Croatia
Zagreb: how much to budget
Plan €1261 for 7 nights in Zagreb, return flight from London included, or €501 travelling cheap. On the ground that works out at €176 per person per day in comfort, €68 travelling cheap.
- From
- €68/day
- vs. London
- 88%
- Best month
- Aug
Your trip to Zagreb
Set the length, the number of travellers and the comfort level: the figures recompute here.
€1,261
per person, flight included
- on the ground
- €1,232
- flight from London
- €29
- per person per day, on the ground
- €176
In short, where the money goes
- The heaviest line
- Food38 % of the trip
- The strongest lever
- Accommodation€280 less travelling cheap
- Seven nights on the ground
- €1232excluding flights
Food
€462
Accommodation
€448
Transport
€126
Activities
€105
Extras
€91
Over seven nights, food accounts for 38 % of what you spend. The line where travelling cheap changes the bill most is accommodation, a €280 gap. The others are worth discussing, that one decides.
Basis: 24 hotel addresses surveyed for a 15 October 2026 arrival, twelve months of airfares surveyed on 17 August 2026. The total excludes flights, insurance, personal shopping and any lodging split between several people.
InstantTripCost estimate
Full 7-night budget breakdown
Per-person estimate including flights from London, split across the six expense categories.
per person · Comfort
| Category | Budget | Comfort | Luxury |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flights | €25 | €29 | €44 |
| Hotel | €168 | €448 | €896 |
| Food | €210 | €462 | €1050 |
| Transport | €56 | €126 | €315 |
| Activities | €21 | €105 | €378 |
| Misc | €21 | €91 | €315 |
| 7-night total | €501 | €1261 | €2998 |
Flight from London (annual median).
Unit prices
comfort
Enough to check the total yourself, line by line, at the comfort level you picked.
- €10
- Breakfast
- €19
- Lunch
- €37
- Dinner
- €6
- City ride
- €15
- Site admission
- €176
- A full day
Orders of magnitude derived from our measured ranges, not surveyed venue by venue. Prices vary by neighbourhood and season.
The three tiers
What a budget traveller, a comfort traveller and a premium traveller typically spend.
Budget
€62
per day, approx
- Hotel / night
- €24
- Meal
- €10
- Transit / day
- €8
Comfort
€148
per day, approx
- Hotel / night
- €64
- Meal
- €22
- Transit / day
- €18
Luxury
€323
per day, approx
- Hotel / night
- €128
- Meal
- €50
- Transit / day
- €45
When to go, and what the month changes
Average temperatures and conditions by month in Zagreb.
Best month to visitAugust
Where to sleep in Zagreb
Choosing a district
Zagreb is compact: the upper town, lower town and station sit within walking distance. Price mostly follows proximity to Ban Jelačić Square, the heart, more than the neighborhood. Moving a few streets out is enough to bring the bill down.
Donji Grad (ville basse)
The 19th-century center, museums, parks and cafés, walkable from the main square. The widest choice, from dorm to hotel.
Gornji Grad - Kaptol (ville haute)
Old Zagreb on the hill, cobbled lanes, St. Mark's Church and the cathedral. Quieter and atmospheric, a little pricier.
Autour de la gare (Glavni kolodvor)
The station district, on the green belt of parks, handy and cheap, ten minutes on foot from the main square.
The hotels we measured
Accommodation picks by price range.
Funk Lounge Hostel
Hostel, decent (7.9/10) from 2,456 reviews.
City Break Rooms Zagreb
guesthouse, well rated (8.2/10) from 1,102 reviews.
eazZynight Center Apartment
Hotel, rated excellent (9.2/10) from 196 reviews.
Apartment Maja - Strict center of Zagreb
Hotel, rated excellent (9.5/10) from 247 reviews.
THE City Lodge - Boutique Apartments
Hotel, rated excellent (9/10) from 918 reviews.
Doma Zagreb Aparthotel
Hotel, very well rated (8.6/10) from 755 reviews.
Admiral Hotel
Hotel, rated excellent (9.1/10) from 3,443 reviews.
All observed hotels in Zagreb
24 of 24 surveyed properties shown, the cheapest in each tier. Nightly rate for a 2-night stay arriving 15 October 2026.
| Hotel | Category | Rating | From / night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funk Lounge Hostel | Budget | ★ 7.9 | €13 |
| Hostel P16 | Budget | ★ 7.1 | €14 |
| Rooms 5 | Budget | ★ 5.4 | €14 |
| HI Hostel Zagreb | Budget | ★ 7.8 | €16 |
| Chillout Hostel Zagreb | Budget | ★ 8.2 | €18 |
| Hostel Temza | Budget | ★ 8.3 | €19 |
| Whole Wide World Hostel | Budget | ★ 8.4 | €19 |
| Himalayan Hostel | Budget | ★ 7.9 | €19 |
| City Break Rooms Zagreb | Mid-range | ★ 8.2 | €42 |
| eazZynight Center Apartment | Mid-range | ★ 9.2 | €47 |
| Apartment Maja - Strict center of Zagreb | Mid-range | ★ 9.5 | €49 |
| DTA Hebrangova | Mid-range | ★ 8.9 | €52 |
| Good Grace Apartments | Mid-range | ★ 9.5 | €57 |
| Royal Central Apartments | Mid-range | ★ 8.6 | €58 |
| Come to M2 | Mid-range | ★ 9 | €59 |
| Studio apartment Frano | Mid-range | ★ 9.5 | €60 |
| THE City Lodge - Boutique Apartments | Luxury | ★ 9 | €78 |
| Doma Zagreb Aparthotel | Luxury | ★ 8.6 | €90 |
| Admiral Hotel | Luxury | ★ 9.1 | €93 |
| B&B View | Luxury | ★ 8.9 | €93 |
| Hotel Dubrovnik | Luxury | ★ 8.6 | €102 |
| Hilton Garden Inn Zagreb - Radnička | Luxury | ★ 8.8 | €107 |
| iNova | Luxury | ★ 9.4 | €113 |
| Stellar Boutique Modules by Maistra City Vibes | Luxury | ★ 9.3 | €118 |
What food costs in Zagreb
Concrete benchmarks to set your meal budget, from the morning coffee to dinner.
Eating in Zagreb costs little. A daily special at a gostionica, a neighborhood tavern, runs around €8 to €12, and local staples like štrukli, a cheese-filled pastry, turn up everywhere at low prices. The Dolac market, just above the main square, lets you build a fresh-produce lunch for a few euros in the morning. A sit-down dinner with a drink comes to €15 to €25 a head, more only at the most sought-after spots.
What getting around costs in Zagreb
Transit, distances and the smart moves so you don't pay the tourist tax.
The center is entirely walkable, which cuts the transport bill from the start. Beyond that, the tram network is dense and cheap, with a single ticket of a few euros valid for an hour. The upper town is reached on foot by stairways, or by the funicular, one of the shortest in the world, for a token fare. From the airport, a shuttle bus serves the bus station for far less than a taxi.
What sightseeing costs in Zagreb
Recommended activities and tours.
Croatian Museum of Naïve Art
The Croatian Museum of Naïve Art (Croatian: Hrvatski muzej naivne umjetnosti) is a fine art museum in Zagreb, Croatia dedicated to the work of naïve artists of the 20th century. The museum holdings consist of over 1,900 works of art - paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints, mainly by Croatians but also by other well-known international artists in the genre.
Art museum
St. Mark's Church in Zagreb
The Church of St. Mark (Croatian: Crkva sv.
Church
Museum of Broken Relationships
The Museum of Broken Relationships (Croatian: Muzej prekinutih veza) is a museum in Zagreb, Croatia, founded by artists Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić. It grew from a traveling exhibition revolving around the concept of failed relationships and their ruins.
Museum
Ban Jelačić Square
Ban Jelačić Square (pronounced [bâːn jɛ̌lat͡ʃit͡ɕ]; Croatian: Trg bana Jelačića) is the central square of the city of Zagreb, Croatia, named after ban Josip Jelačić. Its official name is Trg bana Josipa Jelačića and is colloquially called 'Jelačić plac'.
Square
St. Mark's Square
St. Mark's Square (Croatian: Trg svetog Marka, abbreviated Trg sv.
Square
Croatian Natural History Museum
The Croatian Natural History Museum (Croatian: Hrvatski prirodoslovni muzej) is the oldest and biggest natural history museum and the main body for natural history research, preservation and collection in Croatia. Located on Dimitrije Demeter Street in Gornji Grad, one of the oldest neighbourhoods of the Croatian capital Zagreb, it owns one of the biggest museum collections in Croatia, with over 2 million artefacts, including over 1.1 million animal specimens.
Museum
Medvedgrad
Medvedgrad (pronounced [mědʋedɡraːd]; Croatian for bear-town; Hungarian: Medvevár) is a medieval fortified town located about 10 km north of Zagreb, on the south slopes of Medvednica mountain, approximately halfway from the Croatian capital Zagreb to the mountain top Sljeme. For defensive purposes it was built on a hill, Mali Plazur, that is a spur of the main ridge of the mountain that overlooks the city.
Castle
Basilica of the Heart of Jesus, Zagreb
The Basilica of the Heart of Jesus (Croatian: Bazilika Srca Isusova) is a Roman Catholic basilica located in Palmotićeva street of Zagreb, Croatia. It is dedicated to the Sacred Heart, and was designed by the Croatian architect Janko Holjac in the neo-Baroque style.
Church
St. Catherine's Church, Zagreb
Church of St. Catherine (Croatian: Crkva sv.
Church
Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square
Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square (Croatian: Trg Nikole Šubića Zrinskog, popularly referred to as Zrinjevac) is a square and park in Donji Grad, the central part of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. It is located near the central Ban Jelačić Square, halfway towards the Main Railway Station.
Square
Places referenced on Wikidata. Admission prices vary by season - check each venue's official site.
Paying less in Zagreb
What moves the needle
What each decision takes off the €1283 total, strongest lever first.
- − €756
Travel cheap rather than mid-range
Hostel or entry-level hotel, local canteens, public transport. Accommodation is where the gap opens up.
- − €352
Stay five nights instead of seven
Two fewer nights also removes two days of meals, transport and sightseeing.
- − €224
Travel as a pair
The room is shared, nothing else is. Travellers themselves name this as the strongest lever.
Differences computed from our own measurements, for a 7-night mid-range stay, excluding flights.
6 tips on the ground
- The cost index is around 88% of London: on the ground, a mid-range day runs around €90 to €130 for two, excluding flights.
- A well-rated hostel runs around €13 to €16 a night, one of the best ratios among EU capitals.
- Zagreb is markedly cheaper than the coast, Dubrovnik included: pairing interior and coast balances the budget of a Croatia trip.
- Paying in euros avoids any exchange fee since the country adopted the currency in 2023.
- The Dolac market in the morning and neighborhood taverns let you eat for €8 to €12 a dish.
- The center is walkable and trams cost a few euros: transport stays minimal.
FAQ
FAQ - Zagreb
- How much does a week in Zagreb cost?
- For seven nights, plan roughly €452 per person on a budget (hostel, taverns, Dolac market), and around €1,232 at mid-range comfort with a three-star hotel, excluding flights.
- Is Zagreb an expensive destination?
- No: with a cost index around 88% of London, Zagreb remains one of the cheapest capitals in the European Union. Lodging, meals and transport are markedly more affordable than in Western Europe, and far cheaper than the Croatian coast like Dubrovnik in summer.
- What's the best time to visit Zagreb?
- Late spring (May to June) and early autumn (September) offer the best balance, with temperatures around 16 to 20°C. Summer is warm (around 23°C), winter cold, near 0°C, but carried by one of Europe's most celebrated Christmas markets. Rain is fairly evenly spread across the year.
- What currency is used in Zagreb?
- The euro. Croatia dropped the kuna for the euro in 2023, so no exchange to plan for a eurozone traveler. Contactless cards work everywhere in the city.
At a glance
Wikidata, Wikipedia and Open-Meteo data
- Population
- 767k
- Area
- 306 km²
- Elevation
- 127 m
- Language
- Croatian
- Currency
- €
- Time zone
- UTC+01:00
- Founded
- 1094
- Avg. July temp.
- 23°
- Avg. Jan. temp.
- 1°
- Rainy days / year
- 118
inhabitants
Euro
17° - 28°
-2° - 5°
About
Zagreb in brief
Zagreb is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the north of the country, along the Sava River, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slovenia at an elevation of approximately 158 m (518 ft) above sea level. At the 2021 census, the city itself had a population of 767,131, while the population of the Zagreb metropolitan area is 1,086,528.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Keep exploring
Similar budget
Destinations at a similar price
Cost index close to Zagreb.
Also in Croatia