
Great advice, Kathy – cheers!
I was in Croatia back in 2011 and I enjoyed it. I was in Vukovar, Osijek, Dubrovnik, Zagreb and many of the islands along the coast. I loved the country. The wine was amazing and food was so good. I would go back. I for some reason had the opposite experience then wrote here. I found people friendly and loyal. No one was aggressive except for the drivers on the road.
I did a week long sail of the Croatian islands. Was more of a booze cruise but still was nice. Enjoy swimming in the Adriatic Sea everyday. I would go back to Croatia any day. Plitivice lakes was amazing.
Thanks for sharing your experience, John – so glad to hear you had a great time in Croatia =)
I would agree with some points, but I definitely think that one should not generalize. Not all Croats are wonderful, but I don’t think that’s the case in any other country.
On the other side you just told it from your point of view, and honesty is to be appreciated.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience in Croatia. My husband was enjoying pictures of the beaches and I told him I really did not want to go to the Balkans because life is too short and there are so many other places I’d rather see.
Your article also convinced him that our time could be better spent in a more hospital destination.
Many of the beaches were prettier in pictures than practical for swimming we found. Personally I prefer a sand beach…just my opinion though…
My wife and I stayed in Lombarda for a week summer of 2011 and it was wonderful. After a couple of days in Zagreb to visit my cousin we headed to the beach. Zagreb was good, we visited the old town and market which was fun. Lombarda was wonderful. Found a 1 bd room with kitchen right by the water. We had kayaks, bikes all included. The owners, Bladzinka and Zoran, were great. Very warm and friendly. Found the rental on Air BnB. It was away from the tourist areas and very quiet. Had the beach practically to ourselves. Would go again in a heart beat but we’re heading to Bali in a few weeks!
I’m going there in a couple of weeks!!
Fantastic, Cathy – have a great time! =)
I just spent 2 weeks in Novi Sad and loved it. very romantic city with the view from Fortress. walking the river, ect.
Reading thru the comments it seems that Croatians get upset if given some constructive criticism. This could just be in their culture.
Anyways, Serbia and Macedonia has been awesome and very friendly people. Would recommend to anyone especially Novi Sad, Skopje an Lake Ohrid.
Im heading to Croatia knowing that if things suck…all I have to do in go back into Bosnia or back to Serbia. In over 1 year of travel I would put Novi Sad in my top 10 for people.
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