Croatia – the country

Croatia – Hrvatska – is a long, narrow country along the eastern Adriatic. About 3.8 million inhabitants, capital Zagreb, official language Croatian (Latin alphabet). An EU member since 2013, in the Schengen area since 2023, and using the Euro as of 2023. For US, UK, and Australian travelers: no visa for stays under 90 days; passport with six months’ validity recommended; your home driver’s license is valid for the duration of a normal visit.

Geographically, Croatia has two faces: the Mediterranean coast with over 1,200 islands and a shoreline more than 5,800 km (3,600 mi) long – and the continental interior, with plains, forests, and vineyards running up to the Hungarian border. Our house sits in the Mediterranean half, specifically in Dalmatia, on one of the quieter stretches of coast between Trogir and Šibenik.

Topic pages

• Travel information – arrival, currency, driving, internet, phones, health. The essentials at a glance.
• Weather & climate – temperatures, sea conditions, and sunshine hours across the year.
• Dalmatia – our home region: history, landscape, what makes it distinctive.
• Dalmatian cuisine – what to eat, what to try, what you can pick up locally.
• Hiking – overview of hiking areas in Central Dalmatia.

Croatia in short

A country shaped by layered history – Roman, Byzantine, Venetian, Habsburg, Yugoslav. Walking through a Dalmatian town, you read these layers at every corner: a Roman column stub here, a Venetian palace there, a Yugoslav-era apartment block next door, a modern villa down the street. At the same time, Croatia is a young EU country with modern highways, good broadband, dense flight and ferry connections – and a tourism sector that runs up against capacity each summer.

Croatians are welcoming and often refreshingly direct; many speak very good English (thanks in part to decades of tourism and diaspora ties to Germany, Austria, and North America). A handful of Croatian phrases always goes over well: dobar dan (good day), hvala (thank you), živjeli (cheers).

Dalmatia at the heart

Most of our guests’ day trips stay within Central Dalmatia: Trogir, Split, Krka National Park, Solin, Primošten. With more time, you can reach Dubrovnik in the south or Istria in the north within a few hours’ drive – we’re happy to help plan either.