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Tourist guide Lucic: "Water is our treasure"
Photo: Claus Hecking / DER SPIEGEL
Travel information for Croatia
AreaArrival to North Dalmatia expand
Lufthansa, Eurowings and Ryanair fly to Zadar directly from various German airports, for example from Frankfurt / Main, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Düsseldorf or Stuttgart.
There are significantly more connections in the summer than between November and April.
Zadar does not have a passenger train station.
The journey with the Flixbus to the port city takes around 13 hours from Munich;
about nine hours by car with normal traffic.
AreaNext to the national and nature parks expand
From Zadar buses run several times a day to the national parks Krka, Paklenica or Plitvice, and a tour with a large excursion boat to the Kornati national parks can also be booked here.
The Vraner Lakes are not so easy to get to by public transport.
You are more independent at all destinations with your own car or boat.
Expand the Entrance Fees area
All national parks require entry;
some of the prices depend on the season.
An adult day ticket costs between 20 kuna (around 2.70 euros) for the Vrana Lakes and a whopping 250 kuna (around 33 euros) in the summer high season for the Plitvice Lakes.
Open the Winnetou fans area
Not only Paklenica and Plitvice served as backdrops for the Karl May films of the 1960s.
The German Rialto film also shot Teutonic Westerns in the Krka National Park and in a number of other places in what was then communist Yugoslavia.
Today Karl May fans come here every now and then to check out the filming locations.
The impressive Zrmanja Canyon or the Mali Alan mountain with its peculiar rock formations are particularly popular.
Both can be reached by car from the town of Starigrad near Paklenica, but the roads are sometimes adventurous.
This website lists nearly two dozen locations.
Expand area Travel time
The best seasons for the national parks are spring / early summer and autumn.
The falls are at their fullest from March to May;
However, there may still be residual snow in the mountains.
In October, the discoloration of the leaves creates a colorful photo backdrop.
In contrast, many parks are often overcrowded in the main tourist season from early July to late August;
in addition, it is often hot and humid in midsummer.
Expand the Corona area
Officially, travelers from other EU countries must be vaccinated, recovered or tested when entering Croatia.
In fact, however, the papers are apparently only checked sporadically at the land borders.
In theory, a mask is required in public transport, restaurants, shops and other indoor public spaces.
In everyday life, however, these requirements are by no means always complied with.
In addition, the vaccination rate in Croatia is significantly lower than in Germany.
This is probably one of the reasons why the country has relatively high infection and death rates.
Expand the travel cash desk area
The national currency is the Croatian kuna;
7.5 kuna are roughly equivalent to one euro.
There are numerous ATMs in larger cities and at holiday resorts, and many providers also accept credit cards.
Unfortunately, however, rip-offs at machines and when paying by card are widespread.
The trick goes like this: The tourists are offered to pay the withdrawn or payable kuna amount directly in euros: at a guaranteed rate determined in advance by the bank.
Just don't get into it!
The exchange rates are usually awful.
You have to expect conversion losses of between 8 and 13 percent.
Always insist on paying in kuna.
