The Foreign Office has updated its Croatia travel advice page. On June 9, the Government refreshed its guidance to add information about large gatherings, including music festivals and football matches. Brits travelling to Croatia are advised to read all the advice in the guide.
The safety and security page of the guide includes advice on several topics, such as protecting yourself and your belongings, transport risks, and participating in outdoor activities.
The guidance on large gatherings states that you should take care near football stadiums on match days and leave the area immediately if you feel uncomfortable.
The advice explains: “Large gatherings and public events are overwhelmingly safe and peaceful in Croatia, including sporting events. However, there are periodic cases of violence between football fans around matches. “
As such, it is essential to be careful. “Care should be taken near football stadiums around match times, especially ‘derby’ matches, and you should: avoid large crowds, follow local news reports, and comply with instructions from police. If you feel uncomfortable, leave the area immediately.”
There’s also a section dedicated to musical festivals. It states: “Many music festivals are held in Croatia each year. Follow the advice of police and local authorities when attending events and take care of your valuables if attending a festival or large concert. Find out how to enjoy festivals safely with the festival travel checklist.”
While the festival travel checklist is available in full online, it includes several steps to help music fans stay safe.
For instance, it’s recommended that people fill in the last page of their passport with emergency contacts, make a backup plan for accessing important information, such as flight details, and ensure they have enough money to pay for unexpected costs should their main payment method fail.
Visitors should know that in some Croatian town centres, people can be issued on-the-spot fines for behaviour seen as inappropriate. This could include:
- drinking alcohol or using drugs in public spaces
- sleeping in public spaces
- urinating or vomiting in public spaces
- walking through towns shirtless or in swimwear
- wearing clothing that promotes drug use
- climbing on monuments
Additionally, people may be fined 4,000 euros for public order disturbances, such as fighting, drunken behaviour, and belittling or insulting police officers.
The Foreign Office adds: “Illegal drugs, including cannabis, carry severe penalties. Carrying cannabis for personal use has been decriminalised but if found on you or in your apartment, you will be asked to pay sometimes heavy fines.
“You should expect a long jail sentence and heavy fines for possessing, using or smuggling illegal drugs, including when transiting through the airport. Airports in Croatia have excellent technology and security for detecting illegal items. This is also used to scan the baggage of transiting passengers.”