Does Croatia Use the Euro? Paying for things in Croatia

In 2013 Croatia joined the European Union - making it easier for those within the EU to travel to the country. However, Croatia has not adopted the Euro and continues to use the Kuna as the official currency.

As of this writing one Euro is worth about 7.4 Kuna so the exchange rate favors those visiting from the eurozone.

Does anyone Accept Euros in Croatia?

Yes. While we would not suggest counting on most places accepting Euros, we did come across several places that said they would accept Euros. This was particularly true when a restaurant didn't accept credit cards. Our charter company also suggested we could pay our crew in Euros as well.

Can you get Euros in Croatia?

Not easily. Originally, we thought we had to pay our crew in Euros which turned out not to be the case - they happily accepted (and maybe even preferred Kuna). That didn't stop us from going on a hunt for an ATM that offered Euros with no luck. While you might be able to get some from the currency exchange offices in some of the port cities, they generally offered low exchange rates and should be avoided.

How do you pay for things?

Cash is still king in Croatia. Many restaurants and stores, particularly those that are in more remote areas, aren't able to accept credit cards. So you'll want to carry enough cash to cover your meals anytime you're leaving the major cities. Even in Dubrovnik, the gelato place that was suggested to us did not accept cards.

The good news is that there are ATMs literally everywhere. So as long as you have a debit card you should be able to pull out Kuna.

Tip: Make sure you decline the ATMs currency conversion. It's almost always WAY worse than what your bank will provide you automatically.

Can I use Credit Cards?

Within the larger cities, most places accepted credit cards (but not American Express). Also, the more expensive things (e.g. tours, rentals, etc) usually accepted credit cards.

Anywhere that accepts credit cards also accepted contactless. So we'd suggest setting up Apple Pay (or equivalent) before heading out.