Accommodation and meals
Students should have accommodation arranged prior to arriving in Croatia, if possible. Please contact the International Cooperation Office of particular higher education institutions in Croatia for information on student housing options. The most affordable type of accommodation is a public student dormitory. Unfortunately, due to lack of housing capacity student dormitory accommodation is not available to all students (neither for all Croatian nationals nor all international students) and some towns do not offer student dormitory accommodation at this time. International students do not automatically receive student dormitory accommodation and they have to contact the International Cooperation Office at the higher education institution they are applying to in order to try and ensure housing. The Student Centres (Studentski centar) are the institutions that manage all student dormitories according to a system of quotas for available spaces. Usualy HEIs have a limited housing quota via Student Centres for international students participating in exchange programmes (e.g. Erasmus+, Ceepus). Also, EU nationals enrolled to full study programmes with residence permit can apply to regular calls for accommodation published by Student centres (usually in January and June).
Rooms in student dormitories are usually shared between two people and bathrooms are shared with one or more other rooms. Some student dormitories may contain student cafeterias, gyms, computer labs and may also organize additional social activities. The cost of student dormitory accommodation varies in different cities (around 200-800 kn per month).
Aside from student dormitories, there is ample of private accommodation. The price of rent in private accommodation varies depending on the town, location, room size and the accommodation quality.
There are several accommodation finding websites:
- Njuskalo.hr (in Croatian)
- Oglasnik.hr (in Croatian)
- Airbnb
- HomeinZagreb
- grabAhome
- Erasmusu
- trawerk
Study in Croatia doesn't take responsibility for the content and conditions of these external sites
There are lot of youth hostels in Croatia which can serve as a temporary or long-term housing option. It is worth noting that youth hostels tend to offer discounts for long-term stays.
All students entitled to subsidised meals (Erasmus+/Ceepus/Bilateral scholarships exchange students, EU nationals enrolled to full- time study programmes) by submitting the student card (iksica) can eat daily at student cafeterias (menza) at affordable prices. Every month, a specific amount of money per student card is authorised for meals. This amount cannot be exceeded or accumulated over more than one month (the amount is restored each month regardless of the amount left over in the previous month). The status of the student card can be checked at the bottom of each receipt or on the University Computer Centre (SRCE) webpage. Student cafeterias are usually located at faculties and student dormitories.