Hello fellow travelers, my family and I will be taking a cruise in October. Our first stop is Dubrovnik. We will be there from 10 to 2300. It's 13 hours but I figure 11 or 12 at the most. My question is, I know Croatia doesn't use the Euro, should change some money or are we OK with using Euros? Thank you.
Raymond
In June 2018, I found that most shopkeepers and restaurants in the Old City took euros or kuna but if you want to walk up on the city walls (HIGHLY recommended!), the city might require kuna as payment. However, there are ATM machines within a one minute walk of the Pile Gate access to the walls, (there are ATMs all up and down the Stradum, the main walking street) so you could try your euros, and if need be just resort to pulling out just a few euros from an ATM.
Use the local currency (this applies to Croatia as much as any other country) - it's available in every ATM. No need to "change money" in the US. Using Euros will just subject you to an arbitrary exchange rate at the choosing of each vendor you're dealing with.
I would estimate how much kuna you might need and then withdraw a slightly smaller amount. If you run short, you can always make a second small withdrawal or pay for a few things in euro. That's better than paying the sometimes-steep cushion that vendors build in to make sure they don't lose money on the exchange.
Thank you again guys for the advice. Frank, I think that is what we'll do, figure how much we might spend and take out enough for that day.
We found that cab drivers to and from the cruise port to Old Town were insisting on Euros. Inside the walls and the wall itself we paid in Kunas.
We found that cab drivers to and from the cruise port to Old Town were
insisting on Euros.
That's sure sign that a rip off is taking place (and it's obvious that they're targeting cruise passengers who often don't know better). No one has a legal right to ask someone to pay in a foreign currency just so they can benefit.
Exactly, try to use local currency (Croatian kuna, HRK). Dubrovnik's tourism is booming by the year and cab drivers and other touristy destinations are always looking to rip off foreigners. While some places are accepting euros as well, you're much better off using kunas, as they sometimes tend to round up the price to euros to a higher margin, of course.
For a day in Dubrovnik, I believe several hundred kunas (max 500) should be enough, but it all depends on how many of you are and what you plan on doing, of course.
Thank you again. That is great advice. Since the ship will be in port for 13 hours, I figure we can walk to the city and maybe stop at an ATM along the way and take out money there. Talking with my family, we'll probably have lunch and do some shopping, nothing major, but we do enjoy buying art from local artists as well as a couple of small items here or there, postcard and things. We may go back to the ship for dinner but are not 100% sure of our plans yet. We still have a lot of time,although I know it goes by fast, my family doesn't get excited about the planning until we are closer to the dates.
