How much does it cost to spend a month in Opatija, Croatia?

As summer slips toward fall, I spent the end of high season here in Croatia on a writing retreat with my long-time bestie (who is working on his first novel!). We went big, splurging on a luxurious two-bedroom in a fancy-pants town called Opatija. We ate out often (and ordered in often, as well), took a weekend trip to Plitvice National Park with a friend (who was kind enough to invite us and drive), and otherwise mostly spent out time enjoying the seaside promenades, inland wineries, and butt-toning, endless staircases up the hill from coast to town. 

So, what did I spend on this lovely month with my best friend? Here’s the skinny:

Notes on my spending:

As always, it’s important to note that I work while traveling. Someone spending all their time exploring may spend more. Someone living here would spend far less. I’m somewhere in the middle. 

You may notice that this month’s accommodation costs are more than twice my usual budget. This is because Croatia in summer is not the budget destination you’ve been told. Prices in high season, especially along the coast, take an enormous leap. But, because my best friend was coming to spend the end of summer with me, I decided to splurge in a big way. This cost is the entire month’s bill for a large, lovely two-bedroom about 10 minutes from the coast on foot. Cleaning and household supplies (toilet paper, etc.) included. This also includes the cost of one night in a two-bedroom bungalow at Plitvice Lakes, where we spent a weekend (someone else covered night two).

Luckily, I had a credit that covered half of the main apartment, so my real cost was much lower than the full amount you see above. But if you are paying out of pocket in high season in Croatia, expect to see lots of prices like the full amount above. (Honestly, Italy is a better bargain.)

It’s worth noting that if you do want to visit Croatia in high season, you can find deals. You’ll just need to invest a lot of time into searching and be flexible with your location. My smaller apartment in Labin cost 1/4 of what this place rakes in during the summer.

I didn’t eat in as much as usual, so my grocery bill is very reasonable. And honestly I think I may have missed a few receipts from eating out because the number above looks low to me. So expect to pay a bit more for frequent takeaway or restaurant patio meals. 

My entertainment bill is much higher than usual, as I paid for three tickets into Plitvice National Park for the day (that part was my treat and friends paid for some of my meals, so I presume things balanced out).

Not included above are Luna the traveling pooch’s expenses, which came out to:

And my healthcare costs, including a trip to the ER with lower belly pains (good news: not appendicitis) and my monthly insurance costs:

I chose to share these separately from the main total above because healthcare costs vary wildly based on your specific insurance plan and not everyone travels with a dog, so Luna’s costs may not be relevant to the majority of readers.

Looking for more European budgets? Here they all are. 

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