BudgetTravel

Hvar Town's lures, besides authenticity and a ban on cars (park outside the city walls), include a seafront Franciscan monastery with its century-old cypress garden and over 200 pristine Greek and Roman coins; a theater dating from 1612 said to be the first in Europe to admit commoners; a glorious central square full of soccer-playing kids; and the castle above it all. All tickets cost 15kn/$2.15, tops.

Room & Breakfast: Arrive via a 90-minute Split-Stari Grad car ferry (E29/$33, each way with car) and drive 30 minutes across the island. Croatians are aggressive drivers; let peevish bumper-huggers pass. For Hvar Town, book early. Hotel Slavija (021/741-820) is 157kn/$22 double in winter to 420kn/$60 double B&B in summer. Hotel Palace (021/741-966) is $7 to $15 more and closest to the square; full board costs about $7 more per night if you stay three or more nights. Hotel Amfora (021/741-202), a 15-minute walk past town on the water, is a very '70s megaresort on a private beach charging 188kn/$27 to 503kn/$72 double, with breakfast, depending on season and view. Either Hotel Palace or Hotel Slavija remains open for winter. All three hotels are online at suncanihvar.hr. Hvar info: hvar.hr.

Rovinj: Venetian charmer

A vacation in Istria, or northwest Croatia, might as well be one in Italy, such are the slouching brown buildings, olive-oil-washed cuisine, and laconic company. Rovinj ("roe-VEEN-ya") is one of the most striking images of nautical Europe: A lordly cathedral with a jumble of houses gathered in its skirts, all rising abruptly out of the azure sea. Rovinj was developed by the Venetians, and the Italians can't seem to let go; thousands drive in (Trieste is less than an hour north) to throng its winding, cafe-lined waterfront, where floating markets sell sponges, shells, and other knickknacks.

Most tourists plant themselves on a beach or on an outlying island for at least a few days of a stay. But a 45-minute southerly drive brings you to Pula, home to one of the world's largest Roman coliseum ruins (16kn/$2.30), still used as a theater. Other relics: the Arch of the Sergians (30 b.c.; free) and the Temple of Augustus (about 2 b.c. but rebuilt; free).

Room & Breakfast: Book early to beat the Italians. There are few cheap options in town. The only high-capacity hotel with the requisite view of the Old Town is the concrete package-tour mill Hotel Park (I.M. Ronjgova bb, 052/811-077), E31/$36 to E60/$69 per person, with breakfast; for all meals add 20 percent. Hotels within the Old Town aren't cheap but might be worth it, since fussing with parking in this car-free town is a trial. The Hotel Villa Angelo D'Oro (Via Svalba 38-42, 052/840-502, rovinj.at) is a richly accented Venetian charmer, E55/$63 a person, winter, to E96/$110 a person, summer, with breakfast. Hotel Adriatic, on the noisy main square, is a good choice (E31/$36 to E52/$60 a person in a double, with breakfast, seasonally; 052/815-088, adriatic@jadran.tdr.hr). Private flats are the least expensive route; they range E20/$23 to E45/$52 a night for two, based on season, and can be arranged via inforovinj.com. Regional info: tzgrovinj.hr (Rovinj), istra.com (Istria).

Croatia: tips and quirks

Phones When calling Croatia from North America, first dial 011-385 and drop the first zero. It's six hours ahead of our East Coast.

Hotels Most were communist-designed, so midpriced ones are often as good as top-price ones; guests are required to surrender their passports, usually over the first night, to be registered with police; on May Day (May 1) and in July and August, book ahead. Languages Croatian; also widely spoken are German, Italian, and English.

Eating Restaurants fill after 7 p.m.; waiters allow patrons to linger all night if a bill isn't requested; always ask if "service" is included to avoid stiffing the waiter; if liqueur is offered, it's not a swindle-it's a traditional post-meal courtesy.

Driving Major names like Avis and National rent compacts ($20 to $30/day); add $10 a day for automatic transmissions, and choose a vehicle tiny enough to navigate those medieval alleys; towns are well marked but roads aren't, so find a map packed with names.

Shopping On the coast, businesses close in mid-afternoon and reopen for evening. Inland, they observe regular hours.

6 ways to get there from home or Europe

Air Croatia Airlines (croatiaairlines.hr) flies to Zagreb from major European cities (London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Frankfurt). Internal flights are cheap (Dubrovnik-Zagreb one way: about $60).

Ferry Routes from Italy include Venice-Rovinj (Venezia Lines, 21U2 hours, E42/$48 one way, venezialines.com) and Ancona-Split (multiple companies, 41U2 hours or overnight; E47/$54 to E79/$91, traghettionline.net). Domestic routes are covered by Jadrolinija (jadrolinija.hr).

Trains Zagreb-Budapest (five hours, $39, raileurope.com), Vienna (six hours, $57, raileurope.com). Many people train to Trieste, Italy, and drive or bus from there (about 30 minutes). There are no high-speed capabilities, and the coast is not adequately served by rail.

Packages Go-today.com now sells Dubrovnik, including air on Lufthansa, transfers, and a hotel for six nights with breakfast, for $599 from November to March (from New York; other cities available for slightly higher rates). Or fly to England to catch a British package, which are plentiful; in 2003's peak season (July), there were weeklong stays in Dubrovnik, with airfare, for £395/$649 by Holiday Options (011-44/870-013-0450, holidayoptions.co.uk).

Charter yacht Croatia-based ABEO (011-385/33-800-833, croatia-yachtcharter.com) rents boats sleeping four to six from E1,100/$1,265 a week (motorboats), E1,600/$1,840 a week (sailboats).

Cruises Costa (800/462-6782, costacruise.com), Royal Olympia (800/872-6400, royalolympiacruises.com), and MSC Italian (800/666-9333, msccruises.com) are moderately priced lines that visit Croatia on wider itineraries, but unfortunately, none stay long.