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First visit to Croatia in 11 days time, a few questions.

Hi all,
Am new to this forum, but not having much luck with responses on other forums so thought I'd ask a few questions here.
Will apologise in advance if they've been asked many times before.
We are staying in Trogir from the 4th - 18th August.

Question 1
We have read that Croatia is quite expensive for eating out, drinks etc, yet friends that have been said it's cheap, so slightly confused.
Whilst we don't have a budget, We aren't the type to eat in high end restaurants.
Neither of us particularly have starters, so would be main meals and maybe a pudding.
My wife would generally drink either house Róse or Bacardi/ouzo type drinks, but not a big drinker.
I on the other hand do like a few beers with and after a meal, just relaxing and people watching.
So as a rough guide what could we expect to pay on a night out.
I like fish, but prefer to eat what the locals eat, and my wife is a pasta/chicken/salad sort of eater.

Question 2
Are we better off buying currency in the U.K. or exchanging when in Croatia.

Question 3
Looking to spend a couple of days in Dubrovnik.
Thinking of doing a boat trip to Dubrovnik rather than a long coach journey.
So are we better off booking in advance for a room for a couple of nights, or do it on arrival, when we have a better idea of when we want to go.

Question 4
Is it true that Croatia has black widow spiders?
If so what precautions do we need to take so as not to have any problems.
Niether of us are big fans of spiders!!!!

Thank you all in advance, and again apologies if they've been asked before.

Chris

Posted by
5362 posts

You can walk across the entire town of Trogir in about 5 minutes, so plan on day trips as two weeks there will be long.

Q1 - I don't know what you consider cheap or expensive, but we find Croatia to be much cheaper than Austria. There will be a range of touristy/expensive to hole in the wall. As Trogir is really a town of tourists, you can expect to pay more there than in other places.

Q2 - You are best to use the ATM to withdraw cash in Croatia.

Q3 - To save time, it seems best to book in advance.

Q4 - Never seen them, but I wouldn't overly worry. We have seen many scorpions.

Posted by
3777 posts

Never mind the black widow spiders, i have never seen one, look out for sea urchins when swimming off a pier or near rocks, they attach themselves to a wet, smooth surface.. A splinter from one of those guys is extremely difficult to extract.

Posted by
3039 posts

Wow, 2 weeks in Trogir. That's a pretty long time in a small town. I would plan on day trips to Sibenik, Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik. Also Krka Park and Plitvice Lakes Park. Someone said you could cross Trogir in 1 hour. I would say 2 hours.

I have never seen a spider in Croatia. I am sure that they are there. With black widows, they like rubbish heaps or mulch piles. Don't go rummaging in any mulch piles would be my advice.

As to transit to Dubrovnik, there is a ferry to Split which takes 1.5 hours, and then another ferry to Dubrovnik. Both are inexpensive, fun, and quick. We didn't get more than 2 hours before leaving reservation. In my opinion, you can get better prices by looking in advance.

Posted by
5 posts

Thanks for the replies.
We kind of chose Trogir (we aren't actually in Trogir (We're across the bridge on the island) as it was small, close to split and has water taxis etc to other islands etc.
It's more of a relaxation holiday, but we do like to go out and about. Not really people to sir on a beach or by the pool all day.
Out of interest, where would you stay to be in a better place to get to everything?
We like quaint small hotels, where you're a person rather than a number if that makes sense.
Reason I ask, is I could still possibly cancel, and not have to pay a fee!!!!
Always open to ideas.
Chris

Posted by
3039 posts

I would stay in Trogir for 3-4 days, possibly doing a day trip to Sibenik. Then I would go to Split for 3-4 days, and finish up in Dubrovnik for 4-5 days. You need to return to your flight, of course.

Posted by
19 posts

We just came back from a trip to Croatia. I found dubrovnik to be quite expensive. Even the main dishes. Best way, stop by a grocery store and pick up a bottle of wine and a few beers. This will save you a bunch of money.

As for getting the Kuna's I would suggest using Euro's to buy something and getting change back in Kuna's.

Posted by
2119 posts

If you like islands, you might try squeezing a few nights in Vis into your schedule. Maybe spend 3-4 nights in Trogir, then 1-2 in Split, take a ferry to Vis for 3-4 days, then end in Dubrovnik.

Vis is a small island with a busy yacht harbor. Across the island from the main harbor town is an incredibly beautiful, small fishing village called Komiza, where I recommend you stay. From Komiza, on a clear sunny day, you can take a boat trip to Bisevo, a beautiful blue cave.

There's an early morning (5ish?) ferry from Vis back to Split, and you can then catch the bus to Dubrovnik. There may be later ferries as well -- you can check schedules. Anyway, you hop off the ferry and just walk across the street to the bus depot. Buses to Dubrovnik leave frequently (every hour?). You can buy your ferry ticket and check bus schedules when you arrive in Split. It's not a bad bus ride ... takes about 4 hours but is scenic.

Note: edited to add links to Komiza and Bisevo. We were there in September, when it was empty. Sounds like August might be busy so you might need reservations quickly.

Posted by
3039 posts

I don't really agree with the idea of using Euros. First, it's not respectful of the locals. Second, you get a bad conversion rate. Easy to find a bankomat, and get kunas in country.

Posted by
5 posts

Yeah I wont be using Euros.
To exchange from British Pound into euros is a rubbish rate at the best of times.
I will bring enough Kunas to get us through the first few days then probably just withdrawer Kunas from the ATM's.

Posted by
1473 posts

How was your trip? What did you learn? Would love to hear more about your experiences.

Posted by
3039 posts

2 years ago, we took the boat from Split to Trogir for the day. We went to a waterfront restaurant, and had the "seafood platter for 2" which at the time was 265 K (about $40 US), which seemed OK - maybe a little high by some standards, but not bad in our opinion. We have always found the food in Croatia to be reasonable, but not dirt cheap.