May 20, 2020 — Croatia’s Civil Protection Directorate successfully kept the coronavirus pandemic at bay. But did it break constitutional law in the process?

Legal entities and private citizens submitted proposals asking the Constitutional Court to assess the legality of Croatia’s pandemic-fighting measures.

There is no timeline for the court’s response. Croatia entered the political and procedural noman’s land when it dissolved parliament and called for elections.

A dozen lawsuits before the constitutional court as a whole challenge the directorate’s decisions, putting a spotlight on the uneasy tradeoff between a rapid response to a crisis and following prescribed procedures.

The government and members of the directorate argue a speedy response to save human lives trumps procedural hurdles. But claimants in the suit argue limits on movement and forced closures encroach on constitutional rights.

Seven of the 12 lawsuits contend limits of movement within the country passed on March 23 broke with constitutional rights. The complaints contend such measures can only be passed by a parliamentary vote.

Another two complaints contend limits on social gatherings, work, and service activities meant to limit the number of people allowed to congregate in one spot. The plaintiffs contend the measures forced them out of business, impinging upon their constitutional freedoms as entrepreneurs — including the right to work and the right to earn.

A final set of complaints contends limits on funeral gatherings, passed on March 20, as well as the ban on crossing the border.

Perhaps the most contentious ties to an indirect bailout the media industry, which was laced into measures passed to preserve jobs.

The court’s decisions will last well into the coming phases of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as other emergencies.

Parliamentary Speaker Gordan Jandroković dismissed concerns about the constitutionality of the directorate’s maneuvers, predicting the court would dismiss any complaints — if anyone even bothered filing them.

Numerous legal experts, including a member of the court itself, warned from the beginning that the National Civil Protection Directorate’s decisions ran afoul of the Croatian Constitution.

Judge Andrej Abramović argued the Civil Protection Directorate lacked the constitutional authority to pass and enforce its decisions.

Abramovic said amendments to the Civil Protection System Act passed by Parliament on March 18 introduced the concept of "occurrence of special circumstances" even though the description of "special circumstances" is identical in substance to the state of "catastrophe" that the law already contains. "Why did the government not declare the disaster foreseen by law?

"Detaining people in their own homes without testing puts them in a precarious position: neither healthy nor sick, they are stigmatized to the extent of being threatened by most,” he wrote.

The text included comparisons between the pandemic response and the war. The judge 

They contend the Government only retroactively regulated the status of the members of the Headquarters, with parliament passing a special law giving them the authority to make decisions on-the-fly.

May 20, 2020 - Tourism is on hold, but most of us have plenty of time. So let's look at the virtual resources available to explore Croatia virtually. We continue our new Virtual Croatia series with the tools to discover Stari Grad on Hvar.

A few weeks ago I wrote that being a tourism blogger in the corona era was about as useful as being a cocktail barman in Saudi Arabia. I feel less useless now, a few weeks later, and I am encouraged by the number of Croatian tourism businesses who are contacting us wanting to start thinking of promoting post-corona tourism. 

One of the challenges of writing about tourism at the moment is that there is nothing positive to write about. With people confined to their homes and tourism in Croatia currently not possible, many have decided to go into hibernation until it is all over. 

I think that this is a mistake, and I have greatly enjoyed the TCN series by Zoran Pejovic of Paradox Hospitality on thinking ahead to tourism in a post-corona world.  You can find Zoran's articles here.

Way back on March 14 - several lifetimes ago - I published an article called Tourism in the Corona Age: 10 Virtual Ways to Discover Zagreb. The way I saw things, now was an OUTSTANDING opportunity for tourism promotion. People have time, they yearn for their freedom and former lives, so give them the tools to thoroughly research and enjoy your destinations, and you will have then longing to be there. And when they do come, they will have a deeper understanding of the destination due to their research. 

South Africa and Portugal were the first to do their post-corona tourism promotion videos several weeks ago (Post-Corona Tourism Planning: Lessons from South Africa and Portugal), a trick which has been followed by other tourism countries, the latest being Croatia with the national tourist board campaign, #CroatiaLongDistanceLove, going live yesterday.

But while these campaigns create longing and market presence, they don't really educate. People now have time to really get into destinations. And dreams of escape to somewhere more exotic are high on the list of priorities of many. 

So TCN has decided to help with that education with a new series called Virtual Croatia, where we will be helping you discover many of Croatia's destinations with all the best virtual tools available on your self-isolating sofa at home. 

We started last week with Tourism in the Corona Age: 10 Virtual Tools to Discover Hvar.

After this, we put our a press release (which you can read here in English and Croatian) offering a free article to any local tourist board in Croatia who would like the free promotion in our Virtual Croatia series. 

The Sinj Tourist Board was the first to respond, and now you can see just how rich the tourism offer is in this proud Alka town - your virtual tools to Discover Sinj. This was followed by DIscover Opatija, Discover Brela, Discover Rogoznica, Discover Klis, Discover Trogir and Discover Omis.

Next up, Jaksa Damjanic from the Stari Grad Tourist Board, who sent me some virtual tools to help us discover Stari Grad. 

Let's begin! 

Welcome to Stari Grad, Home to 2,400 Years of Tradition of Creating New Experiences

Released just a few days ago, 

Remember Pharrell Williams? Be Happy, Stari Grad style.

Discover the old town and the secrets of 2,400 years. 

Stari Grad from the air.

A spectacular birds eye view. 

The relaxed evening atmosphere. 

A one-hour national television discovery of Stari Grad and some of its most lovable characters. 

A Small Place with a Famous Heritage

Stari Grad is perhaps best known in the minds of a sizable chunk of the population of former Yugoslavia as the location for the VERY popular show Malo Misto (Little Place), which characterised and satirised life in a small town in Dalmatia. Even with my limited ability to pick up the words of the actors, I find it wonderfully funny, and Stari Grad looks glorious. A sample episode is above.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a Sail Back to Ancient Greek Roots

Every travelled 5,000 years of UNESCO heritage in just 90 seconds? Fasten your seatbelts. 

Learn more about the Stari Grad Plain with this reconstruction of how life was in the time of the Ancient Greeks. 

From Faros to Paros. And in 2003, a rather unusual expedition was organised to retrace the steps of the Ancient Greeks all those years ago - a voyage in a traditional sailboat, from 'Faros to Paros', Faros being the name the Greeks gave to what is today Stari Grad, close as it sounded to their native island of Paros. The voyage included taking gifts including vines and olive trees which had brought som much prosperity and goodness to the residents of Hvar, and which had originally come from Paros in 384 BC. There is a documentary on the journey (in Croatian) which you can watch here. 

It may not evoke comparisons with London Heathrow, but Stari Grad even has its own airport, located in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Due to cultural considerations, the airport cannot be upgraded or expanded, but it does serve as a useful and convenient point for small aircraft and helicopters (the airstrip can accommodate planes of maximum six passengers), as well as providing a summer base for Hvar's popular sky-diving offer. 

5 UNESCO Heritages in 1 Town, More than Any Island in the World

No other island in the world has 4 UNESCO heritages. The town of Stari Grad has 5. The official video of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Stari Grad Plain. 

The Mediterranean Diet was inscribed at intangible UNESCO heritage in 2013. 

The 500-year-old Za Krizen procession (Behind the Cross) includes the village of Vrbanj, which is in the Stari Grad administrative district. 

And one cannot leave Dalmatia without some unforgettable Dalmatian klapa. 

The art of dry-stone walling is a rare skill, and one which has also achieved UNESCO status.

Discover Stari Grad, Where Wine and Song Meet

Stari Grad is fabulous, with something for everyone. A place where music and wine collide in different forms.  The Jazz and  Wine festival. 

 Dani u vali - Days in the Bay. 

 The Hvar Wine Association hosts wonderful evenings of wine tasting and song in the picturesque squares in the old town. 

And a little wine always brings a little impromptu song. 

For such a small town (the permanent population was less than 1800 at the last census), Stari Grad has an incredibly vibrant cultural scene. In addition to several excellent museums, two theatres (and two fabulous amateur theatre groups) and a host of other cultural activities, the male voices of Stari Grad are known throughout the land, and if you ever get the chance to hear the Faros Kantaduri, don't miss them. For a taster, check them out in the video above. 

One of the world's most challenging swims, and other activities

Stari Grad is home to one of the most challenging international swimming races in the world, an annual event in August which attracts some of the globe's finest swimmers, including Olympic gold medal winners. Started in 1974, the Faros Marathon is a 16km race in the open sea, starting and finishing in the town's harbour, from where competitors race to the tip of the Kabal Peninsula at the top of the Stari Grad Bay - some 8km away - and back. A phenomenal physical effort for the increasingly international field, where the winner has yet to break three hours. Check out the race in the video above. 

Also home to the start of the slightly less challenging Hvar Half Marathon, which takes place in August every year to Hvar Town along the old road. Surely one of the most beautiful races in Europe. 

Biking heaven. 

MTB heaven too. 

Sail Croatia loves Stari Grad.

And if you are sailing into Stari Grad, with its new marina, here is some useful advice. 

Of sunsets and plima 

Some of the most beautiful sunsets in Dalmatia. But beware... 

Ah, the deep Stari Grad Bay. It caused considerable distress to a poor dolphin, who inadvertantly swam into the harbour in 2005, and could not figure a way out for three days until expert help pointed the poor creature in the right drection. A scarier prospect for local residents is the 'plima', a raising of the water level cauased by particular climatic conditions and such a deep bay, which results in rapid rising of the water level. It is quite a spectacle to watch, as long as you are not a waterfront home owner. Check out the video above. 

Local traditions, art and food

Starogrojski paprenjok is an original souvenir made as a homage to a traditional biscuit which the women and girls of Stari Grad on the Island of Hvar have lovingly prepared since 1167 for their sons and husbands, packing them in sailor's chests before their loved ones' departure on long and faraway journeys.

These cakes are prepared according to a carefully preserved recipe of the old island women and have retained the traditional shapes of amphora, fish, heart, clover and other imaginative forms lined with sweet stripes and playful dots.

The earliest mention of the famous cake from Stari Grad, Starogrojski paprenjok, was left by Petar Hektorović, in his famous poem, 'Ribanje i ribarsko prigovaranje', from 1556. The work is a description of a three-day fishing trip from Stari Grad to the island of Šolta and back. In it, the poet Petar Hektorović sailed in the company of two fishermen, Paskoje and Nikola. They took with them: good wine muškatil, sweet wine (prošek), turta (cake), honeycomb, kaškaval cheese, fruit and paprenakov.

The main ingredient for paprenjok is honey. In the castle, that is, in the flaunting park, the Hektorović family cultivated poultry, silkworms and bees.

Hektorović’s farmers cultivated wheat in the fertile Stari Grad fields; they milled it in the mill located in Tvrdalj. Another important ingredient was also olive oil. The Hektorović family's olive groves were located in the southern part of the town.

To prepare a paprenjok they also needed prošek. Prošek was made from good quality grapes in the tavern in Tvrdalj.
The only thing which could not be cultivated in Tvrdalj were the aromatic herbs – cinnamon, cloves and nutmegs.

But in that period they were easily obtained, as the port of Stari Grad was located on the route between Venice, Dubrovnik and the numerous Mediterranean ports with which trade took place.

Stari Grad even had its own honey festival at one point, and I understand that there are plans to resurrect its honey heritage this year.  

 Never eaten a dormouse? Don't miss the Puhijada edible dormouse festival in Dol. 

One of the great attractions of Stari Grad are its quaint streets, which are lined with art galleries and boutique shops, selling authentic local products. Some of the artists are quite unique. Meet Fantazam. 

Home to no less than two amateur theatre groups. 

Mali Grad Faros - a wonderful initiative for the little ones.

And the magical night of Sv. Nikola in December is accompanied with the traditional burning of a boat.

And where else to go for the biggest live snake exhibition in Europe? 

Stari Grad, the secret of a happy and healthy life - 104 years and still mending fishing nets.

Stari Grad has its own celebrities, including this man, who has seen them come and seen them go. Andrija Petric Muse is one of the icons of Hvar, a quiet unassuming man who can be seen most days oppostite Pizzeria Marko mending nets, as he has done for generations. An avid smoker for more than 80 years, he celebrated his 104th birthday this year. A survivor of the Spanish Flu AND corona, life of Croatia's premier island with its healthy climate and UNESCO Mediterranean Diet must have played a small part. 

A wonderful town.

Official Stari Grad Tourist Board Website & 25 Things to Know about Stari Grad

Discover Stari Grad via the official tourist board website.

Learn more about Stari Grad with the TCN feature article, Stari Grad: 25 Things to Know about Croatia's 2017 European Best Destinations Nominee.

THIS. IS. STARI GRAD. When can we expect your visit? 

To discover more of virtual Croatia, you can follow this series in our dedicated section, Virtual Croatia. 

If you are a local tourist board in Croatia and would like your destination featured in this series for free, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Virtual Croatia (and destination name)

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes on the 20th of May, 2020, Zagreb's popular Zabac Food Outlet is expanding its business despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. On its Facebook profile, Zabac announced that it was set to open its fourth low price food store, the first in Novi Zagreb. It will be located in space in Travno, on the ground floor of the so-called Mamutice, otherwise the largest residential buildings in Zagreb and in Croatia.

"The store is set to open on July the 1st, 2020, is located at 9 Božidar Magovac street, it will cover about 400 square metres and will have fifteen employees," the owner of Zabac Food Outlet, Mario Zamboki, told Poslovni Dnevnik.

This move across the Sava river was long-awaited, with the opening of each previous Zabac Food Outlet, the number of inquiries from customers about when they will open up at new locations grew, so the announcement of Novi Zagreb's new Zabac store gained a lot of positive comments and "likes".

It is a message that clearly says that the concept of selling food at prices reduced by up to 50-90 percent when compared to the same kind of goods sold in "normal" stores is a complete hit. The question now is; will the first Zabac Food Outlet south of the Sava river be the only new one to open its doors, or are some in other Croatian cities planned?

"It's possible that there will be more, and we're considering opening stores in other larger cities," Zamboki revealed.

He and his wife Maja opened the first Zabac Food Outlet, which covered about 30 square metres, back in August 2016 at the beginning of Tkalciceva not far from Ban Jelacic Square in the very centre of Zagreb. The next was in the spring of 2017 on Tresnjevka, on the corner of Tratinska and Nova cesta, very close to the market, and it was the largest so far, covering about 300 square metres. This was followed by another in the Importanne Centre back in November 2018, and the one in Nemciceva near Nama on Kvaternikov trg (square), which covers 170 square metres, opened back in September last year, when the first, smallest Zabac store the centre of the city was closed.

The Zambokis based their concept on the intention of selling groceries in three categories - foods that are nearing their expiry date, items that are slightly damaged, and surplus items, providing customers with goods at better prices, and at the same time preventing food waste, because surpluses from factories and shops often end up simply being thrown away, which represents a global problem.

In addition to food (sweets, meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, drinks, fresh fruits and vegetables…), the range also includes cleaning and personal hygiene products, and even some clothes, most of which are sold at almost ridiculously low prices. As an idea and business model, Zsbac Food Outlet has been recognised globally, back in the summer of 2018 it received the Euromonitor award for new retail concepts, placing itself among competition from 80 countries, next to the huge Chinese online store, Alibaba.

However, the mini-retail chain has not remained ''immune'' to the consequences of restricting the operation of stores in recent months, which was introduced quickly as a measure to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. Zamboki admitted that they too, like many others, had supply problems, and that during that period, customers mostly bought things with long shelf lives. Zabac Food Outlet also witnessed the queues in front of its shops.

"They were mainly supplied with good with long shelf lives, such as pasta, canned foods, and dried meat products," explained the owner of Zabac.

As all shops were only allowed to operate until 17:00 in the aforementioned period of about a month and a half, Zamboki also opened on Sundays, but it turned out that such a practice would only last until then. It is now still open Monday to Saturday.

''Our position is for stores to be closed on Sundays, because it isn't the same thing to have a day off on Sunday or a day off during the rest of the week. We hope that the shops will be closed permanently on Sundays ", Zamboki stated, clearly not trying to disguise his views, revealing that everything had been going perfectly well until the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in Croatia in mid-March.

''Then, our turnover dropped by 70 percent and now it is slowly returning, but it's unlikely to return to how it was before for this year,” he added.

Due to the drastic decline in business, his company was forced to ask the CES for state support for the preservation of jobs, as Zabac Food Outlet has a total of 45 employees, including people with special needs.

For more, follow our business page.

ZAGREB, May 20, 2020 - The parliamentary election will be held on July 5, President Zoran Milanovic decided on Wednesday.

The election for the tenth parliament will be held on July 5 in Croatia and on July 4 and 5 abroad, in Croatia's diplomatic and consular offices.

The decision on the election takes effect on June 2. Parties and independent slates and candidates will then have 14 days to submit their slates to the State Election Commission (DIP), which then has 48 hours to publish the list of valid slates and candidates, whereby official electioneering begins.

Although Croatia has few new COVID-19 cases per day and a good epidemiological situation, the July election, because of the epidemic, will be held somewhat differently than all previous elections. DIP will define how the vote will take place together with the Croatian Institute of Public Health.

Voters will elect 151 MPs, of whom 140 in ten constituencies in Croatia, three will be elected by expatriates and eight by ethnic minorities.

The slates must have at least 40% of candidates of each sex, otherwise, they will be disqualified and those proposing them face an HRK 50,000 fine.

Campaign costs must not exceed HRK 1.5 million per constituency. Parties running in all ten constituencies can spend HRK 15 million.

This parliamentary election will be the third in which voters can give a preferential vote.

(€1 = HRK 7.55)

ZAGREB, May 20, 2020 - Police on Wednesday launched an operation in cooperation with the USKOK anti-corruption office targeting a number of companies and about 30 persons for siphoning money via fictitious invoices, including Ana Karamarko, wife of former HDZ president Tomislav Karamarko. 

The suspects are being arrested and their homes and offices searched, unofficial sources said. Neither the police nor USKOK has made a comment yet.

The persons in question and their companies are suspected of charging non-existent services via fictitious invoices and tax fraud from 2017 until 2019.

Vecernji List daily said they were suspected of illegally gaining HRK 20 million and defrauding the state of HRK 11 million.

According to unofficial sources, Ana Karamarko's company Drimia paid HRK 400,000 for fictitious services.

In 2016, because of Drimia's cooperation with Jozo Petrovic, a consultant for the Hungarian energy group MOL, Tomislav Karamarko stepped down as deputy prime minister and HDZ president.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

ZAGREB, May 19, 2020 - The Croatian Pensioners' Union (SUH) has pressed charges against Ivan Skaricic, director of a care home in Split, believing that it is necessary to investigate further his responsibility for the "biggest (COVID-19) hotspot and dying place" in Croatia.

In the charges filed at the Split municipal prosecutor's office for grave crimes against people's health, SUH said on Wednesday the Split home was "one of the deadliest coronavirus infection hotspots in Croatia" given that as of May 18, 69 of its residents have been infected and 18 have died.

Although inspections by two ministries found no irregularities, SUH said it had pressed charges against Skaricic believing that his responsibility for "this tragic situation" had to be further investigated because of "indications that the existence of the virus was unofficially suspected about ten days before it was officially detected in the home."

"Those ten days or so probably would have prevented some residents from getting sick and reduced the number of fatalities," SUH said in the charges, adding that the outbreak was discovered on April 7, when it was said that a dozen residents were infected.

SUH said Skaricic had publicly admitted that several days before a number of residents had a fever, yet this was not reported to epidemiologists because the home did not suspect COVID-19.

May 20, 2020 - The results of genetic testing for the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a sample of 350 players and members of the professional staff of Croatian First League clubs ruled out the existence of COVID-19 in the tested population.

HNS reports that the second phase of testing continues this week, which includes serology tests in addition to RT-qPCR molecular tests to determine the presence of specific IgA and IgG antibodies. The presence of igG antibodies is important because it confirms that the person has overcome the disease.

In his efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the president of the Health Commission of the Croatian Football Association, Dr. Dragan Primorac and co-workers developed a comprehensive model that includes, among other things, the application of specific tests to determine the existence of genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 virus, using molecular tests RT-qPCR. Specifically, this analysis proves the presence of viral (N, E, RdRP) genes of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Determining the presence of viral genetic material is done from a sample of nasopharyngeal swabs (part of the pharynx behind the nasal cavity) since the nasopharynx is one of the places the virus is concentrated after entering the human body. In this model, genetic testing is done at intervals of five days, in order to avoid obtaining false-negative results. Namely, the so-called latency period (the period from contact with the virus to the production of new virus particles) lasts approximately five days.

The project, which is already known in the world today as the "Croatian model", and which was published in the prestigious Journal of Global Health, was strongly supported by Fifa and Uefa. The Teaching Institute for Public Health “dr. Andrija Štampar", Special Hospital Sv. Katarina, International Society for Applied Biological Sciences (ISABS) and Genos Laboratory. Logistical support for the project is also provided by the "HNS Commission for the Covid-19 Pandemic", which includes members of the HNS Health Commission and scientists from the Clinic for Infectious Diseases "Dr. Fran Mihaljević”, Teaching Institute for Public Health "Dr. Andrija Štampar" and the Croatian Institute of Public Health.

The Croatian Football Federation especially emphasizes the great cooperation with clubs, players and members of the professional staff who acted extremely responsibly during the implementation of this project. Also, the Croatian Football Federation continues to implement all measures prescribed by the National Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

March 21, 2021 - TCN Croatia Travel Update carries the most relevant updates on travel, borders, and flights to Croatia at one place, updated daily several times, while TCN Total Croatia Travel Info Viber community (click on the link to join - you will need to download the Viber app) provides you with live answers to any question, as well real-time experiences of travellers to Croatia.

Follow our live updates on the situation in the earthquake-hit areas of Croatia here; find out how you can donate here.

Those arriving to Croatia from Zanzibar (Tanzania) were added to the list of those that need to have a negative test AND self-isolate for 14 days. On January 13, the new border rules for entry were announced. On January 15, the rules are further explained, and the biggest change is that travellers arriving in Croatia from the United Kingdom, the South African Republic, the Austrian region of Tyrol and Brasil need to have a negative PCR test AND they need to self-isolate for 14 days (or have their self-isolation shortened if they pay for another test, at least 7 days after they've entered Croatia), no matter what their citizenship is.

Basic rules regarding entry in Croatia as of December 1st, 2020 are:

- travellers, regardless of their citizenship, arriving from the ECDC "Green List" region, (the list of Green List regions is increasing with every update, so please consult the website or the map below), or from a country listed on the so-called EU "Safe list", who can prove that they haven't spent any time outside of those Green/safe regions while travelling to Croatia, have no symptoms or have not had close contacts with infected persons are allowed to enter Croatia without a test;   

- citizens of the EU/EEA (EU 27 + Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, as well as Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican and including Croatian citizens) or a non-EU citizen with an EU residence permit (or a member of their family, with documents to prove the kinship) are allowed to enter Croatia no matter where they come from and are not required to provide a reason, but need to have a negative PCR test, not older than 48 hours, or get tested upon entry (at their own expense) and self-isolate until they get the results (up to 10 days); the same rule is applied to the third-country nationals travelling from an EU/EEA region;

- third-country nationals arriving from anywhere else (except for the UK and the SAR) will be allowed entry in Croatia if they have a negative PCR test, not older than 48 hours (they will also be given an option to get tested upon entry at their own expense and self-isolate until they get the results), HOWEVER, they will have to prove they are travelling for urgent personal/family reasons, business reasons or other economic interest (including seafarers). 

You can find more details, including some exceptions to the rules listed above in the LATEST OFFICIAL GUIDELINES IN ENGLISH FROM THE CROATIAN BORDER POLICE (December 1)

834 new cases, 20 deaths in the last 24 hours; Daily Corona Update (March 21)

There have been 834 new recorded COVID-19 cases in Croatia in the last 24 hours, so 6,922 cases of COVID-19 remain active. 982 people are still hospitalized, with 90 patients on a ventilator.

6,884 people were tested in the last 24 hours, for a total of 1,475,016 since the crisis began. 257,639 people have been confirmed as infected with COVID-19 in Croatia in total (since February 25th, 2020). 244,944 people have recovered and 5,773 have died (20 patients have died in Croatia in the last 24 hours).

Click on your language to get the latest Croatia Travel Update in your language and read the of Total Croatia News in your language: German - Deutch, Slovenian - slovenščina, Polish - polski, Czech - čeština, Slovak - slovenčina, Hungarian - magyar, Serbian - srpski, Italian - italiano, French - français, Spanish - español, Portuguese - português, Dutch - Nederlands, Danish - dansk, Norwegian - norsk, Swedish - svenska, Finnish - suomi, Russian - русский, Ukrainian - українська мова, Romanian - românește, Bulgarian - български, Albanian - shqip, Korean - 한국어, Chinese - 汉语, and Croatian - hrvatski.

Travelers are advised to fill out the form at http://entercroatia.mup.hr before arriving at the border for faster border crossing.

TravelDoc.aero is a seemingly great service to check on the entry requirements for any country and nationality; however it doesn't seem to be updated to reflect the changes of November 30. Check out the website and your travel eligibility to Croatia and anywhere else here.

Check the official reopen.europa.eu website for detailed information for EU countries.

As US Embassy States Croatia Closed, American Tourists Continue to Arrive (December 3)

9There is a lot of confusion at the moment on whether or not Americans and other 3rd-party nationals can enter Croatia after the November 30 changes. Officially, tourism is not a reason to enter, but that is different from tourists not being able to enter. It is possible, as you can see from the official response above, posted in our Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community. 

Croatia Extends Anti-Epidemic Measures After March 15 (March 10)

Cafe Terraces to Work from 6 am to 10 pm, No Music, Says COVID Response Team (February 26)

Index Finds Out New Rules for Cafes, Restaurants, and Sports in Croatia (February 25)

Prime Minister Plenkovic: Cafe Terraces Can Open on Monday (February 25)

New Official Croatian epidemiological measures (January 30)

New Official Croatian Border Crossing Rules, Recommendations (January 16)

Croats, Brits with Croatian Residence Can Return from UK to Croatia (January 1)

Latest updates from the Petrinja earthquake

Croatia Imposes Temporary Ban on Flights from UK over New Coronavirus Variant (December 21)

Travel to Croatia in December 2020: TCTI Viber Community Traveller Experiences (December 15)

Croatian Government Agreed on Fines for Violating Measures, Awaiting Parliament Confirmation (November 30)

New Measures Until December 21 Announced by Prime Minister Plenkovic (November 26)

What is the Number of Ventilators in Croatia? (November 16)

Croatia Travel Update: Answers to Recent FAQs (December 2)

Travel to Croatia: Real-Time Feedback from Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber Community (September 1)

Where Can You Get Tested for COVID-19 in Croatia? (September 1)

Where to Get Tested Before Arriving in Croatia? (August 9)

Flying to Croatia? Why You Should Print Out These IATA Guidelines (June 16)

OFFICIAL INFO PAGE FROM THE CROATIAN BORDER POLICE, with FAQ and form to ask questions is the best source of official advice (available in English, German, and Croatian, updated on December 1) .

OFFICIAL CROATIAN BORDER POLICE PAGE TO FILL OUT BORDER FORMS AHEAD OF TRAVEL, shortening your waiting time at the Croatian border

What is the entercroatia.mup.hr Form and Do You Need to Fill It? (June 22)

It is recommended that travellers fill out border entry forms at entercroatia.mup.hr, to speed their passage across the border and into Croatia. Visitors will only have to provide their name, place where they're staying, mobile phone number, and email address. An additional reason to do so that is that special fast-track Enter Croatia lanes have been introduced at some borders for quicker entry.

While you wait for the answers from Croatian Border Police, check the real-life experiences of tourists coming to Croatia and get your questions answered in our Total Croatia Travel INFO community (you will need to download the Viber app). This Viber community has been an excellent source of information exchange, where tourist questions are getting answered in real-time. Here are 10 things I learned from the Viber community in the first days. If you have a question or some verified useful travel info to contribute, join us. Please make sure you read the pinned message and our FAQ article before asking any questions.

Borders (This section is being updated regularly to reflect the changes of November 30)

LATEST OFFICIAL GUIDELINES IN ENGLISH FROM THE CROATIAN BORDER POLICE (December 1)

Croatia Announces New Border Rules, Expands PCR Test Requirements

The changes of November 30 brought some changes to just about every category of traveler to Croatia: as of December 1st, almost all Croatian and EU citizens need to have a negative PCR test in order to enter Croatia (there are few exceptions, including those arriving from the ECDC "Green list"), or get tested upon entry and self-isolate until they have the results. As for the third-country nationals, if they are arriving from within the EU, the same rules apply to them. If the third-country nationals want to enter Croatia after spending time elsewhere, they will be asked to provide proof that they are travelling for urgent personal/family reasons, business reasons or other economic interest (including seafarers). We have not been able to officially confirm if potential tourist arrivals will continue to be regarded as "other economic interest", as has been the case before this change. Please consult with your embassy and the Croatian authorities to make sure you'll be able to enter Croatia.

There is no age limit for testing in order to enter Croatia, which means that children need to get tested as well. 

One important piece of information we have heard unofficially is that those travellers who have already had COVID-19, and who have since recovered, will not be required to present a negative PCR test or be given a self-isolation measure. They need to be able to prove with medical documentation that they have had the disease. That documentation needs to reflect that the final day of their disease was not within 14 days of arrival at the Croatian border or more than 90 days before that. 

Follow our regularly updated article to find out if there are any measures imposed when you leave Croatia and enter other countries (updated on November 2)

This section gets regularly updated, as more information becomes available. For more answers in the meantime, please follow our Answers to Recent FAQs (not updated to reflect the changes of Nov 30) and Where Can You Get Tested in Croatia, as well as the Croatian Police official info page, regarding crossing the Croatian border during COVID-19, in English (not updated to reflect the changes of Nov 30). Use the e-mail address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for additional questions and official confirmations from the Croatian Border Police. US citizens should also check the US embassy in Croatia travel advisory.

For the latest rules and information on who can enter and transit Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro please check the linked official government pages. 

3rd country citizens (Americans, Canadians, etc.) have to spend at least 15 days in an EU country (such as Croatia) to be allowed to enter Montenegro (August 7)

Update on July 16: citizens of the European Union and Schengen countries, as well as visa- or residence permit-holders in the EU countries, are allowed to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a negative PCR test for coronavirus, not older than 48 hours. We've received confirmation that the Croatian citizens are exempt from this, ie. that they can enter Bosnia and Herzegovina freely. Please follow Official Bosnian travel advice for more updates. Transit through Neum will be exempt from this rule, you will just have to leave the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina in an hour (it's 23 km, so it shouldn't be a problem).

For more information regarding travel to Slovenia and Montenegro, please visit our sister sites:

Total Slovenia News (Slovenia modifies their red list: 8 Croatian counties on the Red list, other on the Orange list, September 28, 2020)

Total Montenegro News (new measures in force in Montenegro, August 7, 2020)

For comprehensive overviews on crossing the Croatian borders, check out the Total Croatia 2021 guides: Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (updated on Feb 26, 2021)

You can see the current situation at the borders through the border webcams. Simply select 'Border Crossings' under 'Traffic cams' in the menu on the left.

What Do the Green, Yellow & Red Lists Mean for Entering Slovenia During the Corona Crisis? (July 5, Total Slovenia News)

Behind the Scenes at the Croatian Border Control System: AMAZING! (June 9)

Flights

Croatia Airlines is now operating a number of international flights to European cities. Domestic flights are running daily.

Check the latest flight situation at Croatia's airport websites: Zagreb, Split, Zadar, Pula, Dubrovnik, Rijeka, Osijek, Brač and Lošinj.

The Croatia Airlines contact center is available on the following numbers: 0800 77 77 (toll-free calls from Croatia), 072 500 505 or +385 1 66 76 555. More info and Live Schedule.

We have consolidated all the latest flight news into this section. New flight announcements will be added here.

Roads, Ferries, Buses, and Trains

Latest information on the roads from HAK.

Latest ferry information from HAK.

Jadrolinija ferry and catamaran timetable.

Krilo catamaran timetable. 

Croatia Airlines and Jadrolinija Team Up to Improve Croatia's Tourist Offer (July 24)

For the latest on the trains from HAK.

The best resource we have found for bus timetables is GetByBus.

The situation is constantly evolving, and for the latest on travel updates and all other coronavirus developments, we recommend you follow the dedicated TCN COVID-19 section.

Current Situation

Croatian Tourism Association (Hrvatska udruga turizma) has created a helpful tracker of active COVID-19 cases in various Croatian regions - https://www.croatiacovid19.info/ (the color-coding they use is similar to what ECDC has been using, and is indicative of the 14-day average). For more day-to-day visualizations of COVID-19 situation in Croatia, follow Velebit.ai.

We remind you that the best defense against this virus is to maintain personal hygiene, sanitize, and keep a social distance.

More at: https://www.koronavirus.hr/en.

TCN has a dedicated coronavirus section where you can follow all the latest news.

To see how Croatia coronavirus numbers compare to the rest of EU/EEA please check here.

Looking for more details? The latest tourism and travel articles on TCN are here.

If you have relevant and authenticated tourism updated info to add to this resource, please send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Travel update.

Have you joined the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community yet? Learn more about it here.