Things to Know Before Visiting Croatia: 10 Honest Tips for First Time Visitors 2026
- tailormadetravels
- May 26
- 7 min read
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Croatia is one of the most beautiful countries I have visited in fifty countries of travel. It is also a country with a few surprises that nobody quite prepares you for before your first trip. I know this because I watched a stranger learn the sea urchin lesson the hard way in Hvar, wandered onto a naturist beach on Lokrum Island without realising it and once had to navigate the Croatian healthcare system with an eye issue in Split. All of that happened. All of it is in this post. Here are ten things to know before visiting Croatia for the first time.
1. Can You Drink the Tap Water in Croatia?
Yes. Absolutely yes. Croatia has excellent tap water quality throughout the country including on the islands. This is genuinely one of the best pieces of news you will receive before your trip because staying hydrated in a Croatian summer without buying bottled water every five minutes makes a meaningful difference to both your budget and your environmental footprint.
Fill your water bottle at the tap. Drink freely. Move on with your day.
2. Do You Need Water Shoes in Croatia?
Yes. This is not optional advice. This is the single most important packing tip I can give you for Croatia and almost nobody mentions it before your first trip.
Croatia's beaches are mostly beautiful white stone, not sand. They are stunning to look at and genuinely comfortable to sit on. Getting into the water however is a different matter entirely because those same stones are home to sea urchins. Spiky, enthusiastic, absolutely everywhere sea urchins who have no interest in your holiday plans.
I watched a group of Australian guys in Hvar jumping into the water having the time of their lives until one of them wasn't. He made his way out with blood streaming down his foot and a look on his face that said everything water shoes would have prevented. The sea urchin won that round.
Bring water shoes. Pack them first before anything else goes in the bag. Your feet will thank you and so will the people watching from the shore.
A practical note on beach footwear: consider shoes that work both in and out of the water. We use Keen sandals which go from the beach to the rocks to dinner without needing to change. One pair of shoes that does everything is always the right answer when you are travelling with a carry on bag.
3. What Does FKK Mean on Croatian Beaches?
Croatia has naturist beaches. They are very common, particularly on the islands and along the Istrian coast, and they are marked with a sign that reads FKK. This stands for Frei Körper Kultur, a German phrase meaning free body culture.
Learn this before you go. We did not know it on our first trip.
We took a little boat from Dubrovnik over to Lokrum Island with our lunch and our swimming gear, had a lovely walk around the island and eventually wandered up to what looked like a perfectly pleasant beach. We saw some people in the water. The water was very, very clear. So was everything else. We found the FKK sign on the way back.
If you see an FKK sign on a Croatian beach you now know what it means.
4. Does Croatia Use the Euro?
Yes. Croatia switched to the euro in January 2023. The old currency, the Kuna, is no longer in circulation so there is no need to research or source Kuna before your trip. Euros work everywhere and the transition has been seamless.
We found the overall cost of Croatia to be very comparable to what we pay back home in Canada. Groceries, eating out, accommodation, all roughly in line with what you would expect to pay at home. It is not a cheap destination, particularly in peak summer, but it is not significantly more expensive than Italy or France either. Budget sensibly and you will be fine.
5. How Do You Access Cash in Croatia?
Croatia has been moving toward card payments in recent years and a viewer recently told me they found cards more widely accepted than they expected. That is good news and worth knowing.
That said I still recommend always having some local cash on you. Smaller coffee houses, local restaurants, boat trips and market stalls can still prefer cash and some operate on a cash only basis. If you are caught without it you might find yourself leaving your table to find an ATM while the waiter waits. It happens. It is not the highlight of anyone's holiday.
ATMs are widely available throughout Croatia. For the best experience use well established Croatian banks. Two reliable options are Zagrebačka banka and Privredna banka Zagreb. Screenshot those names before you go. Your future self will thank you.
Withdraw cash once a week rather than making small withdrawals frequently. This minimises your bank and exchange fees which add up quickly over a two week trip. Use your credit card for larger purchases like accommodation and car rentals where it makes sense and keep cash on hand for daily spending.
One more thing before you leave home. Check both your debit and credit cards. Look at them properly. If either is worn, delaminated or the chip looks questionable get a replacement before you travel. A card rejected at an ATM in Split with no cash alternative is not the start to a holiday you want.
6. Do You Need a Car in Croatia?
It depends entirely on where you are going and what you want to do.
For the Dalmatian coast route, Split to Hvar to Korcula to Dubrovnik, you do not need a car. The Jadrolinija ferry systemconnects all the major destinations reliably and you can walk on as a foot passenger with your luggage. Book ferry tickets in advance in summer as the routes fill up faster than you would expect.
One thing worth knowing about the Jadrolinija car ferries: they load cars from both ends of the boat simultaneously which can make boarding feel chaotic the first time. Follow the crew's directions and do not worry about the cars coming from the other direction. It looks worse than it is.
For the Istrian peninsula you absolutely need a car. The hilltowns, the secondary roads, the truffle country, the hidden coves. None of it is accessible without one. The roads are excellent, the scenery makes every drive worth it and the secondary roads are half the experience. Search car rentals in Croatia here.
7. Do You Need an International Driving Permit for Croatia?
Technically no. Croatia does not require an international driving permit for most nationalities including Canadians. However we have always travelled with one and I would recommend getting one before you go.
It costs approximately 25 dollars Canadian and takes about an hour to obtain through CAA. In years of driving through Croatia we have never once been asked to produce it by a rental agency or a police officer. We have always been glad we had it. Just in case.
Policies can change and rental agency requirements vary. Check with your specific rental agency before you travel to confirm their current requirements.
8. What Croatian Phrases Should You Learn Before You Go?
Most Croatians in tourist areas speak excellent English and you will rarely struggle to communicate. That said learning a few basic phrases before you go is always worth the effort. It is a sign of respect and gratitude and Croatians genuinely appreciate the attempt even when the pronunciation is somewhat creative.
Here are six phrases that will serve you well:
Bok: Hello and goodbye. Casual and widely used.
Dobar dan: Good day. More formal greeting.
Hvala: Thank you.
Molim: Please.
Da: Yes.
Ne: No.
You will almost certainly say all of them wrong. The locals will smile anyway. Sometimes the smile is warm appreciation. Sometimes it might be amusement at your pronunciation. Either way you get the smile and that is what matters.
9. Is Croatia Safe to Visit?
Yes. Croatia is one of the safer European destinations for independent travellers including solo travellers. Street crime is low, violent crime is rare and the general atmosphere in tourist areas is relaxed and welcoming.
Standard travel precautions apply as they do anywhere. Keep an eye on your belongings in crowded areas like the Dubrovnik Stradun or Split's Peristil courtyard where cruise ship crowds gather in summer. Consider an anti-theft crossbody bag with RFID blocking for daily use. We use the Waterfly crossbody sling bag which has RFID blocking built in and sits comfortably across the body all day without feeling like a burden.
Croatia is also LGBTQ+ friendly in the main tourist areas and cities. Attitudes in smaller rural areas may be more conservative as is common across the region.
10. What Are the People of Croatia Like?
Croatia initially surprised me with how reserved the people can seem at first. But reserve is not the same as unfriendly. In my experience Croatian people are genuinely warm, proud of their country and quietly go out of their way to make visitors feel welcome.
The clearest example I can give you happened in Split. I needed emergency medical care for an eye issue and had no idea what to expect in a foreign healthcare system. The nurses were patient and kind. The doctors were thorough and reassuring. When their equipment broke down mid-appointment the doctor personally arranged for me to continue at his private clinic at no extra cost. He did not have to do that. He did it anyway.
That experience told me everything I needed to know about Croatia and its people.
One More Thing: The Entry Exit System
If you are planning a European trip in 2026 you need to know about the EU's new Entry Exit System which became fully operational in April 2026. No pre-registration is required but budget extra time at border control on your first entry into the Schengen zone. Download the Travel to Europe app before you go to pre-load your data and speed up the process at the border.
The Honest Bottom Line
Croatia rewards travellers who arrive prepared. Know your beaches, bring water shoes, carry cash, check your cards and learn at least six words of Croatian before you board the plane.
Everything else you will figure out as you go. That is honestly half the fun.
For everything else you need to know about planning a Croatia trip, start with our complete island hopping itinerary from Split to Dubrovnik, read our full Dubrovnik guide if the old city is on your list, or explore the Istrian peninsula road trip guide if you want the Croatia most North Americans have never heard of. The planning resources are all there. The water shoes are up to you.
Have questions about visiting Croatia for the first time? Drop them in the comments below. I have been multiple times and I am happy to answer everything I know.
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