Euro, passport controls and Co.
What will change for Croatia tourists in 2023
Fewer traffic jams when entering the country and no more exchanging money – a lot will change for Croatian holidaymakers with the country’s entry into the Schengen area and the euro zone.
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No more kuna exchanges: next year it will also be possible to use euros everywhere.
Croatia is a popular holiday destination in Europe. The new year brings some changes. Blick names the most important:
Elimination of passport controls
If you drive to Croatia by car, you should feel the change as soon as you enter the country: with the country joining the Schengen area, border controls will no longer apply from January 1st. Holiday guests who were previously annoyed by kilometer-long traffic jams at the border crossings with Slovenia or Hungary will benefit from this.
According to the border police, passport controls at Croatian airports will only be eliminated from March 26 for technical reasons. Tourists must still carry a valid identity card or passport with them.
As of January, 27 European countries belong to the Schengen area without personal or goods controls. These include Croatia, 23 EU countries and four partner states: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
The second innovation: the euro will be the official currency in Croatia from January. Travelers no longer have to exchange their money into the local currency Kuna.
If you still have kuna left over from previous trips, you can exchange them in banks or exchange offices at the rate of 7.5345 kuna for one euro. The EU finance ministers agreed on this in mid-July when they sealed Croatia’s entry into the euro.
With Croatia, a total of 20 EU countries belong to the euro zone. On the other hand, travelers in Denmark, Sweden, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic and Hungary still have to exchange money into the respective national currency.
Croatia’s entry into the euro zone will strengthen Croatia’s economy and “also the euro,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU). In individual cases, however, there could be a one-off “euro” effect if innkeepers or hoteliers round up prices, Croatian critics of the common currency warn.
Freedom of movement already applies
Croatia has been a member of the European Union since 2013. Since then, all EU citizens have enjoyed freedom of movement there. That means they can work or study in the Adriatic country and have rights similar to those of almost four million Croatian nationals. (AFP)