Planning your trip to Croatia and flying to Zagreb and wondering if you can buy a prepaid sim card on arrival? Don't let slow overseas data roaming plans or high roaming charges ruin your Croatia holiday. Here is a complete guide for buying a sim card for Croatia at Zagreb Airport.

Buying a prepaid sim card at Zagreb Airport is easy but ordering an eSIM for Croatia on the internet is even easier. Find out where to buy a sim card at Zagreb Airport, up to date prices as per August 2024, my recommendation, a YouTube video of my arrival, the best eSIMs for Croatia, information about European and international sim cards for Croatia and everything else you need to know before buying a sim card at Zagreb Airport.

A couple weeks ago there was only one unexplored region in Europe left for me to discover and this trip was on my bucketlist for so long already. Finally I found time to go on a Balkan road trip and explore 6 new countries. I had been to Slovenia and Croatia before but not yet to Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia. I was super excited to see all the Balkan highlights and was more than delighted to do this road trip with my super chill Peugeot 5008, my new favorite car.

Excel in Luxury and Service is exactly what Boutique & Design Hotel Navis in Opatija, Rijeka is all about!

Five star hotels are often big, bigger, biggest. The motto is often the bigger the better the more luxurious. Having said that however, I often find myself lost in these huge hotels. After checking in, it can sometimes feel like a maze to find your room.

Big is not always better and best. This must have been the thought when building Boutique and Design Hotel Navis in Croatia. A small-scale five star hotel where personal service is key.

Read below all about my experiences staying in this charming boutique hotel in Kvarner Bay, Rijeka.

Right next to the main train station in the city center of Zagreb you’ll be able to find your luxurious “home away from home”. Travel back to the times of the Orient Express in the beautiful Esplanade Hotel Zagreb, which welcomed its first guests already in 1925. While entering the lobby you’ll be enchanted by the classic details in Art Nouveau style that are still remaining after the last renovation in 2004.

Traveling to Croatia soon, planning your trip and wondering what is the best sim card for Croatia? Don't get stuck with high roaming charges or slow overseas data roaming plans. This is the ultimate guide with everything you need to know before buying a prepaid sim card in Croatia.

Let me help you find the best sim card for traveling to Croatia.

Find out where to buy a prepaid sim card, up to date prices as per November 2024, the best 4G/5G network in Croatia, my recommendation and info about eSIMs for Croatia.

Just recently, I got a phone call from Sara, the co-owner of Balkan Campers. She invited me to travel around Croatia in one of their funky VW campervans, which they are renting out. I was very sorry that I had to turn down this adventure, since my plans are already elsewhere this season.

However, the project and their concept was so attractive that I really wanted them to write us more information about Balkan Campers idea and about road tripping in Croatia with an old school VW bus! Here is what Sara (the owner) told us.

Story of Balkan Campers

Tom: Hi Sara! First congratulation for the project. Vans look amazing. When and how did you come to an idea about the project?

Sara: My boyfriend Nejc, who first founded the company, took a gap year for traveling 10 years ago. When he reached Australia everything was expensive and then he found out about Wicked campers. They were renting out old school vans with graphite motives and paintings. He fell in love with the idea of traveling with an old school van and he decided he will try to do the same in Croatia and Slovenia. That is how a passion became a life style. Nowadays we rent out 25 campervans available for pickups in Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Italy.

Tom: So you guys are only renting out VW campervans? Why is that so?

Sara: Hehe, we have only one exception – we are renting out one cool small campervan Nissan Datsun. We named him Bonsai, because it is from Japan. He is the only outsider in the family of VWs. Otherwise yes, we are in love with VW campervans. Especially VW T3. It is something special to drive these vans on regional road. People wave at you, you are happy, time slows down. That is what we need nowadays right?

Tom: That is a fact, hehe. When I checked your website, I saw that you have also some newer vans. Which one are more popular old or new?

Sara: Yes, we have more than 10 VW T4 models, few VW T5 models and even a VW T6. This one is the youngest in our family. I would say people choose modern vans more often because they can do longer trips. For old school campervan you need a bit more time. But after people return from a roadtrip with old school vans, they sometimes cry when they have to leave the van with us. I swear this is a true story.

Tom: haha..I can imagine that, yes. They really look amazing. You told me that you deliver the vans to different locations throughout the region. How does that work?

Sara: We offer different options for different camper vans. For example, we have three vans parked in Montenegro, where we can deliver them to Podgorica for zero extra costs. We have one van parked in Rijeka, Croatia, where we also deliver with zero costs. We have more than 15 vans, which can be delivered to Zagreb, Split, Pula, and even Dubrovnik – all in Croatia. We have also several vans parked in Slovenia, which can also be delivered to Ljubljana or other places with zero extra costs.

Besides Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro, we also deliver to Venice and Trieste in Italy.

Camping in Croatia

Tom: You built a very nice network of vans. Congratulations. If we move to camping now, what would you recommend to people traveling with a van to Croatia.

Sara: First of all, if you have a chance come for a roadtrip in May, June, September or October. These months are the best, because there are no crowds, the weather is mild, prices are lower, you don’t need to make any reservations in the campsites and more.

When we travel with a van around Croatia, we usually find small, simple, family owned campsites. They are always the best, because they are still cheap and wild. This is how the camping should be. Good website to find this kind of campsites is: Avtokampi.

You can also use apps like PARK4NIGHT or iOverlander. Both apps are very useful.

Stay connected when traveling to Croatia. Get yourself a local prepaid sim card or an e-sim card. Check out my complete guide for staying connected when traveling to Croatia.

Camping in other Balkan countries

Tom: Besides Croatia, what is your favorite country to roadtrip in your region?

Sara: I come from Slovenia, so my favorite countries to roadtrip are Croatia and Slovenia. I love the combination of crystal clear ocean and sea vibes of Croatia and mountains, lakes and green forests of Slovenia.

I also love Bosnia because it is so close but so exotic. People are so nice there and it is much cheaper than here. You can also do a lot of free camping there. But also Montenegro is amazing..you need to try and see all of these countries. That is why we are called Balkan Campers. Because we would like to show people our region, which is safe, friendly and truly breathtaking.

Tom: Thank you so much Sara for all these useful info for people looking for an adventure on their next trip to the Balkan. Keep doing what you love to do and I hope a lot of people will enjoy a trip with Balkan Campers in the future.

I remember it so well. The moment we walked into the Hilton Rijeka Costabella Resort & Spa in Croatia, I was sold! Sometimes a place grabs and embraces you from the very first moment. This definitely was the case at the Hilton Rijeka Costabella Resort & Spa.

We have visited many places and stayed in many amazing hotels. But this place just stands out in every possible way. Here is our review with our experiences at this fantastic resort in Rijeka.