Croatia has become a destination for travelers and digital nomads globally for good reason. The impressive coastline and historic architecture will have something to do for everyone, and the cost is definitely affordable for a European country. This post will go over a traveler’s one budget in Croatia, including accommodation, food, transportation, excursions, and other life expenses!
Check out what a life looks like for a one month budget in Croatia!
Table of Contents
Check out all of the reasons Why You Need To Visit Croatia this year!
Accommodation Budget In Croatia
Croatia has recently become a tourist hotspot destination as people are drawn to its crystal blue water, never-ending coastline, and jaw-dropping architecture. You can find various accommodation types from hotels, hostels, Couchsurfing, Airbnb, campsites, and more!
Our accommodation is what determines our trips since many Airbnb hosts have a crazy good deal for any stay over 28 days, especially in the shoulder- and off-seasons. On average, our Airbnb’s cost a total of โฌ751 for the month. Since my partner and I share living expenses, we were able to split this cost, making it even cheaper. We spent โฌ433 each in Split, Croatia, and โฌ317 in Pula, Croatia which gave us plenty of time to really explore the area. We prefer to move slowly so we can explore, save money, and maintain some of the regular aspects of our life like working and even joining a gym in the areas we live for the month!
Hotels in Croatia range from about โฌ75-150 a night, while hostels are between โฌ25-40 for a single bed. Hostels are a great option, but Airbnb’s can be split the more people you have so find some travel buddies and save big time!
Accommodation
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Airbnb
Tip - Traveling with another person is a great way to cut costs on accommodation and transport! Find yourself a travel buddy to save!
Food Budget In Croatia
Croatia is known for its incredibly fresh seafood and pizza that is comparable to Italy’s (unless you ask an Italian). Since we are traveling on a pretty conservative budget, our goal was to keep our individual food budget below โฌ400 per month, which was pretty easy in Croatia! We were able to treat ourselves to some nice dinners but mostly cooked at home.
There are great options for grocery stores, Spar being the most popular, and most town and city centers have a daily fresh market where you can pick up produce, meat, and bread. On average for the month, we each spend โฌ278 on groceries.
No matter where you visit, there will be plenty of restaurants and cafes in a historic setting or with incredible views. Restaurants are typically a seat-yourself style and don’t expect the servers to come over to your table constantly to check in. If you need something, just get their attention and they will be there to serve you! Tipping is also not required, but if you enjoyed your experience, 10-15% would be a great tip to leave! You can get a sandwich from a deli or a slice of pizza for as low as 2, whereas a mid-level meal out could be about โฌ10-15. We spent about โฌ75 each for the month on restaurants and cafes
Cafe bars are a big part of Croatian culture like much of Europe. Most cafes offer a selection of alcoholic drinks, where people socialize and drink beers at 10 am, unlike your typical coffee shop in the US. As digital nomads, we frequented these cafes to get some work done and had a drink or two with some pastries throughout the day for about โฌ4.ย
Food
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Groceries
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Restaurants
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Cafes
Transportation Budget in Croatia
Getting around Croatia is fast, easy, and affordable. While in the country for 2 months, we were able to rely a lot on public buses and ride-share apps to get around. Public buses are readily available and easy to use and cost just a few euros for a ticket. However, we did have some issues where the bus timetable wasn’t accurate for off-season travel! So definitely give yourself plenty of time to figure it out, and have a backup option.
Uber was popular in Split, but in Pula, we only found drivers on the ride-share app called Bolt which was super affordable and easy to use. This is only necessary for transporting all of your bags when you arrive and leave or for further trips. Like most European cities, Croatian cities and towns are constructed so that most things are walkable, which is free, good for you and so beautiful to take it slowly and be engaged with the area.
We also rented a car for a few days while in Pula to do an Istria road trip. Since we were there in the off-season, the rental car was only โฌ17 a day! We paid a total of โฌ44 for 2 days with a car including the rental price, fuel, and tolls.ย
Please Note: this budget doesn’t include the transport to Croatia, or to the next destination! While this is a crucial part of the travel budget, it can vary so much depending on the location so definitely check out those costs before committing to any travel.
Transportation
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Public Transport
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Rental Car
Excursions Budget in Croatia
There is so much to explore in Croatia, from boat tours along the coast, entry into some historic forts and palaces, and the many National Parks to explore. Luckily, a lot of Croatia’s beauty can be enjoyed for free if you’re a budget traveler.
Depending on where in Croatia you’re visiting, and what you are looking to do, a lot of the beauty for us was nature. In Split, we spent plenty of free days exploring the city’s beaches and Marjan Hill to get the best views of the city. Most of the old city can be accessed for free, but we did spend โฌ5 to enter the Bell Tower in the center of Diocletian’s Palace (definitely worth it). We also took a day trip to walk around the historic Klis Fortress on the outskirts of the city, which was only โฌ10 to enter (we even brought our own wine to enjoy at sunset)! Check out the best things to do around Split.ย
We did a lot more paid excursions and day trips in Pula, starting with Brijuni National Park which was about โฌ22 for the ferry ticket to the island and entrance fee. The Galebijana Sea Cave is something you cannot miss, which we explored on sea kayaks from โฌ27 each! The city itself has a lot to explore, including a Roman Arena, an old fort, and an underground bomb shelter, which was โฌ24 for entry.ย
Although we only spent averageย โฌ40 each on average, we were in an exceptional budget mode since this was our first stop. Looking back, there are a few things that I wish we did, like taking a trip to Plitvice Lakes, or a ferry out to Hvar, so I set the monthly budget toย โฌ60 to give a better idea of what it would cost to do a lot more!
Excursions
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Entry Tickets
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Exploration
Life Expenses
This section isn’t Croatia-specific, but it is important to make note of the other monthly expenses you may have that will eat a chunk of your budget. This includes Health Insurance, Renter’s Insurance, a Mobile Phone plan, and various subscriptions for music, apps, and a VPN.
The biggest expense is health insurance, which luckily I’m still on my parent’s plan (yay for being 25)! However, I took into account my boyfriend’s plan since this is an expense for most people, which is emergency medical costing around โฌ50.
We each also have renter’s insurance, which costs about โฌ14 a month and will cover up to 10,000 worth of items that get lost, damaged, or stolen while we are abroad.
For our cell phone,ย we purchased a local plan with a physical SIM which is great for saving money while traveling. Check out what we did exactly for ourย Croatia phone plans.ย We typically get 15GB of data for around โฌ17 a month.
Finally, some of the subscriptions I have total up to about โฌ24 a month, which includes my DuoLingo Super, YouTube Music, Hosting platform for this website, and most importantly a VPN. If you are traveling and have any intention of using your computer or phone for personal things, I highly suggest using a VPN to protect your online information!
Life Expenses
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Insurance
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Mobile Phone
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Subscriptions
Total Expenses
1 Month Budget in Croatia-
Accommodations - โฌ751
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Food - โฌ354
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Transportation - โฌ108
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Excursions - โฌ60
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Life Expenses - โฌ105
Summary - Detailed 1 Month Budget in Croatia for Travelers
Croatia is an affordable Mediterranean destination that has drawn attention from travelers globally. The blue coastline and impressive architecture makes it feel like a sacred place that should be on everyone’s travel bucket list. The country is definitely affordable for travelers and digital nomads, with prices varying heavily between the peak and off-season. Although you can budget yourself into a cardboard box without seeing much, life is meant to be lived. Save where you can (everything counts), but don’t skip out on opportunities to explore a beautiful new place when you have the chance.ย
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