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- Located in Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic
Sea, between Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Slovenia.
- Population is about 4,500,000
- Area 21,829 square miles
- Capital: Zagreb (1 mln)
- Number of islands: 1,185 (66 inhabited)
- Important dates: 1 Jan - New Year's Day; 11 and 12 April
- Easter, including Easter Monday; 1 May - Labour Day; 10 June
- Corpus Christi (Movable feast); 22 June - Anti-Fascist Resistance
Day; 25 June - Statehood Day; 5 August - Victory Day and National
Thanksgiving Day; 15 August - Assumption; 8 October - Independence
Day; 1 November - All Saints' Day; 25 and 26 December - Christmas
Holidays.
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| Resident Representatives
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| Contact details for your representative are shown on
your holiday itinerary. A Balkan Holidays appointed representative
will meet you at the airport on your arrival and introduce
you to your resort at Welcome Meeting soon after. A notice
board on the foyer of your hotel will give details of
the representative's visiting hours, information about
the resort and its facilities, sights of special interest
and your homewards journey. All excursion should be
booked through you representative, who can recommend
those of particular interest and value, and must be paid
for in cash or occasionally credit cards. We can accept
no responsibilities for excursions which are not booked
through you rep. |
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| Money,
Currency Exchange, Banks |
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The official currency is the Kuna (plural; Kune) (K)
divided into 100 Lipa. There are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50
Lipa coins, 1, 2, 5 and 25 Kuna coins and 5, 10, 20,
50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 Kuna banknotes.
Foreign currencies can be exchanged at banks, exchange
offices, post offices and at most tourist agencies,
hotels and camping grounds. Banking hours are 7 a.m.
to 7 p.m. from Monday to Friday. On Saturdays banks
are open until 1 p.m. In the larger cities some banks
are also open on Sundays. Credit cards: Most hotels,
restaurants and shops accept credit cards (American
Express, Diners Club, Eurocard/Mastercard, Visa, Sport
Card International). Cash dispensing machines are ubiquitous
Exchange rate is not fixed and fluctuates within
1-2%. Scottish notes are not accepted. Please, note
that old or marked notes and coins are not accepted.
Travellers cheques carry higher commission. Check the
current exchange rate on Yahoo!
Finance Converter.
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| Meals
and Drinks |
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Your holiday invoice will state whether the arrangement
is based on accommodation only (AO), self catering (SC),
bed and breakfast (BB), half board (HB) or all inclusive
(AI).
Although there is some slight variation, meal times
are usually as follows:
- Breakfast - 07.30 to 10.00
- Dinner - 18.00 to 22.00
Cuisine
Let's start out with hors d'oeuvres: Dalmatian "prsut",
the dark, smoked ham, Slavonian sausages, paprika flavoured
salami (kulen), and excellent domestic cheeses (notably
that from the island of Pag).
"Purica z mlincima" is a traditional Zagorje
festival dish. Another dish from Hrvatsko Zagorje is
"strukli" - cooked pastry filled with cheese.
On the Adriatic, some 3675 kinds of fish which can
be grilled, fried or cooked in olive oil, await you.
"Brodet", a dish made of several kinds of
fish, deserves special attention. Another Dalmatian
specialty is "pasticada": beef with strips
of bacon. Croatia is also known for its excellent wines,
and viticulture has a very long tradition in Croatia.
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| Hotel and Resort
Facilities |
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| All hotel and resort facilities which are open to the
general public (swimming pools, discos, nightclubs health
centres, saunas, etc.) are chargeable on the spot - even
for residents of the hotel - unless otherwise specified
in the brochure/web site. There is also a small charge
for the use of all public toilets, even in hotels. |
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| Voltage |
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| Voltage of city power grid – 220V, frequency 50HZ |
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| Religious Information |
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| Mostly Christians of which 77% are Roman Catholic, 11%
are Orthodox Christians and 1% are Muslims. Other religious
minorities include Protestants, Greek or Uniate Catholics
and a small number of Jews. |
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| Getting Around |
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If you can get where you're going by ferry, then do
it - cruising among the islands of the Adriatic certainly
beats sitting on a bus, no matter how cheap or fast
it is. Jadrolinja ferries ply the waters between Dubrovnik
and Rijeka. If you buy a ticket for the whole trip,
you can stop off as many times as you want for up to
a week each time. Other ferries run between Pula, Mali
Losinj and Zadar, and to most of the larger islands.
Croatia Airlines has regular flights from Zagreb to
Brac, Dubrovnik, Pula, Split and Zadar. The country's
excellent bus network is far-reaching and reasonably
priced. Trains are cheaper and more comfortable than
the bus, but also a lot slower.
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| Medical Attention |
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| Foreign tourists do not pay for medical services if
the Health Care Convention was signed between Croatia
and the country they come from. Expenses of health services
provided to persons coming from the countries with which
the Health Care Convention was not signed are charged
directly to users according to the price list. There are
hospitals and clinics in all the major towns, and health
centers, as well as pharmacies, in all the smaller places.
For patients whose lives are in danger, there is emergency
transport by air(helicopter) or sea (speedboat).
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| Car Hire |
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| Taxi service exists in all towns and tourist
places. Car hire exists in all towns, tourists centres
and airports. Drive on the right side of the road. The
spectacular Adriatic highway from Italy to Albania runs
along the steep slopes of Croatia's coastal range, and
is one of the most exciting drives in the world. |
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| Safety
Deposit Boxes |
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| Most hotels have the facilities to hold
small valuable items at the reception or in the room,
for you during your holiday. |
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| Postal
Service |
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Post Offices are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.,
and on Saturdays until 1 p.m. There are Post Offices in
the larger cities which are open until 10 p.m. in the
summer. Postage stamps are sold in Post Offices and at
newsstands.
Public telephones can be used only with phone cards, which
can be purchased in Post Offices and at newsstands, in
hotels and tourist complexes. |
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| Linen
Change |
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| In the hotels, bed linen is normally changed
weekly and towels every 3-4 days. Please inform your rep
if linen change is less frequent. |
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| Cot
hire & Baby supplies |
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| We strongly recommend that parents take
supply of baby food, powdered milk and nappies with them
as it is sometimes difficult to obtain these locally. |
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| Important
Telephone Numbers |
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- International dialing - 385
- Ambulance - 94
- Fire-service - 93
- Police - 92
- Assistance on the roads 987
987@hak.hr (If you are calling from outside of Croatia
or using a mobile phone dial +3851 987)
- General information - 981
- Information about local and district telephone numbers
- 988
- Information about International telephone numbers
- 902
- Weather forecast and road conditions - 060 520 520.
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| Formalities |
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| British citizens do not require visas for stay
up to 3 months. (If you hold travel documents or passports
of other nationalities, you should check with the respective
consulates whether a visa is required). For any further travel advise please check with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website. |
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| Any problems should be reported to our representatives
in the holiday centres immediately so that they can be dealt
with whenever possible on the spot. There is a number on your
itinerary that can be reached 24 hours a day (answerphone),
or your hotel will have list of times when your representative
will be available in person. |
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| If you are booked on a flight only basis it is essential
that you confirm your return flight with your Balkan Holidays
representative twenty-four hours before your return flight. |
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 Country
details |
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42 years of experience
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