Croatia

Always carry your passport or, if you’re a resident, your Croatian ID card. Keep a copy of your passport’s photo page in a safe place.

In some Croatian town centres, including tourist destinations like Split and Dubrovnik, you can get on-the-spot fines for behaviour seen as inappropriate, including: 

• drinking alcohol or using drugs in public spaces
• sleeping in public spaces
• urinating or vomiting in public spaces
• walking through towns shirtless or in swimwear
• wearing clothing that promotes drug use
• climbing on monuments

You can also be fined up to 4,000 euros for public order disturbances, including: 

• fighting
• verbal abuse such as shouting or arguing
• drunken behaviour
• belittling or insulting police officers or other public officials

Illegal drugs, including cannabis, carry severe penalties. Carrying cannabis for personal use has been decriminalised but if found on you or in your apartment, you will be asked to pay sometimes heavy fines.

You should expect a long jail sentence and heavy fines for possessing, using or smuggling illegal drugs, including when transiting through the airport.

Airports in Croatia have excellent technology and security for detecting illegal items. This is also used to scan the baggage of transiting passengers.

If you travel outside the tourist resorts, beware of unexploded mines in previously war-affected areas, including: 

• Eastern Slavonia
• Brod-Posavina County
• Karlovac County
• areas around Zadar County
• more remote areas of the Plitvice Lakes National Park

For more information about mine-affected areas, visit the Civil Protection website (in Croatian) or contact the Civil Protection offices. 

If you’re travelling in these areas, do not walk on uncultivated land or step off the marked paths. If in doubt, get local advice. 

Wildfires are common during Croatia’s hot and dry summers. They can be highly dangerous and unpredictable. The situation can change quickly. Take care when visiting or driving through woodland and forest areas. If you see a fire, call the emergency services on 112.

Be cautious if you are in or near an area affected by wildfires:

• follow the advice of local authorities and emergency services
• call the Croatian emergency services on 112 if you are in immediate danger
• for further information, see Croatia’s Civil Protection website

Intentionally causing a fire is illegal in Croatia and you could be fined 2,000 to 20,000 euros, or even given a prison sentence. You could also be fined for unintentionally causing a fire.  To avoid starting wildfires:

• leave no litter, especially not glass which is known to start fires
• do not light barbecues. From 1 June to 31 October it is illegal to set outdoor fires and barbecues except in designated areas
• properly extinguish cigarette ends and do not leave any rubbish behind, particularly empty bottles, as these are known to start fires

Earthquakes in Croatia can be strong and cause deaths and damage to infrastructure. In recent years, there have been earthquakes in Zagreb and in Petrinja, near Sisak in central Croatia. Both caused extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure and loss of life. Heavily damaged buildings, which are not always signposted, may be unstable. 

Small tremors also happen several times a month throughout the year. Most pass without consequence. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency website has advice about what to do before, during and after an earthquake. 

Flash floods can happen with very little warning and lead to dangerous water flows and disruption to transport and other networks. There is the highest risk of flooding in central Croatia, between Karlovac and Slavonski Brod. Monitor Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service forecasts, as well as traffic conditions with the Croatian Automobile authority and follow the advice of local authorities.