Cash or card in Croatia?
 

Specifically, Split, next month.

Eurozone countries, I'm quite happy amassing a decent chunk of notes and coin and then bringing a surplus home for my next visit, especially as most of the time I'm in the NL or Germany and there's plenty of need for cash.

For non-Eurozone countries that I might only rarely visit I'm less likely to want to deal with anymore cash than is absolutely necessary.

My hotel are providing me with a transfer which I'll have added to the bill, so I can pay by card on departure.

Therefore it's incidentals, meals and beers in the town that will need paying. If I need cash, I'll take it out of an ATM on arrival or soon after.

Will I need much, or is Split the sort of city where I can run around and use a card for everything?

Bars will most probably be cash only. Restaurants mostly take cards. You can exchange your surplus Euros, or withdraw from an ATM, and worst case, you can exchange leftover Kuna to Euros as you leave...

Thanks,

To be fair, I'm not a great fan of waving a card in a bar on the Med, anyway, as that way lies double-swiping and overcharging. It's fee-free withdrawals for me, so I'll withdraw as I go along.

What sort of notes come out of ATMs there? 100Kn and upwards?

Not Med, Adriatic, but you know what I mean.

I'm all for the Pay as You Go approach in bars, UK style, although of course now, in the UK, cards are the main way of paying for drinks in bars.

For any larger amounts, 200s. You won't get anything bigger than 200, but any smaller notes will only be the remainder from the highest possible 200 denominator :)

Bars and smaller restaurants, cash. 200HRK bills are easy enough to get changed and the bill will just be added up and charged at the end.

Taxis will probably be cash only, but I would recommend Uber for running around town. You will get a normal taxi anyway, but the fare will be fixed and electronically charged.

Any excess HRK can be changed to EUR, USD or GBP on departure, at much more reasonable arbitrage that bureaux de change charge in other places.

So, if I want small bills, I need to choose an odd figure less than 200?

I'm guessing I won't have eyes rolled at me if I try to spend a 200 in a shop for a small purchase?

Yes. Withdraw 750 or something like that.

No, they won't blink at a 200.

Thanks very much. This is extremely helpful.

I think its possibly going to be one of these occasions when my wife and children end up with more gifts than usual on my return.

Or where I end up eating well at the airport going home.

Do yourself a favour and use the remaining kuna to buy yourself a bottle or two of amazing Croatian wines ;)

Interesting you should say that. I am planning on travelling HBO, but I have a free hold luggage allowance if I so require it.

Not really a great fan of white, though :(

I'm not going to try to spell them, but the Dalmatian reds are very good. And have a glass of Grk (white) while you're there. It's different enough that it's worth a try.

Dalmatia is mostly about red wines. Actually, Zinfandel grape varietal, that basically made Californian wine production famous, is genetic descendant of the local variety Crljenak from the island of Hvar, whose other (local) relative is Plavac. If you like full-bodied reds, look for a good Plavac or Plavac Mali - even in supermarkets you can find exceptional bottles, as soon as you go over 70-80 kuna per bottle, it'll probably be very good.

In which case, that's sold to me!

Putting the cash toward closing my hotel bill is what I sometimes do when my transport back to the airport won’t require paying cash. Maybe it explains why I don’t have any Croatian money left except for some loose coins mixed in with coins that have been demonetized.