That Croatians raised a modest cheer at midnight last Sunday was perhaps the greatest surprise of the week. Croatia smiled and fireworks brightened the skies over Zagreb to mark the moment when the country became the 28th member of the EU.

Snubbed by Merkel

In fact, the crowds had been out in Zagreb much of Sunday afternoon and evening. There’s nothing like a good party to mark acceptance as member of a club worth joining. The great and the good from across Europe were invited to come to Zagreb and share Croatia’s moment in the limelight.

Most gave their various excuses. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yes, but then changed her mind at the last moment. This left a conspicuously empty space at the top table. German attitudes towards Croatia have cooled since autumn 1991 when Berlin and Bonn moved a little too quickly to recognize the fledgling state when it declared independence from Yugoslavia — so upping the stakes, some said, in Croatia’s vicious spat with neighboring Serbia.

Signing up to the European project

In the absence of Merkel, journalist turned diplomat Vladimir Drobnjak, who led the Croatian team negotiating with Brussels, was left to hold the fort. By all accounts Drobnjak did a grand job talking up the EU project as the accession hour approached. Folk in the square, ordinary citizens of Zagreb who have traveled in by tram from the suburbs to be part of the magic moment, politely applauded. And there was genuine good spirit.

Past or future?

But was that joy born of excitement at joining the EU? It was perhaps more a sense of relief that Croatia could now eventually lay to rest a few ghosts. In a quarter of a century, Croatia has reinvented itself. But the path of change has been a rocky one.

One by one key political figures have been sidelined by allegations of war crimes or corruption. For example Ivo Sanader, who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009, fled the country amid accusations of war profiteering. He was arrested in Austria and sent back home to stand trial. Last fall he was sentenced to ten years for taking backhanders from an Austrian bank.

Croatians hope that accession to the EU closes a troubled chapter in national history. But that does not necessary equate with unqualified enthusiasm for the great European project. Just after Easter this year, Croatians had the chance to elect twelve members of the European Parliament. Here was a chance for Croatians to help shape a better, brighter future for their country. Just a fifth of the electorate bothered to vote. To be exact: 20.8%.

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But like every beach diamond vacation, Dubrovnik is beginning to saturate itself with tourist traps and overpriced snags. To stay within the local cost range, here are some helpful tips:

1. Book (or don’t book) your hotel accordingly

Like many Mediterranean destinations, there are three ways to book accommodation: online, at the tourist offices, or from the hotel owners who linger at airports and bus stations. Heading to the tourist office is the least favorable, as it’s a hassle to locate and rates are rarely appealing. While booking online guarantees a reservation and a variety of room rates, it also lacks the real deals that owners are willing to offer upon your arrival.

That’s why the third option is your best bet for a great deal, if your stomach can stand arriving in town sans reservation. Most hotel owners are like a gentle, friendly mob waiting to greet the tourists. Take time to observe the brochures being displayed, especially as names might match up with ones in online guides and travel books.

Get a few quotes on prices before making a final choice; ask around to find a hotel that offers airport drop-offs, internet, breakfast, a good location, etc. The whole experience might seem a bit unusual and disorganized, but this advertising method is much more effective for mom-and-pop pensions.

2. Ferry and bus transport prices vary

Day trips out of Dubrovnik to nearby islands and small towns vary in price depending on time, day, and company. Simply expecting a list of options to be given at the ticket counter isn’t going to happen, so be prepared to ask. Workers generally speak enough English to answer inquiries about timetables and prices, so quiz the ferry port and bus station ticket desks with a paper and pen in hand.

Get a few quotes on midweek and weekend prices, as well as morning, midday, and evening departures. Another important thing to note is the return time. Off-season transport runs on a more sporadic schedule than the popular summertime, so get the round trip info figured out before setting sail.

3. Buy out of Dubrovnik’s “Old Town”

This advice may seem obvious, but it’s surprisingly intimidating to venture out of the picture-perfect walled city. For the best deals, however, strap on your adventure boots and get out of the tourist area for the real local gifts and wallet-friendly prices.

The district of Lapad is a beautiful neighborhood outside the Old City to stroll around. Shops and restaurants around the beach area streets of Šetaliste Kralja Zvonimira and Šetaliste Nika i Meda Pucica will carry a higher price tag than ones off the beaten path, but Lapad’s greenery and admirable architecture will make exploration a pleasantly satisfying one. Rentals for beach fun like snorkels and fishing are at a lower price than Old Town, so planning a day in the sand along Lapad is also worthwhile.

Just like any knowledgeable traveler will know, doing a little research before arrival will really help you out. However, having the confidence to interact with locals and venture away from the masses can be just as helpful and cost-effective, especially in budding tourist towns.

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When I decided to head to Croatia, albeit during high season, I was surprised to find prices higher than I expected: A midrange hotel (as spare as spare can get) runs about €60 to €100, while an entrée at a restaurant will cost €10 to €25.

The good news? There are definitely ways to save, as I’ve discovered this week on the road, and along the Dalmatian Coast.

Here are four tips for keeping your budget in check:

1. Rent a car in Slovenia

One of the first questions I had about Croatia was whether I needed a car. This seemed like an obvious place to save some cash, and if there were adequate buses and trains between the main cities on the coast and ferries to all of the islands, would I really need wheels? The answer is most resoundingly yes, if only for the ability to delve further into the countryside and get away from the tourist hot spots at the ferry docks.

Cars are insanely expensive to rent in Croatia, however. My boyfriend and I decided instead to fly into Ljubljana, Slovenia, and rent a car there—the difference was literally hundreds of dollars over the course of a week. And Ljubljana is a mere hour and a half drive from Istria in northwestern Croatia, giving us a reason to stop by the region famed for its truffles and risottos on the way to the beach.

Which leads me to my next point…

2. Fly into a neighboring country, too.

If you can’t find a decently priced flight to Split, Dubrovnik, or Zadar, Croatia on the Dalmatian coast, try pricing the flights to Ljubljana, Slovenia or Trieste, Italy, from London–the gateway to Europe and home to a number of low-cost airlines.

This worked for us because we are living in London (the roundtrip flight to Ljubljana on Easyjet was $200 each), but the savings can also be big from the U.S., provided you’re willing to do the work to get to an Easyjet, Ryanair or Wizzair hub outside London (at Stansted, Luton or Gatwick airports). Wizzair has the cheapest flights of the three to Split, the most central town on the coast.

Alas, I didn’t know about these flights (or the airline, if I’m honest) until I was already here! Hence the detour to Ljubljana….

3. Avoid hotels at all costs.

I’m simply amazed by how much hotels cost in Croatia during the high season—any halfway-decent hotel will easily cost more than €150, and if you’re heading to resort islands like Hvar, better prepare to pay €250-€300!

A far cheaper alternative—and not really that much more uncomfortable—is to camp or stay in a private accommodation (i.e. a local’s spare bedroom).

Campgrounds are found all along the coast and they are shockingly clean, quiet, and very kid-friendly. (In fact, based on how many kids I heard chattering away in German on the beach, this seems to be the cheap family vacation for Germans and Austrians during the recession this year). Expect to pay about €25 to €30 per person to use the grounds, which include facilities like hot showers, toilets, and sinks.

The other affordable option is a private accommodation. Head for the local tourist offices, as they’ll have lists of residents who are willing to put tourists up for a night at a fraction of the cost of a hotel.

I had my first experience in a pension last night. My boyfriend and I disembarked from the ferry in Zadar at nearly 11 PM and wandered into the Aquarius Travel Agency half-dead, looking for a room. Ten minutes later, we were following a map across a footbridge to an early 1900’s mansion on the water. Our host for the night, a woman named Natalia, showed us to our room.

The room had a very comfortable double bed and loads of character (at least half a dozen religious portraits and crucifixes adorning the walls, along with Natalia’s wedding photo–I gather it was at least 60 years ago). She spoke to us at length in Italian and we nodded, pretending to understand. The cost, dear Cheapos? A mere €20 a night per person.

4. Find a cheap meal.

Actually, I’m still looking for one! Street food (i.e. pizza) is about the best option, though most restaurants have decent plates of tagliatelle and risotto topped with fresh squid and shrimp for around €8-€10.

One of the best values is Mondo, a little spot we found in the Istrian hilltop town of Motovun, thanks to a raving New York Times review. If you ever find yourself in this part of the world, make the effort to get to Mondo. For about $40 per person, we had one of our best travel meals in ages: an unbelievably fragrant truffle and eggplant risotto for me, squid stuffed with Istrian prosciutto and local cheese for him, as well as starters of a plate of prosciutto drizzled with olive oil and beef carpaccio with more truffles, and a bottle of a very drinkable Istrian white wine.

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A handball game often compared to volleyball, some claim that Ba?vice is the only spot where the game can be properly played. Žbirac Caffe‘s Duško Cismic Marovic (a Split guide) picigin was born in Central America 6000 years ago using goat skin filled with sand. Today, a peeled and ground-down tennis ball is the preferred implement. Ideally, a match takes place in shallow water as five players, standing in a circle, use the palms of their hands to keep the ball airborne for as long as possible without allowing it to hit the sand below.

Live picigin play translates into tanned, toned, mostly tall guys spinning, body flipping and skidding over, under and along clear water for a beach warmers’ viewing pleasure. Said eye candy goes especially well with a side dish of trešnja gelato from a nearand future vacation hot spot—in the Bermuda Triangle. Book ahead.

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Rumor 1: Nacionalni Park Plitvi?ka Jezera is Difficult to Reach. False. A main highway runs right through the park with bus stops near both entrances.

Rumor 2: The Hotels in the Park are Hidden Away. False. One guidebook implies the nearest bus stop is 6 km away from the main entrance as well as the three park hotels. The Hotel Bellevue is 300 meters away from a bus stop near the Second Entrance and the other two hotels, Hotel Plitvice and Hotel Jezero, are a five-minute walk from the Bellevue.

Rumor 3: Hotel Bellevue is Dreary. False. Brand new 1970s retro furnishings are not the point; the lush window views are. The outside of the hotel is freshly painted, to boot.

Rumor 4: Maps are Readily Available. False. When we visited, maps could only be purchased for a few kuna inside the Hotel Jezero gift shop. We overheard one Bellevue staff member advising a guest that maps are unimportant. Signs point in confusing directions. Signage graphics are misleading at their best and illegible at their worst.

Rumor 5: Start a Waterfall Tour at Station 1. Not really false, but a bad idea. A start at Station 4 allows for easy downhill walking. Also, the approach to the Big Waterfall at Station 1 is more dramatic.

Rumor 6: The Park is Not Handicapped Accessible. True. Venice, Italy is easier to traverse.

Rumor 7: The Waterfalls are Spectacular. True. All the confusion is well worth the trip.

Note that Plitvice hotels don’t have Web sites. You can contact the general Plitvice sales department at info@np-plitvicka-jezera.hr.

Wandering Cheapo Kari Hoerchler is a blogger, budget traveller and science fiction novelist stationed on Planet Earth. She has recently been spotted on small stages of New York coffeehouses telling tall tales of a tropical island—and future vacation hot spot—in the Bermuda Triangle. Book ahead.

The post Wandering Cheapo: Debunking the Plitvice Rumors appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

A peaceful island of less than one square km, Lokrum is a nature preserve with no cars or human inhabitants. Save for an old fortress and a Benedictine monastery converted into a restaurant, you also won’t find buildings on the island.

Locals and tourists alike go on pilgrimage to Lokrum to commune with nature. Plant enthusiasts will delight in the lovely botanical garden while sun worshippers should head straight to the island’s beaches for a dip in the pristine Adriatic. For those who prefer to go au natural, there is a secluded beach—check bikinis at entrance—in the southeast. If you climb the rocks all the way around the southern tip of the beach, you can dive into your very own grotto.

Boats for Lokrum depart every hour in low season and every half hour in the summer. Look for ferry tickets just beyond the clock tower on the southern end of Old Town’s main street. It’s a 15-minute boat ride (HRK35; €4.75; $6.50 roundtrip.) The last boat in low season leaves at 6 p.m. (8 p.m. in high season.)

Wandering Cheapo Sunnia Ko is a wanderer at heart and primarily supports this habit as a teacher at Plovdiv University in Bulgaria. She recently returned from a cross-Balkan trek from Plovdiv to Sibenik, Croatia and back.

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