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| F.A.Q. |
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General Information |
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Eat |
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| If you buy goods worth more than 500 kuna you are entitled to a PDV (VAT) tax return when leaving the country. Note that this applies to all goods except petroleum products. At point of purchase ask the sales person for a PDV-P form. Fill it out and have it stamped on the spot. On leaving Croatia the receipt will be verified by the Croatian Customs service. A PDV refund in Kunas can be obtained within six months, either at the same shop where you bought the goods (in that case the tax will be refunded to you 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. There is another, much easier way to receive the refund. Buy your goods in shops with a "CROATIA TAX-FREE SHOPPING" label. This label is displayed on the shop's entrance, usually next to the labels of credit and debit cards this particular shop accepts. Using an international coupon, refund is possible in all countries-members of the TAX-FREE international chain. In this case the service charge is deducted from the tax refund amount. |
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Talk |
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Many Croatians speak English as their second language, but Italian and German are very popular too(largely because of the large annual influx of Italian and German tourists). People in the tourist industry most often speak quite good English, as does the younger generation, especially in the tourist areas of Istria, along the coast down to Dubrovnik, and in the capital, Zagreb. Elder people will rarely speak English, but you shouldn't have any problems if you switch to German or, in some cases, Russian.
Croatian is not an easy language to learn, but the people like when foreign travellers use it for basic things such as greeting and thanking.
The Croatian language is not identical with Serbian, Bosnian or Bosniak, but is similar. They are mutual intelligible but people in Croatia will usually frown upon attempts to pass words and expressions used in surrounding countries off as Croatian. |
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| Capital : |
Zagreb |
| Government : |
parliamentary democracy |
| Currency : |
kuna (HRK) |
| Area : |
56,542 sq km |
| Population : |
4,494,749 (July 2006 est.) |
| Language : |
Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) |
| Religion : |
Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other Christian 0.4%, others and unknown 6.1% |
| Electricity : |
230V/50Hz (European plug) |
| Calling Code : |
+385 |
| Internet TLD : |
.hr |
| Time Zone : |
UTC +1 |
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Croatia |
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| Croatia is a country in Southern Europe on the east side of the Adriatic Sea, to the east of Italy. It is surrounded by Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the north, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the east, Serbia in the northeast and Montenegro in the south east. |
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Climate |
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| Northern Croatia has a temperate continental climate whereas central, semi-mountainous and mountainous regions have a mountainous climate. The entire Adriatic coast has a pleasant Mediterranean climate. Spring and autumn are mild along the coast, while winter is cold and snowy in central and northern regions. The average temperature in the inland in January ranges from 0 to 2°C, August 19 to 23°C. The average temperature at the seaside is higher: January 6 to 11°C, August 21 to 27°C. |
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Drink |
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| Alcoholic: Try many different kinds of wines. Also worth trying is rakija,a trype of brandy which can be made of plum (šljivovica), grapes (loza), figs (smokovača) and many other types of fruit and aromatic herbs. Pelinkovac is a bitter herbal liquor popular in Central Croatia, but is said to resemble in flavour to cough-medicine. Non-alcoholic: Sometimes although very rarely you may find "sok od bazge" (elder-berry juice) in the continental region. Worth trying! |
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