🇭🇷 Croatia or 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Which one, honestly
Croatia leads on cities, the sea and value for money.
A normal day costs about $125 in Croatia and $130 in Costa Rica.
Side by side
- 🇭🇷 Croatia🇨🇷 Costa Rica
- May, Jun, SepBest monthsJan, Feb, Mar, Dec
- $125A normal day$130
- 1h 10m from RomeClosest hub2h 55m from Mexico City
- ExceptionalBeaches and seaVery good
- Very goodCities and cultureNot the draw
- GoodFoodGood
- ExceptionalNature and hikingExceptional
- GoodValue for moneyNot the draw
- GoodEasy to get aroundGood
- Coastal ferries and buses, a car for the national parksGetting aroundA hire car with clearance, the distances are short but the roads are slow
- The Dalmatian coast in August, when the islands and the prices both peakWhen to avoidSeptember and October on the Caribbean side, the wettest weeks of the year
Pick by what you want
🇭🇷 Choose Croatia if
you want the clearest water in Europe, walled old towns and national parks, in a country you can drive down in a day.
🇨🇷 Choose Costa Rica if
you want wildlife above everything else, cloud forest and two oceans in one small country, and you accept it costs more than its neighbours.
Full Croatia guide →Full Costa Rica guide →
And what the world thinks
Dead even. The next vote breaks the tie.
Compare something else
Written and checked by hand. Nothing here about visas or entry rules: those change often and depend on your passport, so check an official source.