Most guides to holidays in Croatia quote a nightly price and then stop. In practice, though, the question is a different one: what actually shows up on your bank statement at the end of the week?
We run our villas ourselves and so know quite precisely which costs arise. Here is the complete calculation — including the things that are easy to overlook.
First the most important thing: what is included in our price
We start with this section because it changes the rest of the calculation considerably. The nightly rate includes:
- Electricity and water — even with the air conditioning running
- Final cleaning
- Tourist tax — the Croatian visitor charge
- Pool heating — no surcharge and no advance notice needed
- Towels, bed linen and toiletries
- Wi-Fi — Starlink on the fastest plan plus a backup line
- Parking — at least four private parking spaces per house
Nothing is added at check-out. This is the point at which a platform comparison often tips: there you see an attractive nightly rate, and at the booking step a cleaning fee, tourist tax and sometimes a surcharge for pool heating appear on top. Compare final prices, not nightly rates.
The last point in particular is underestimated: pool heating uses noticeably more electricity in the off-season. Where it's charged separately, 30 to 60 euros per day add up quickly — in exactly the months when you need it.
1. The accommodation
Our nightly rates range, depending on house, season and length of stay, from around 250 to a good 1,000 euros. That is a wide range, and it is meant honestly — early November and mid-August are simply two different products.
| Period | per night | 7 nights | | Off-season (Nov–Mar) | from around €250 | from around €1,750 | | Mid-season (Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct) | around €500–650 | around €3,500–4,550 | | High season (Jul–Aug) | up to around €1,000 | up to around €7,000 |
With eight people in the large house, a nightly rate of 1,000 euros means around 125 euros per person — with a private bathroom, private pool and kitchen. For two people in the same villa, the same figure is much less attractive. Group size matters more here than the season.
2. Deposit
500 euros, by credit card or in cash on site. This isn't a cost item but a reservation — you get the amount back in full as long as nothing has been damaged. Even so, the money should be available at the time of arrival, especially if your credit card limit is tight.
3. Getting there
By plane
Split airport is five to ten minutes' drive from our houses — unusually short for Dalmatia.
Prices fluctuate considerably. Realistic ranges for a return flight from the German-speaking countries:
- Off-season: from around 120 euros per person, even lower with some flexibility
- Mid-season: usually 150 to 250 euros
- High season July/August: usually 250 to 400 euros, more at short notice
Two measurable levers: Tuesday or Wednesday instead of the weekend often saves around 20 per cent, and booking one to two months ahead is noticeably below the last-minute price. In winter, though, the flight schedule to Split thins out considerably.
From the airport to the villa, an Uber ride usually costs only about five to ten euros. A pre-arranged transfer is generally more expensive and rarely necessary.
By car
- Slovenian vignette: from around 16 euros for seven days
- Croatian toll, A1 Zagreb–Split: about 25 to 35 euros per car and direction
- Fuel: roughly 150 to 300 euros for the round trip, depending on starting point and vehicle
A note for planning: from September 2026, Croatia is gradually switching to a digital toll system with number-plate recognition or a toll box. Check the current situation shortly before departure.
With four or eight people, driving is therefore almost always cheaper than flying — and you have a vehicle on site without having to hire one.
4. Getting around on site
A car is not strictly necessary. The beach, promenade, restaurants and bus and train stops are within walking distance of our houses. By bus or train you reach Split in about 10 to 15 minutes for one to two euros.
With a hire car the range is wide: in the off-season and with early booking, you can get a small car from around 19 euros a day. In high season the same car is more like 40 to 70 euros, depending on provider and lead time. So if you book spontaneously in July, you quickly pay three times as much.
For occasional trips, Uber is often the cheaper option and reliably available on site. Parking in Split costs around one to three euros per hour depending on the zone.
5. Food and drink — the item with the most leeway
This is where you decide several hundred euros per week yourself. Incidentally, Croatia is no longer the budget destination of ten years ago — many supermarket prices are now at German levels, some above. Baked goods have become conspicuously expensive.
Option A: mostly cooking for yourselves
Our kitchens are fully equipped — induction hob, oven, dishwasher, coffee machine, proper knives and pots. Oil, spices, coffee and tea are provided.
Allow around 12 to 18 euros per person per day. For four people over a week that's about 340 to 500 euros.
Supermarket tip: do larger shops in Kaštela or Split, not in the small tourist shops right on the promenade. The difference is considerable. At the market in Kaštel Stari there is regional fruit and vegetables in the morning.
Option B: mixed — breakfast and lunch at home, dinner out
This is the option most of our guests choose, and it works well. Around 25 to 35 euros per person per day. For four people over a week, about 700 to 980 euros.
Option C: mostly eating out
A main course in a konoba between Split and Trogir costs 15 to 28 euros. Fish is often charged by weight — ask for the price per kilo beforehand, otherwise the bill becomes a surprise. Coffee costs 2 to 3 euros.
If you eat out at lunch and dinner, you end up at 45 to 60 euros per person per day, so 1,260 to 1,680 euros a week for four people.
Option D: having food delivered
In Split, Wolt, Glovo and Bolt Food are active. Not every provider delivers reliably to Kaštela, though — that changes seasonally. Ask us shortly before you arrive, and we'll tell you what actually gets through at the moment. Price-wise, delivery is somewhere between options B and C.
And the most honest tip: peka — meat or octopus braised under the bell — usually has to be ordered a day in advance. If you know that, you'll eat much better here.
6. Excursions and admissions
This item is often set too low. The key figures:
- Krka National Park: from April 20 euros per adult, in March only around 7 euros. Children under 7 free. Tickets in advance online via np-krka.hr — visitor numbers are limited in high season.
- Boat tour to the islands or the Blue Lagoon: around 50 to 90 euros per person depending on provider and duration, nearer the top end with food.
- Trogir and Split: walking through the old towns costs nothing. Individual sights such as the cathedral bell tower are in the single-digit range.
- Parking in Split and Trogir: 1 to 3 euros per hour, and in high season search time too.
For a family of four with two to three larger excursions a week, 300 to 500 euros is realistic — not 150.
7. What else may arise
- Pets: 79 euros cleaning fee per dog and stay. For two or more animals we ask for a quick word beforehand.
- Arrival extras: breakfast, drinks or wine on arrival cost around 40 to 60 euros per set — purely optional.
- Smoking indoors: 500 euros special cleaning. The houses are fitted with air-quality sensors; smoking outdoors is of course allowed.
- Damage: only from a value of around 20 euros, and only for damage beyond normal use.
Worked example A: four people, May, travelling by car
- Villa, 7 nights mid-season: around €3,500
- Tourist tax, final cleaning, pool heating: €0 — included in the price
- Slovenian vignette and Croatian toll, return: around €80
- Fuel from southern Germany: around €250
- Food, mixed (option B): around €900
- Excursions, admissions, parking: around €350
Total around €5,080, so about €1,270 per person for a week. The deposit is not included because it is refunded.
If you mostly cook for yourselves, you're at around €4,600 — i.e. €1,150 per person.
Worked example B: eight people, August, travelling by plane
- Large villa with 5 bedrooms, 7 nights high season: around €7,000
- Flights, 8 people at around €300: around €2,400
- Uber transfers from the airport, return: around €30
- Hire car high season, 7 days: around €500
- Food, mixed: around €1,800
- Excursions and admissions for eight people: around €700
Total around €12,430, so about €1,554 per person.
The difference between the two calculations is smaller than the nightly rates suggest — because the biggest item in example B is spread across twice as many shoulders.
Worked example C: two people, February, long stay
For slow travel and workation, the most interesting option. With a nightly rate from around 250 euros and the tiered long-stay discounts, a whole month often comes in below what a single high-season week costs — including a heated pool, heating in every room and fibre-optic Wi-Fi. A hire car costs from around 19 euros a day during this time, and Krka National Park only 7 euros admission in March. You'll find details on our overview of long stays .
Where you can save the most
- Off-season. The biggest lever of all — between November and March you pay a fraction of the August price, and flights, hire cars and admissions get cheaper at the same time. Because pool heating is included with us, April, May, September and October also work fully.
- Cooking for yourselves. Between option A and option C there are over 1,000 euros per week for four people. That is more than most could negotiate off the villa price.
- Staying longer. Tiered discounts are already built into the prices; from around two weeks it becomes noticeably cheaper per night — and we are also more flexible on arrival and departure days then.
- Booking direct. Through platforms you also pay an intermediary fee of around 15 per cent, which is built into the price.
- Group instead of couple. The nightly rate is the same whether four or ten people are in the house.
Questions about the calculation?
If you need a reliable figure for your specific dates and group size: drop us a line. We'll work it out for you with no sales pressure — even if it turns out in the end that a different period suits better.
