|
Travel documentation:
Passport or some other identification
document recognized by the international agreement. Tourists may remain
in Croatia for up to three months.
Information: diplomatic missions of the Republic of Croatia abroad
or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Croatia (Tel:
01 4569 964, www.mvp.hr)
Customs:
There are no customs fees for
personal belongings. Foreign currency can be imported and exported
freely. Domestic currency up to the value of 2,000 Kuna can
be exported. Professional and technical equipment of significant value
should be reported when entering the country. Pets must have adequate
international veterinary certificates.
VAT
refund for foreign citizens:
Tourists making purchases in
Croatia (apart from petroleum derivatives), which exceed 500 Kuna
per bill, may reclaim VAT (‘PDV’). When purchasing, ask the salesperson
for form PDV-P, which they should then fill out and stamp. On leaving
Croatia the receipt has to be verified by the Croatian Customs Service.
A PDV refund in Kuna can be obtained within six months either at 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 into which the refund should
be paid. In this case the refund is dealt with within 15 days of receipt
of the claim.
Working
hours:
Shops and department stores
are open between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to
2 p.m. or 3 p.m. A smaller number of stores close between noon and
4 p.m. Many stores are also open on Sundays especially in the summer,
and a smaller number in the larger cities are open 24 hours a day.
Public services and companies: 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.
National
holidays:
1 January - New Year’s Day
Easter, including Easter Monday
1 May – Labour Day
Corpus Christi (Movable feast)
30 May – Croatian Sabor day (normal working day)
22 June – Anti-Fascist Resistance Day
25 June – Statehood Day
5 August – Victory Day and National Thanksgiving Day
15 August – Assumption Day
8 October – Independence Day
1 November – All Saints’ Day
25 & 26 December – Christmas
Medical
care:
Medical assistance is available
in hospitals providing emergency service around the clock.
Foreign Tourists do
not pay for medical services if a Health Care Convention has been
signed between Croatia and the country they come from. Expenses for
health services provided to persons coming from countries with which
a Health Care Convention was not signed are charged directly to users
according to a price list.
For patients in mortal
danger, emergency helicopter transport is available.
Post
and Telecommunications:
Post offices are open on weekdays
from 7 a.m. to post offices in the larger cities which are open until
10 p.m. in the summer. Stamps are sold in post offices and at newsstands.
Public phones can be
uses only with phone cards. These can be bought in post offices and
at newsstands, hotels and tourist complexes.
HT-CRONET (098) has
a roaming arrangement with 144 GSM operators in 66 countries around
the world. Guest-users of GSM can call the GSM information service
on 9120 for further information.
VIP-NET GSM (091) has
a roaming contract with 101 GSM operators in 44 countries around the
world. Guest-users of GSM can call the GSM information service on
0917700 for further information
Useful
telephone numbers:
Police 92, Fire Brigade 93,
Ambulance 94, Information on local and long-distance telephone numbers
988, Information on international telephone number 902, Weather forecast
and road conditions 060 520 520, General information 981, Roadside
Assistance 987, Croatian Auto Club (HAK) – information on road conditions
01 464-0800, Internet: www.hak.hr,
Email: info@hak.hr
Radio
programs in foreign languages:
On the second channel of Croatian
Radio, on 98.5 MHz, form June to September, following the news in
Croatian, there will be reports on Croatian road conditions in English,
German and Italian broadcast by the Croatian Automobile Association.
There will also be twice-daily reports for nautical tourists in the
same languages. Also on the Second Channel of Croatian radio, every
hour on the hour, news and reports on the condition of roads are broadcast
directly from the studios of : the Third Program of Bavarian Radio,
the Third program of Austrian Radio, RAI Uno and British Virgin Radio.
National
parks:
Brijuni, Kornati, Krka, Mljet,
Paklenica, Plitvice Lakes, Risnjak and North Velebit.
Nature
Parks:
Biokovo, Kopački Rit,
Lonjsko Polje, Medvednica, Papuk, Telašćica, Učka, Vransko
Lake, Velebit and the Žumberak-Samobor Highlands.
Cultural and historical
monuments on the UNESCO
World
Heritage list:
Diocletian’s palace in Split,
the old center of Trogir, the Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč, the
city of Dubrovnik – dating from the 13th century and with
arguably the world’s best preserved Renaissance towers and walls,
Plitvice Lakes National Park and the cathedral in Šibenik. There are
numerous other historical and cultural monuments of exceptional beauty,
such as: Vespasian amphitheatre in Pula, the towns of Krk, Rab, Hvar,
one of the oldest public theatres in the world on the island of Hvar,
the church of St. Donat in Zadar, etc., as well as around 50 medieval
castles in inland Croatia.
Major
Cultural Events:
Zagreb Summer Festival
International Folk Dance Festival, Zagreb
International Children’s Festival in Šibenik (June, July)
Dubrovnik Summer Festival (10 July – 25 August)
Dakovo Embroidery (July)
Split Summer (July, August)
Music Evenings in St. Donat, Zadar (July, August)
Sinjska Alka (5 August)
Istrian Cultural Summer
Vinkovci Autumn (September)
Varaždin Baroque Evenings (September, October)
Holy
sites:
Mother of God of Bistrica,
Mother of God of Trsat, our Lady of Sinj. Our Lady of the Island of
Solin, the Shrine of our Lady of Voćin, Our Lady of Consolation
– Aljmaš, Mother of God of Remete, Mother of God of Jerusalem – Krapina,
the Shrine of Jesus Christ’s Precious Blood – Ludbreg, St. Joseph’s
– Karlovac.
|