Travel, Accommodations, and Logistics
From My Wiki
Contents |
Time zone
Croatia is GMT+2 (UTC+2).
Weather and water
End of November, beginning of December you should expect colder weather in Zagreb. Average daily temperature is around 5 degrees Celsius, but can drop under the freezing level. Snow is not common at this time of the season, but you should expect precipitations. Dress warmly.
Water in Zagreb is perfectly safe for drinking.
Safety
You'll find that Zagreb is very safe. Street crime is rare, but you should keep a sensible eye on your belongings.
Currency and exchange rate
Croatian national currency is Kuna (KN). It is relatively stable and the exchange rate is around 1 € = 7.35 KN, US$ 1 USD = 5 KN, and UK£1 = 10.8 KN. Any bank will give you a fair exchange rate with a relatively low commissioning fee, exchange offices even more so. You can withdraw cash also from omnipresent ATMs. Credit cards are widely accepted and commonly used.
Phone numbers and internet connection
Country dial code for Croatia is +385. To place an international call from Croatia dial prefix is 00. Emergency phone number are: Police 92, Ambulance 93, Firefigthers 94.
In case you need to contact local hosts, Multimedia Institute's number is: +395-(0)1-4856400, Marcell Mars's mobile number is: +385-(0)91-6272355, Tomislav Medak's mobile number is: +385-(0)91-2580153.
While broadband internet connection should be available only in the hotel lobby, in rooms you can always use dial-up services. All larger ISPs offer guest dial-up accounts. You can use following guest dial-accounts:
ISKON: dial number: 076410000, uname: gost passwd: gost
T-com: dial number: 077200000 uname: gost passwd: gost
Broadband connectivity will be available at the venue and at Multimedia Institute's public location - net.culture club MAMA (address: Preradovićeva 18).
Getting in
Getting in by airplane
Zagreb is not an intercontinental hub, but is well conected to all major European hubs. There are daily flights from a.o. Frankfurt, London, Vienna, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Zürich and Istanbul. There's a host of budget airlines flying in more or less frequently to Zagreb. Wizz Air flies daily from London. German Wings from Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Cologne and Paris.
A shuttle bus, operated by the national air carrier Croatia Airlines, will take you from the aiport to the central bus station downtown and will set you back 30 KN. You can find the shuttle bus schedule here: http://www.plesoprijevoz.hr/schedulezg.htm. To get from the bus station to the venue or hotel you need to take a following combination of trams: no. 2 direction Črnomerec, descend at the 5th stop (Vodnikova str.) and transfer to no. 3 direction Ljubljanica for one stop (at the Technical Museum). To the right when you dismount the tram, across the street from the entrance to the Technical Museum is the venue - Student Center, and in the opposite direction, down the street from the tram top is the hotel Laguna.
Taxi is pricier than a combination of bus and tram, and a ride downtown will set you back 200 KN.
Getting in by train
As in most of the Eastern Europe the train network is cheap and effective, the trains are slow, but comfortable, although the hygiene can leave something to be desired (if you want to use the toilets, bring your own bog roll!). There are regular connections to Venice, Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade.
Getting in by car
The roads in Croatia are quite good and you can take a highway to Zagreb through Ljubljana, Belgrade, Budapest or Venice.
Getting around
Public transport network in Zagreb is quite ramified and consists of trams, buses and trains. Wider city center is mostly covered by trams which operate very frequently. Single fare costs 8 KN, while a 24 hour ticket costs 24 KN. As the city center is quite compact, it's also easy to get around on foot. Getting around on bycicle is also easy, as Zagreb is mostly flat and the streets are increasingly becoming bycicle friendly.
Taxis in Zagreb are frequent, but pricey and locals tend to avoid them.
Accommodation
Zagreb is short on hotel and hostel accommodation, so hotels can be overpriced. For the OTT we have chosen Hotel Laguna (http://www.hotel-laguna.hr), which is located within 5 minutes walk from the venue and within 15 minutes on foot from the central square.
The address of the hotel is Kranjčevićeva 29.
Internet connectivity at the hotel:
- dial up connectivity in rooms
- free wireless access in the lobby (Network IISD: ZyTel)
- coin terminal in the lobby
If you are arranging your accommodation for yourself, a list of hotels of all price-ranges can be found on Wikitravel (http://wikitravel.org/en/Zagreb), while for hostel accommodation you can start with the webpage of Croatian Youth Hostel Association (http://www.hfhs.hr/page.php?page=hosteli&lang=en&hostel=zagreb).
If you're comfortable sleeping on sofas, couches or the floor, there are a number of sites on the internet which offer hospitality exchange, for example: Hospitality Club, Be Welcome, and Couch Surfing. These are free services.
Visas
Citizens of the EU do not need a visa to enter Croatia.
Citizens of a number of countries need a visa to enter Croatia. Overview of per country visa requirements can be found at the website of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://www.mfa.hr/MVP.asp?pcpid=1615. If you are required to obtain a visa, please mind that you will need an invitation letter from your local host Multimedia Institute. In order to generate an invitation letter, you need to mail to to-me [at] mi2 [dot] hr the following details:
- First and last names:
- Date of arrival:
- Date of departure:
- Nationality:
- Passport no.:
- Date of issuence:
- Place of issuence:
- Date of expiry:
- Date of birth:
- Place of birth:
- Address of residence:
- Profession:
Please bear in mind that Croatian embassies do not abound and that you will need apply four weeks in advance to stay on the safe side. Also bear in mind that some embassies will require your personal presence when getting the visa inserted, which can sometimes be a problem if there's no Croatian embassy in your country, so you should plan your travel accordingly.
