General information about Croatia

ENTRY DOCUMENTS REQUIRED
Passport or some other form of identification is needed. Visitors can stay up to three months. Vehicle papers required are the registration booklet (automobile registration card), an international motor vehicle insurance certificate (a green card) and a valid drivers licence.

CUSTOMS
For personal belongings there are no custom fees. Other items, such as radio telephone, all sorts of professional, technical and sporting equipment, can be freely brought into the country as long they are properly declared at the frontier. Foreign currency can be imported and exported freely. Domestic currency up to value of 2.000 Kuna can be exported. Pets must have adequate vet certificates.

MONEY
The official currency of the Republic of Croatia is the kuna (divided into 100 lipa). Foreign currency can be changed in banks, official exchange offices and post offices, most tourist agencies and hotels. Eurocheques can be exchanged only in banks. For all goods and services credit cards, as well as cash, can be used to pay (AmEx, Diners, EC/MC, Visa). Foreign citizens can get foreign currency back for unused kuna upon the presentation of an exchange receipt, but only in bank, when leaving Croatia. There are limits on the amount of Croatian currency that can be imported and exported.
Banking hours are 7am to 7pm from Monday to Friday. On Saturday these facilities are open until 1pm. In big cities, some banks are open on Sundays.

REGISTERING YOUR STAY
All the tourists have to be registered by the owners of accommodation with the local tourist community of the respective village or city. The tourist community is required to issue a written residence permit for each registered guest.

RENT A CAR
This service is available in all the larger towns, tourist resorts and airports. There is also taxi service in all towns and tourist resorts.

SPEED LIMITS
50km/h in inhabited areas, 80km/h outside inhabited areas (unless stated differently), 130km/h on highways. The maximum level of alcohol in the blood is 0.5 parts per thousand.

PETROL
Eurosuper 95, Eurosuper 98, Normal Lead Free 91, Super 98, Diesel and Euro diesel.

PETROL STATIONS
Gas stations are opened 24/7.

ELECTRICITY
220 V, 50 Hz

WATER
Tap water is drinkable through Croatia.

CLIMATE
Mediterranean climate along the Croatian Coast: hot and sunny days, refreshing and enjoyable evenings.

COUNTY HEALTH SERVICES
During the stay in Dalmatia, tourists have a right to health care in the Public Health Centers (Dom zdravlja), out-patient clinics and hospitals. The prices are nominal and correspond to the prices for Croatian citizens. Visitors from the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Great Britain need to to bring only their passports with them. Tourists from other countries should be in a possession of the proper form in addition to their passports. Slovenian guests can use their health cards. For special treatment in private establishments, guests pay the same as locals.

HEALTH CARE FOR PETS
There is a veterinary office in Split which offers treatment including X-ray examination and laboratory.

RADIO PROGRAMMES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
On the first channel of Croatian Radio, on 92.1 MHz, there are news in English every day at 08:30, 10:30, 14:30 and 20:30. On Sundays the first news begin at 09:30. On the second channel of Croatian Radio, on 98.5 MHz, from 1 July to 15 September, following the news in Croatian, there will be reports on Croatian road conditions in English, German and Italian broadcast by Croatian Automobile Association.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Post offices work from 7am to 7pm, and on Sundays until 1pm. There are post office in the bigger cities which are open until 10pm in the summer. Stamps are sold in post offices and at the newsstand or in post offices.
Public phones can be used only with phone cards. These can be bought in post offices, news-stand and hotels.

There are three GSM networks in Croatia - T-mobile, Tele2 and VIPNet (both operate on 900/1800 MHz). Croatian GSM providers have a commercial arrangement with GSM operators in numerous countries around the world. Guest-users of GSM can get additional information of GSM services in Croatia contacting following operators on:

T-mobile
www.t-mobile.hr

VIPNet
www.vip.hr

Tele2
www.tele2.com.hr

WORKING HOURS
Shops and department stores are open between 8am and 8pm, and on Saturdays from 8am to 2pm or 3pm. A smaller number of stores close between noon and 4pm.Many stores are open on Sundays too, especially in the summer, and smaller number in the bigger cities are open 24 hours a day. Firms and public services usually work from 8am to 4pm from Monday to Friday.

TIME ZONE
GMT +1 hour (in summer +2 hours).