Croatia

Currency:
Kuna (1 Kuna = 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.

Adriatic: There, the grace of nature made everything better than man could do, proofing right those who claim that nature is the greatest artist.
The only miraculous fact is that, on the Croatian coast, the creative passion of nature was unfolded in such abundance that one becomes breathless in presence of all that beauty.

Besides wondrous beauty, the clean waters make the Adriatic special. The peoples desire to protect the environment has preserved the Adriatic from hazards such as the explosion of the mass tourism. The Adriatic can boast what elsewhere has been destroyed: unique islands, quiet coves, mysterious caves and its own distinct atmosphere that can not be found anywhere else. Savour your journey as you experience the numerous islands that are the last oasis for those who yearn to experience the untouched nature, peace and beauty.

Croatia is situated close to densely populated and industrially developed European countries. Many internationally important transport routes cross Croatia. The importance of the geographical position of the Republic of Croatia is also enhanced by the Adriatic Sea, the northernmost gulf of the Mediterranean which is the closest to the central part of the European continent.

The area of Croatia can be divided into three major natural and geographic parts: The Pannonian and Peri-Pannonian area comprises the lowland and hilly parts of eastern and northwestern Croatia; mountains higher than 500 m are rare and of an insular character. Most of this area is being used for farming and livestock breading. Slavonija and Baranja in the east are the most suiotable for growing cereals; the humid valleys and the hills are richly afforested while the northwestern part, which gravitates to Zagreb, is industrially the most developed.

A considerable part of Croatia lies at an altitude of over 500 m, but there are no mountains higher than 2000 m. Lowlands prevail in eastern and northwestern Croatia, while the highest mountains in the mountainous part are found in the area which separates the continental mainland from the Coast (Risnjak 1528m, Velika Kapela 1533m, Pljesivica 1657m) or close to the sea (Ucka 1396m, Velebit 1758m). The highest mountains in Dalmatia are Biokovo (1762m) close to the sea and Dinara (1831m) in the hinterland.

Croatia has no large lakes (the largest, Vrana, near Biograd has an area of 30 sq.km. The most atractive are the Plitvice Lakes (a chain of 16 lakes with the river Korana as the effluent), the Red and Blue Lakes near Imotski (unique karst phenomena), freshwater lake Vrana, a cryptodepression on the island of Cres and lake Prokljan (along the Krka river near Sibenik). The best know man-made lakes are Lokve and Bajer in Gorski Kotar, Trakoscan in Hrvatsko Zagorje and Peruca along the river Cetina in Dalmatia. Lake Kopacevo and the surrounding swamp forests in Baranja are a major hatching ground and bird habitat.

Croatia's rivers belong to the Adriatic and the Black Sea basin. The rivers in the interior are large and calmer (Sava, Drava, Danube). The coastal rivers are shorter and have a higher gradient. The longest coastal rivers are the Mirna and the Rasa in Istria and the Zrmanja, the Krka and the Cetina in Dalmatia. Karst streams running partly underground prevail in Lika.