"Croatia - the summary of Europe." Top 5 Page for this destination Croatia by diocletianvs

Croatia Travel Guide: 16,219 reviews and 34,039 photos

Hrvatska.hr

SOME FACTS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT CROATIA

Croatia within Europe

- 2-letter Internet abbreviation of the country is "hr". This is short of "Hrvatska", which is local name of Croatia. Although I'm sure that you can pronounce letters "h", "r" and "v", I'm also pretty sure that you'll have problems pronouncing them together. (Back to the Internet: Croatia is one of the few countries that has its homepage - www.hr is usually a good start for your hr-Internet search )

- We lived more than 800 years in various kinds of union with Hungary. We don't speak HungaroCroatian. We lived 72 years in union with Serbia. Surprisingly, but we don't speak SerboCroatian either. One of the main elements of our national identity is Croatian language.

- In 1409 king Ladislav sold Dalmatia (coastal part of Croatia) to Venice for 100,000 ducats. That's why guy from Dalmatian island who speaks Croatian with many words from Italian will have troubles understanding guy from Medjimurje who speaks Croatian with many words from German, Slovenian and Hungarian.

- If you learn some Croatian words from a book (like "rajcica" = tomato) you won't be able to use it anywhere: in continental part people will call it "paradajz", on the coast it will be "pomodor". Same goes for skartoc / skarnicl - words for "papirnata vrecia" (official for paper bag you'll need for tomatos :-) And please, if you're coming from the continent, don't refer to the sea as to the water - It's called more.

- Balkans in geographical terms starts south of Sava river. That leaves Zagreb and Slavonia in central Europe. Mediterranean influence is defined with the area where you can grow olives and figs - this includes coastal parts of Croatia. Although you will find many influences (like strong, Turkish coffee which is prepared all over Croatia), if you're interested only in Balkans you'll be quite disappointed here.

- Yes, we were a part of Yugoslavia, which was a socialist country. But we always had our passports to go freely abroad and never had eastern airplanes. You'll have troubles finding someone that speaks Russian since we almost never learned it at schools. Our capital city Zagreb doesn't have a metro built by former Soviet Union, it is situated western (16,0E) than Vienna (16,4E), at the same distance from Paris as from Athens, closer to Madrid than to Moscow.

Europe map: Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection

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Towns in Croatia

- If you drive from Split to Dubrovnik you'll have to pass a border crossing twice. That's because small part of the coast belongs to Bosnia and Herzegovina. If you take Zagreb suburban commuter train until its last stop, you'll need a passport since its first/last stop is in Dobova, Slovenia. Pula in Istria is connected by railroad only to Ljubljana (in Slovenia), and not to main Croatian rail network. Croatian port of Rijeka was built for Hungarian export, port of Ploèe is used mainly by Bosnian companies. Country's peculiar shape is described as banana, boomerang and bread roll. If you lean your head to the left, you might even see a butterfly!

- Story says that Croats invented a necktie (scarf a la Croate which became known as la cravat). Faust Vrancic (1551 - 1617) from Sibenik invented the first parachute. Ivan Vucetic (1858-1925) from Hvar invented dactyloscopy (fingerprint identification). Nikola Tesla (1858-1943), the father of the radio and electric technology also originates from Croatia. Slavoljub Penkala from Zagreb invented the ball-point pen and fountain pen in 1906. Whether Dalmatian dogs originate from Croatia is widely discussed, but it is for sure that their name is somehow connected to Dalmatia.

- James Joyce was teaching English in Pula from 1904 to 1905. Agatha Christie spent her second honeymoon in Dubrovnik and Split. Shakespeare's Twelfth Night was set in Dalmatia. George Bernard Shaw said: "Those who seek paradise on earth should come to Dubrovnik". The first naturists in Croatia were Edward VIII and his beloved Wallis Simpson who were spotted without their clothes in 1936 on the island of Rab. And English still refer to Croatia as to the "Best kept secret of Europe" .!?

Welcome to Croatia - Dobrodosli u Hrvatsku!

Pros and Cons

Pros:The summary of Europe
Cons:I'll keep that for myself
In a nutshell:It might get crowded here - visit 'till it's not too late!

Intro Updated Jun 10, 2004
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Reviews (42)

Weekends to avoid Warnings Or Dangers (1)

If you can, try to avoid traveling on one of notorious weekends during the summer. Traffic jams are the worst on weekend... more travel advice

Must Hear: Yammat Local Customs (10)

Although they are only four years old Yammat are already rather popular band on local Zagreb radio stations and usually... more travel advice

Must Hear: JINX Local Customs (10)

"One has to stop when it's the best" was one of the JINX's best songs and unfortunately they stopped their career as a... more travel advice

Must Hear: Maksim Mrvica Local Customs (10)

It was only after he won four Porins (Croatian Grammies) that he became internationally famous - Sibenik born pianist... more travel advice

Transportation (10)
See All Buses (coaches) online
What to Pack (1)
A must-have guidebook
Off The Beaten Path (2)
See All Wall of Pain (2)

Sports & Outdoors (1)
Coccoball
Shopping (4)
See All Croatian souvenirs (4): Taste of...
Favorites (13)
See All Croatia Internet Resources

Comments (73)

Nemorino Aug 6, 2011 at 12:14 PM Report Abuse

Good to see you online again. I’ve just been looking at the new tips and updates that you have added to this page since August 2007. Very interesting and informative tips on your home country!
BruceDunning Jun 28, 2010 at 2:21 PM Report Abuse

Dobra Dan-yes, I learned some of Hrvatski before taking our trip that was end to end. We thought it was a great place with many sites and history. Your comment helped in our planning.
Advnt Dec 18, 2009 at 11:23 AM Report Abuse

In A Nutshell: "It might get crowded here - visit 'till it's not too late!" - SOOOOOO TRUUUUUE! I loved Croatia, truly the jewel of the Adriatic.
german_eagle Aug 31, 2009 at 1:52 PM Report Abuse

Excellent updates since my last visit on this page. And the old tips are still as good as before :-)
Cool-123 Apr 19, 2009 at 8:18 PM Report Abuse

Great tips!! I am planning to go to Croatia in Jul.
HORSCHECK Nov 9, 2008 at 5:41 AM Report Abuse

Niksa, I can't believe that I never head a look at your fabulous Croatia page. I especially like your tips about the language. Unfortunately I missed the wall of Pain in Zagreb. Your Rough Guide is indeed a very good guide book. *winkygrin*
nora_south_africa Apr 20, 2008 at 5:20 AM Report Abuse

good tips thanx
blint Feb 19, 2008 at 6:23 PM Report Abuse

I would still love to move to Croatia one day!!!! From my one weeks stay I really fell in love with the people and the place!!!!!!!
Ekaterinburg Sep 16, 2007 at 9:01 AM Report Abuse

Zdravo from Cork ( hope I got that right) ! This page contains a wealth of practical information and deals with every potential question a visitor might have. I will come back to the language guide to learn a few words. Hvala Niksa :))
Kuznetsov_Sergey May 9, 2007 at 11:47 AM Report Abuse

Fundamental made Croatia travel guide! I wish I could ever use it when visiting your very attractive country. Thanks Niksa for a post card from VT-meeting, it was very pleasant!