22/07/2026
Croatia isn't expensive. The numbers confirms it! You're just looking at the wrong three towns. 🇭🇷
Compare the seven big Mediterranean holiday countries on what a normal week actually costs — food, drinks, eating out, everyday spending — and Croatia comes out cheaper than Greece. Cheaper than Spain. Cheaper than Italy. Cheaper than France.
So where does the reputation come from? From three or four places.
Dubrovnik in August. Hvar in July. A €6 beer on a famous square. People visit the two or three most photographed spots in the country, pay peak-season prices, and conclude that the whole coast is expensive.
It isn't. And of Croatia's well-known coastal destinations, the most affordable one is Šibenik — which the British press has just noticed too: https://www.dailymail.com/travel/article-15944285/swap-dubrovnik-croatia-city-without-crowds.html
A half-litre of local beer: €2.75. In Dubrovnik, €6.
Dinner for two, three courses: around €25 cheaper.
Accommodation: up to 31% less than a comparable stay in Dubrovnik — and roughly 15–20% below Split.
And here's the part that matters: you're not trading down for it.
Šibenik is the only city in Croatia with two UNESCO World Heritage sites
- St James's Cathedral, and
- St Nicholas Fortress, which you can only reach by boat.
- Krka National Park is a 20-minute drive.
- The Kornati archipelago is a morning's sail.
- Split and Zadar airports are both about an hour away.
- And Pelegrini, right beside the cathedral, holds a Michelin star in the 2026 guide — while a seafood risotto at Konoba Marenda, a few streets away, is about €10.
Same sea. Same islands. Same Dalmatian food. A fraction of the bill.
We've been based here since 1995, and this is one of the reasons why. ⛵
If you've written Croatia off as too expensive — you were looking at the wrong three towns.
📍 NCP Charter — D-Marin Marina Mandalina, Šibenik
📩 [email protected] ·
📞 +385 22 312 999
Croatia Full of life Visit Dalmatia Šibenik Visit Šibenik
