How much does a Croatia trip cost? Real budget

Croatia isn't the cheapest destination in the Balkans — Dubrovnik in particular has a well-earned reputation for being pricey, especially near the walls — but it's not as out of reach as it looks from outside either. Here's how a real week's budget breaks down between Dubrovnik and Hvar.

The big expense categories

A 7-day trip to Croatia breaks down into five categories: flights, accommodation, food, transport (the Dubrovnik-Hvar ferry falls here) and activities like boat excursions or beach clubs.

Of those five, accommodation is the one that varies most by area: Dubrovnik is consistently more expensive than Hvar, so the same budget stretches very differently depending on which city you choose to spend more in — something we found out by comparing prices between the two.

Three ways to do the same trip

Low-cost: hostels in both cities, restaurants outside the tourist center, a standard boat tour instead of the full one. Here the budget, excluding flights, runs around €700-900, and the difference isn't as noticeable as you might fear.

Standard, the one I'd recommend: well-located mid-range hotels, a special dinner here and there (a Restaurant 360 or a Nautika), the full 3-island tour. Goes up to €900-1,600 excluding flights, and it's where we landed.

Premium: luxury hotels facing the walls or with a spa in Hvar, Michelin dinners, private excursions. Can go over €1,800 excluding flights, and at that point you're mostly paying for comfort and exclusivity.

The normal move is to mix it up: stay simple in Dubrovnik and treat yourself in Hvar or at the Pakleni dinner. That's what we did and we don't regret it one bit.

Don't forget to budget for

The Dubrovnik-Hvar ferry booked ahead in peak season, travel insurance (highly recommended for boat excursions, and I say that from personal experience), and a 10-15% margin for an unplanned beach club or dinner that's bound to show up.