Croatia is more expensive in the summer than it is from September to
May. Accommodation, boat fares, car rental and anything else relating to
tourism skyrockets in summer, reaching a peak in July and August. In
the high season, a double room costs about 300KN in a private residence
and 500KN to 1500KN in a three-star hotel, depending on the destination.
Rooms in Zagreb, Split and Rijeka
are about the same all year. Private owners usually add a 30% to 50%
surcharge for private rooms rented for less than four nights and some
insist on a seven-night minimum in high season. Hotels usually have no
minimum-stay requirements.
Concert and theatre tickets and museums
are cheap (concert and theatre tickets run from about 60KN to 200KN and
museums are about 15KN, except in Zagreb
where they are slightly more expensive); boat transport is also cheap
unless you take a car on board in which case you’ll pay around 120KN for
a short ride. The average intercity bus fare ranges from 40KN to 80KN.
You can easily get a pizza for 30KN, and a plate of pasta costs about
50KN even in the more expensive restaurants. Fish, meat and produce are
about the same price as elsewhere in Europe.
Backpackers
who stay in one place can plan on spending about 200KN a day. Staying
in nicely appointed private rooms, eating in moderate restaurants and
travelling along the coast costs about 400KN per day and at least double
that to stay in the best hotels and eat at the best restaurants.
Families are better off renting an apartment than staying in a hotel. A
one-bedroom apartment sleeping three costs 375KN to 600KN per night
along the coast.
In a good, moderate restaurant expect to pay
about 35KN to 55KN for a starter and 80KN to 120KN for a meat or fish
main course. Bread usually costs extra and a few restaurants tack on a
service charge, which is supposed to be indicated on the menu. Fish and
shellfish are more expensive and usually charged by the kilogram. An
average portion is about 250g, but sometimes you’ll be expected to
choose a whole fish from a selection, making it more difficult to
estimate the final cost. Squid runs at about 300KN per kilogram, but for
fish and shrimp you’ll pay from 320KN to 380KN per kilogram.
Economy
Croatia has emerged from a rocky
period that reached its height with a series of corruption and
privatisation scandals in the late 1990s. While corruption remains a
problem, the government has made progress in investigating and
prosecuting corruption cases, which reassures international investors.
Croatia’s prospective entry into the EU has also brought increased
investment, especially from Austria and Italy in banking, Germany in telecommunications and Hungary
in the oil industry. Several Croatian companies have high
brand-recognition throughout former Yugoslavia. Pliva (pharmaceuticals),
Podravka (food processing) and Croatia Osiguranje (insurance) are
valuable exports. Naturally, there’s tourism, which accounts for about
20% of GDP.
From the point of view of the average Croat, life is
tough. Unemployment is high (18.3%), pensions for retirees are
ridiculously low, unemployment compensation isn’t much better and the
cost of living continues to rise. About half a million Croats, mostly in
rural areas, live below the poverty line. How do Croats get by? They
rent rooms and apartments (often illegally) to tourists, relatives with
farms provide produce, and sometimes their parents give them an
apartment they bought during the flush prewar years.
