May 9, 2022 - To make the most of your next vacation, here are some apps that shouldn't be missing from your phone when traveling around Croatia.

Oh yes, the good old days when having a city guide under your arm and an adventurous spirit were enough to travel the world and enjoy it to the fullest. Times have changed, and both the constantly evolving digital age and marketing make us aware of needs we didn't think we had. Today, we book airline tickets and accommodations, navigate with GPS, and change currencies, all on a mobile device.

But this is by no means a critique of the mobile app era. On the contrary, we will use this space to highlight some of the apps that will truly make your next trip easier, relieve the stress, and leave uncertainty while traveling around Croatia aside.

Just a reminder. The apps that we will list below are not necessarily secret or unknown, because some of them (we hope) you should already have installed! Basically, we remind you that the following apps are essential to make your experience in Croatia better.

Google Translate

Let's start off right: communication. Yes, English is spoken in Croatia. And very good English. Some will believe that it has to do only with the tourist context, but there are many reasons to explain the very good level of speaking and understanding of English in Croatia, even in public offices.

However, English is not the official language in Croatia. Croatian is. As a good tourist, you will find that the locals will really appreciate it if you replace some words in your sentences with Croatian ones. After all, it is a difficult language and they know it. You just have to try it and you will notice the gratitude almost immediately. Now, go ahead and use some common words or even dare to ask some questions in Croatian. Not only do we encourage you to do it to create a link with the locals, but also because it will be useful in case English is not enough to make it clear what you need with your host, your waiter at the restaurant, the bus driver, or even a random person in the street.

For this reason, Google Translate is the application that we recommend you to have. Personally, we recommend using their English to Croatian translator, which has more translations and fewer errors. There are other translation apps, but unfortunately, they do not have a Croatian translator or they are not well programmed for that function.

Available at Apple App Store and Google Play.

Currency

As you well know, the official currency in Croatia is the Kuna. Although it is very likely that you booked your accommodation and your tickets in euros, dollars, or pounds, once you land in Croatia you will need to know the currency exchange. It is true that you can use your credit or debit card to pay for everything here, but besides being a very good idea to be aware of the exchange rate, it is good to note that some places (such as bars, cafes, tours or activities) charge cash only.

For this reason, before going to the nearest ATM to withdraw money or to an exchange house to change it, we recommend you use the Currency application, where you can see the value of the kuna versus absolutely all the existing currencies in the world. This will be a year of many changes in prices because from January 2023 Croatia will begin its transition process to the Eurozone. Therefore, we could not recommend you more to have this application at hand.

Available at Apple App Store and Google Play.

Google Maps

Another app that you should already have installed on your mobile device. Apple Maps is also an option, but from experience, I think Google Maps today is better designed to be used in a country like Croatia. Even the vast majority of satellite images from Google have been recently updated in the country, so it will be a great tool to guide you safely when traveling around Croatia.

In some cities, like Zagreb, the database of the public transport system is synchronized with this application, so it is possible to know exactly which bus or tram should take you to the place you need in real-time. In other cities, like Split, it is even possible to see the ferry routes in 360 views.

Google Maps will definitely be your ideal tool not only to find your accommodation, a good restaurant to eat at, or a secret beach to relax but also to build your itinerary if you plan to travel to several cities in Croatia, evaluate which is the best breakfast option based on its review system, or also to take alternative routes in case you come across a closed street or traffic.

Available at Apple App Store and Google Play.

Booking.com

No, we do not have a partnership with Booking.com, and we definitely know that there are numerous alternatives such as Hotels.com, Airbnb, Hostelworld, or Expedia. However, if there is one thing you need to know about accommodation in Croatia, it is that there is more than one type of accommodation. Actually, more than three. Honestly, more than ten. It's hard to count.

Hotels, villas, houses, apartments, rooms, bungalows, camping sites, eco-lodges, hostels... even boats! The offer of accommodation in Croatia is incredibly diverse, and this invites you to be open-minded and correctly evaluate which one will be able to effectively satisfy your dream vacation. Therefore, you need an accommodation search site that brings together all this diversity, and you can find it on Booking.com.

We do not want to recommend an app based on bad experiences, but the truth is that during the high season in Croatia there are many cases of scams to tourists looking for accommodation. Many of them book accommodations that cancel reservations or raise their prices at the last minute, or even didn't exist in the first place! Therefore, having an application like Booking.com is a good idea if you want to see alternatives with ratings and reviews that give you more security before booking your accommodation, as well as being in contact with a customer service that avoids this type of awkward situations.

Available at Apple App Store and Google Play.

FlixBus

During summer at its height, transportation alternatives for traveling around Croatia are not in short supply. Trains, planes, ferries, catamarans... you name it. However, the leading transport system in Croatia continues to be buses. Everyone, both locals and tourists, can basically get to any corner of the country, and from anywhere in Europe, by bus.

The German company FlixBus is the best option if you plan to reduce travel costs and choose the bus as your transportation alternative if you travel from another country to Croatia. Its modern fleet will bring you to and from Croatia with the comfort that a well-deserved vacation deserves.

Available at Apple App Store and Google Play.

Arriva Croatia

This time, we will add another bus application. Believe it or not, FlixBus is not necessarily the favorite in the country. Although you will see their green buses at all stations and roads in the country, it cannot be said that the margin of preference is as distant as that of Arriva Croatia, and for a special reason. FlixBus, while connecting to almost every city in Croatia, may not reach everywhere. Something that you will find in Arriva Croatia, which not only offers you tickets to big cities like Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Osijek, Zadar, Dubrovnik, Pula or Šibenik, but also to more remote and smaller towns and villages throughout the country (and even the islands and National Parks!).

Likewise, Arriva Croatia has a huge fleet of buses and, therefore, a large number of schedules and competitive prices that will motivate you to compare your options between both companies. At the end of the day, it doesn't hurt to organize a trip around Croatia using buses from both Arriva Croatia and FlixBus. Both have mobile applications that allow you to check their schedules, reserve seats, and download your tickets to your phone.

Available at Apple App Store and Google Play.

BlaBlaCar

Here we present a somewhat different transport application. It is the app that almost everyone has recommended to me in Croatia, and very recently I used it for the first time to travel from Zagreb to Rijeka.

BlaBlaCar is a French application that allows you to choose a city or town of departure and destination, and it will give you a list of drivers who will also travel that route on the day you choose to travel. The drivers are the ones who offer their departure and arrival times, as well as the exact departure and arrival points in the respective cities. The choice is yours. You'll be able to see who else will be traveling with you, as well as ratings and reviews from past passengers.

BlaBlaCar is a great alternative if you travel light from one city to another, want to get there faster, and to make it more interesting, to meet people during the trip through good conversations.

Once the driver has been chosen, you will receive a confirmation from him and you will be able to obtain his contact information to coordinate the meeting at the starting point. We recommend that you confirm your trip in advance, and also bring cash as it is generally the preferred form of payment for drivers.

Available at Apple App Store and Google Play.

Jadrolinija

What's a Croatia vacation without an island getaway? Of course, the Croatian Adriatic coast is long enough to find a beach that suits your needs, but there is a special feeling of getting on a ferry and exploring one of the more than 1000 Croatian islands. If that is your wish, then make sure you have the Jadrolinija app installed.

Jadrolinija is the national ferry company in Croatia, and while their website or port offices have long been the most common places to buy your tickets, their mobile app is also a great option as you never know when you may be tempted to change your plans and hop on a ferry.

In their app, just choose your departure ferry port and you'll be able to see the destinations you can go to. This will allow you to see your table of times and prices according to the number of passengers. You can also find information about the location of the ferry ports in Croatia. The app allows you to pay by debit card.

Available at Apple App Store and Google Play.

Tripadvisor

Although Google Maps has a huge database of reviews and ratings to help you make a decision on where to go, stay or eat, Tripadvisor remains a benchmark among travel guide applications. Perhaps what positions Tripadvisor as a leader in the category is that you only have to enter a destination to which you plan to go to obtain a wide range of possibilities on what to do and see during your trip.

It is an application widely used by companies of all kinds in Croatia, and that is why you will not find it difficult to find tours, activities, or workshops that allow you to have a different vacation. Precisely, you will be able to use the ratings and reviews to validate the quality and reliability of these activities, and not take any risks.

There are all types of tourists, and among them, there are those who do not usually arrive with pre-made itineraries, since for them spontaneity and improvisation add some emotion and a feeling of adventure to their vacations. Therefore, Tripadvisor is a great tool to get inspired and make a list of places to see and things to do in your destination in Croatia.

Available at Apple App Store and Google Play.

Uber

It may not have the best public transport in Europe, but Croatia is a country where you can get around without any problems. If time is not an issue for you and you enjoy urban and rural landscapes while onboard a bus or tram, then there is no reason to despair.

However, it is true that from time to time you will have to rush to the airport, the train station, the bus station, or the ferry port or you will lose your trip. Similarly, you never know when you may need to go to a hospital (when it's not an emergency) or maybe you've booked a tour where you have to meet the agency at a certain place and time. In these and many other cases, the virtue of patience is probably not enough and nerves do not allow you to wait for a bus or tram, which sometimes you do not know when they may arrive.

In that sense, it might be a bit obvious that having a taxi app installed is always a good idea. Yes, there are taxis that can take you from the airport to the city and vice versa but don't trust their rates. It is better to grab the WiFi and book the taxi from an app. While many in Croatia will recommend apps like Cammeo or Bolt, I have personally found Uber to be quite reliable and effective, with reasonable and fair rates.

Available at Apple App Store and Google Play.

Today's smartphones contain enough storage to install dozens of apps, so you shouldn't feel limited to just these ten. The idea is to travel calmly and happily, so the more apps you find that can help you organize your vacation, the better! Find apps that help you learn about private boat rentals, weather apps, airline apps, apps with biking or hiking trails, and more. Everything helps!

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 2 May 2021 - One of the biggest ecological challenges today are invasive alien species which will be possible to track by a mobile application called "Invasive species in Croatia", which was launched earlier this week in Krapje, a community in Sisak-Moslavina County.

The application, developed by the Economy and Sustainable Development Ministry, was presented to rangers and other staff working in protected areas located by the River Sava.

"The information system for invasive alien species provides existing information on alien species in Croatia in a single, publicly available place. It will be updated, which is why the application has been developed, to enable citizens to report their observations," said Ana Ješovnik of the Office for Alien Species of the Institute for Environment and Nature Protection at the Economy and Sustainable Development Ministry. 

"This system will help monitor not only the number and appearance of invasive alien species but also trends in their expansion, and it will also improve management planning to prevent their harmful effect on biodiversity," she said.

Sandra Slivar of the Office for Alien Species underlined the importance of rangers who are among the first to spot the appearance and spreading of an invasive alien species. Their input, she said, helps plan the protection of protected species and habitats.

The European Union has compiled a list of invasive species, and on that list of 66 animal and plant species, 24 have been reported in Croatia.

Burdock, desert false indigo among invasive species in Lonjsko Polje

Among the dozen invasive species that have been identified in the Lonjsko Polje Nature Park, the most important ones are burdock, goldenrods, wild cucumber, and desert false indigo, which in the past 30 years or so has spread over most of the marshes in the park, or around 5,000 hectares of land, and the park management has so far revitalized around 600 hectares of land through donations.

"The Lonjsko Polje Nature Park has been battling invasive alien species for years. Participation in the Sava TIES project in the past three years has helped do a lot in the field of research, improvement of the legislative framework as well as in raising the level of interdepartmental and cross-border cooperation," the park's director, Marija Kušmiš, said.

Invasive alien species have a negative effect on biodiversity and eco-systems and some of them jeopardize the economy as well as human health, she said.

The spreading of invasive alien species reduces the area of marsh habitats of many strictly protected animal and plant species, it was said.

For more news about everything made in Croatia, be sure to visit our dedicated section.

April 30, 2021 - After a great start with their learning-by-cycling app, a Bikademy virtual loyalty card with discounts on bicycles and parts is now available for its users.

Hrturizam.hr reports that a Bikademy virtual loyalty card has been announced by its creators who, through a strategic partnership with the Giant cycling store, will offer discounts and offers for the Bikademy students.

The only step that users have to take is to register on the Bikademy app, which is available in both Google Play and the Apple App Store. ‘‘Once installed, you will find in the upper right corner of the Index your virtual card with which you will have additional benefits from our partners. And the first partner is Bikademy sponsor: Giant Croatia! When you buy in the Giant Store, you must show your Bikademy virtual loyalty card with the code, and the following benefits are provided: -10% on Giant Liv bikes, -20% on Giant Liv accessories -5% on Maxxis tires and tubes, Shimano, Salomon, BikeWorkx, Endura, Basil and a complete range of other brands and brands”, says Krešimir Herceg from Bikademy.

Credit: Ivan Vuksa (Pixabay)

The Bikademy app was launched as an interesting concept that shows destinations through studies, consisting of natural and cultural heritage sites, representing the Bikademy Exams. Ideal for exploring the entire destination and connecting with tourist attractions and entities.

It promotes micro-regions (cities and regions) as desirable cycling tourist destinations in an interactive, educational and fun way. The basis of this product is a platform with fields of studies that represent certain regions or cities. Each study has its own exams (locations). Exams are passed when a user, also called Bike Student, visits that location with their bicycle and takes a selfie at the location.

For users to pass any exam, they shall first register if they are new users (Bike Student). Their tasks are visiting locations (also known as the exams) of certain studies, by bicycle. They have to take a selfie with their bikes at that location through the app (GPS and data have to be turned on). After passing every exam of a certain study, they will be rewarded. There is no order to pass the exams, as they can be taken randomly.

“Many thanks to Giant Croatia for its great long-term support to the entire project. We certainly plan to introduce other partners who are primarily in the world of cycling, and then cycling as a sport. We will continue to build this story so that our customers can have even more benefits’’, stated Herceg.

The platform is primarily intended for an increasing number of cyclists, both foreigners visiting our country and domestic, and thus can serve as an excellent tool and added value in the tourist offer of destinations. How to extend the tourist season? By creating quality content, especially in the post-corona era where the focus is on active and sustainable tourism.

Currently, Bikademy has ten exams or studies in Croatia and one in Berlin, and soon Bikademy will be implemented in Šibenik as well. ‘‘We just found out how the project passed us in a tender of the Ministry of Tourism which will make several trainings on the use of the Bikademy application and concept, and we will open a new study: the region of Sibenik. I hope that we will soon come out with more concrete information and details’’, concludes Herceg.

To learn more about Bikademy, visit their official website.

For more information about cycling in Croatia, go to Total Croatia's dedicated page.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, November 20, 2020 - Cross-border sharing of data collected by Croatia's mobile application "Stop COVID 19" and data collected by other EU member-states' official applications was established on Thursday, the Croatian government said on its website on Thursday.

After Croatia's experts developed the application, it was underscored that tracking the contacts of people infected with Covid-19 by mobile phones is a voluntary epidemiological measure with strict respect for privacy and that it will depend on the epidemiological situation.

Data sharing practices in this field are in line with decisions and recommendations of the European Commission, the E-Zdravstvo (E-Health) service, and other European bodies.

Croatia has become the seventh EU member that can share data on ''infected keys''.  The other six countries are Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia and Spain.

The EC says on its website that "tracing and warning apps can help break the chain of coronavirus infections, nationally and across borders, and save lives by complementing manual tracing."

Most Member States have launched a national contact tracing and warning app which can be used on a voluntary basis.

"The virus does not stop at borders. Therefore, in addition, the Member States, together with the Commission, have set up a new service to allow national apps to talk to each other across borders in Europe, so users will have to install a unique App which will allow them to be warned if they were in contact with someone who has indicated that they have tested positive for COVID-19."

Contact tracing and warning apps are only used voluntarily, based on Bluetooth proximity technology, respect users' privacy and do not enable the tracking of people's locations.

Scan. Solve. Learn. How much do you know about the Croatian mobile application Photomath?