Wondering how much a trip to Croatia costs, and if Croatia (or more accurately, Dubrovnik) really is expensive to visit? This Croatia travel budget guide is for you!
The travel budget for Croatia outlined here reflects our exact expenses during a 2 week trip to Croatia in July. Or, in other words, the most expensive time to visit the country.
This trip to Croatia was characterized by expensive days (excursions, lodging that was on the pricier side for us at the time), balanced with very inexpensive days. For example, for one entire week in Jelsa, we paid for almost nothing outside of our lodging and groceries.
The Croatia travel budget outlined here represents our time spent backpacking the country on what we would consider a flashpacker budget. Basically, no to dorm rooms, yes to a/c, and no to major luxuries.
We visited Split, Krka National Park, Hvar, and Dubrovnik during this trip, focusing our time on Croatia’s popular Dalmatian coast.
The balance worked out well: our travel budget for Croatia ended up being right on target.
We spent 13 full days in the country, averaging a total Croatia trip cost of $107.12/day, or $53.56 per person, per day. This added up to a total cost of $1,392.61.
All expenses are listed in USD unless otherwise noted, and, as usual for our travel budget roundups, we don’t include the costs of entering or leaving the country here, as those expenses can vary so dramatically depending on your starting point (in our case, this visit to Croatia was part of our planned 6 month round the world trip).
Before getting into our detailed breakdown, it’s also worth noting that this particular trip took place in 2016.
I’m now updating this blog post in May 2026, and honestly, I almost deleted it… but after price-checking the costs of ferries, excursions, buses, and hotels for a mid-July trip, I’m actually shocked at how little prices have changed for travelers (and Croatia has even changed currencies since then!).
There are exceptions: hotels/rental apartments are up a bit, and certain popular tourism activities (like walking the walls in Dubrovnik or visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park) have skyrocketed.
To capture these overall trip costs now, we’d recommend visiting outside of the absolute peak of July and August if possible.
Most importantly, we recommend planning ahead! The difference between the price of a Split – Hvar ferry booked 6 weeks in advance and one booked the next day is extreme in the summer.
We have visited Croatia several more times since this trip (it’s one of our favorite countries in the world!), and though we don’t tend to travel on as tight a budget anymore, I’m happy to say that a trip of this nature still appears feasible on a similar budget, especially for flexible travelers willing to be creative.
Our Lodging Costs in Croatia
Total: $799.81 for 14 nights
At an average of $57.13/night, lodging ate up a bigger chunk of our travel budget for Croatia than in our previous stops in Slovenia.
Split, the island of Hvar, and Dubrovnik are all tourist hotspots that we were visiting during the high season, but compromising a bit on location for our lodging helped keep costs reasonable, even if it did keep us away from the city centers.
In May 2026, I’m seeing similar properties to the ones we stayed in (all now offline, sadly) listed in the $65-90 range in mid-July on Booking.com, where we tend to book all our hotels and rental apartments these days.
Certainly an increase, but not as much of one as I would have assumed!
Our Transportation Budget in Croatia
Total: $102.29
Considering that we had 3 base destinations during our time in Croatia, and lodging in both Split and Dubrovnik that required public transportation to reach their city centers, transportation costs ended up being fairly reasonable.
The ferry between Hvar and Split cost us less than $10/person each way, and the bus from Split to Dubrovnik cost us less than $20/person.
Looking at Omio in 2026, those prices are still achievable… if you book tickets well in advance. If you book at the last minute, you’ll pay much more!
Browse bus and ferry tickets for your trip to Croatia today!
Our Restaurant Expenses in Croatia
Total: $105.82
With no kitchen access in Split and limited kitchen access in Dubrovnik, we had more restaurant meals in Croatia than in many of our European destinations.
We compensated with several rounds of street food that generally ran between $3-4 per person.
The prices felt quite budget-friendly for Croatia, but feel laughably expensive to type out while sitting here in Thailand.
Our Grocery Expenses in Croatia
Total: $103.83
Groceries were very reasonable in Croatia, even in tourist destinations.
$103.83 fed us every meal during our week in Jelsa (excluding the fresh garden produce that our Airbnb host was very generous with), about half our meals in Dubrovnik, and a couple of meals in Split.
We tend to follow a very basic protein/sauce/fresh veggies or fruits/carb of some kind (usually fresh bread, sometimes pasta) routine when cooking in much of southern Europe, and it has worked well on all our trips to Croatia.
Our Tour + Excursion Travel Budget for Croatia
Total: $238.89
Our Croatia travel budget was definitely impacted by our liberal number of excursions, but we don’t regret it. There was just so much to do!
The bulk of our expenses in this category was eaten up by a day trip to Krka National Park from Split (just over $50/person), a one-day Dubrovnik Pass (about $25/person), and our kayaking excursion in Dubrovnik (about $33/person).
The kayaking tour was not only a bargain, but it was our favorite excursion of the entire European leg of our trip. Years later, it’s still one of my favorite travel memories from Croatia.
In 2026, extremely similar Krka day trips and kayaking excursions can be booked for near identical prices on Viator, but the Dubrovnik Pass has increased to 40 Euro for a one-day card (still worth the money, though).
Miscellaneous Trip to Croatia Costs
Total: $41.97
Several bathroom visits and forgettable odds and ends ended up in this category, but the most notable expense was our decision to spend about $20 for a couple of simple pairs of swimming goggles in Jelsa.
They greatly improved our time in the Adriatic Sea while on Hvar, and I wish we had packed them to begin with. Now we have these we take with us.
(And though we resisted the urge to buy them on this trip, we’ve brought water shoes with us on every trip to Croatia since then, and highly recommend packing some.)
Final Thoughts on Our Croatia Trip Costs
We were very satisfied with our travel budget for Croatia, though we think it’s debatable whether or not the trade-off of lodging that was further away from attractions in exchange for cheaper prices was worth it.
So, is Croatia expensive?
Compared to nearby Balkan destinations like Piran, Sarajevo, and Kotor, absolutely… especially in the high season, and especially in ever-popular Dubrovnik.
However, it’s worth it: years after this trip (and with several more trips to Croatia under our belts), Croatia remains one of our favorite places in the world.
Visiting during the shoulder or off-season is a great way to limit your Croatia travel budget (we loved visiting Dubrovnik in February, and Plitvice and Hvar in September!).
Mixing in less iconic destinations, like those on the Istrian peninsula or even the capital city of Zagreb, is also fantastic for lowering your overall cost of travel in Croatia.
Read More About Visiting Croatia + Beyond
Planning a sun-soaked trip to Croatia… and maybe some other Balkan destinations along the way?
If you found this roundup of our Croatia travel costs helpful, we’d love to continue to be part of your travel planning here at Our Escape Clause!
You can find all of our Croatia blog posts here, read about who we are here, or browse these guides:
- 15 Cool Things to Do in Zadar, Croatia
- The Perfect 7 Day Slovenia Road Trip Itinerary
- The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
- A Dazzling One Day in Dubrovnik Itinerary
- 9 Memorable Things to Do in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Hi Laura: Thanks for your blog and great tips. We are a Canadian couple in our youthful 60’s. My husband is very active, skis, bikes, hikes. I now have a 1 knee issue and I am awaiting more knee surgery. I use a cane, wear a brace. I have booked a month in Aug. – Sept. 2022 trip to Croatia for us. We will have a car to drive. I have booked hotels, apts. in many cities. Excluding Dubrovnik as we were there before. We need input on Brac, Hvar and Korcula islands. To get to by ferry car on Brac, Hvar and walk on in Korcula. We are driving to Pula and throughout to Split and many areas between. Any suggested places, seeing heritage sites and your thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you. Regards Nancy Bradbury
Hi Nancy! Sadly, we haven’t been to Brac or Korcula yet ourselves–hopefully before too long!
We do have a whole post on Hvar, though! We’ve been twice and love it: https://www.ourescapeclause.com/best-things-to-do-in-hvar-croatia/
Hi Kate,
I’m traveling to Dubrovnik next week and was hoping to do a kayak trip. Just wondering which one you did- where did you go from, how long was it, where did it take you etc
Thenks!
Hi Laura!
We took our tour back in 2016 and just booked it in person from a saleswoman in town, so I don’t know the exact name. It took us around Lokrum Island, briefly into some caves, and into a cove to swim and cliff jump. I believe it was a 2-3 hour tour, give or take. The one I linked here appears to follow the same itinerary–it’s a pretty popular one! Be prepared for aching shoulders, but it’s worth doing in my opinion.
Hi, Jeremy and Kate@
I was happy to found Croatia on your must see list. It is in my mind for s long timec to visit, and now, because of you, I can read your review for my next holiday in Croatia. I wondered, if, except your blog, you have also a vlog on You Tube.
I hope you are ok, during your holiday in USA.
Have a great time.
Keep in touch,
Cris
Hi Cris! Croatia is truly magnificent, hope you have a wonderful trip there!
We don’t do any vlogging or Youtubing right now, and don’t have plans to change that, but you never know what the future holds!