Croatian is a Slavonic language written in the Latin alphabet, its spelling based on a simple phonetic principle: each letter represents one sound and each word is spelt as it is pronounced. It is not a difficult language to master and modern Croatian incorporates many words that will be familiar to English speakers, including taksi ( taxi ), kava ( coffee ) orauto ( car , automobile ; pronounced in Croatian with three syllables as written a-oo-to). It is also similar to the language spoken in Bosnia or Serbia, with many people regarding them as dialects of the same language.

The first Croatian kingdom disappeared in 1102, after which the country was ruled by Austrian, Hungarian and Venetian overlords. Much of the north of the country was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire for some 200 years, the result being a rich mix of all these cultural influences over the whole country. The capital, Zagreb, looks like a smaller version of a Central European city such as Prague, while, on the Dalmatian coast, the atmosphere is more Mediterranean with Italian influences in cuisine and in local dialects. For most of the 20th century the country was part of Yugoslavia and there are numerous reminders of this in monuments and sites recording the many achievements of the united state of the South Slavs, many of them celebrating Partisan victories in the Second World War.

The independent Republic of Croatia in the 21st century is a favourite tourist destination for many people travelling from Austria, Britain, Germany and other European countries. Such a small country is easy to get around whether using public transport or driving yourself. Independent travel is made all the more pleasurable with even slight knowledge of the language since locals respond warmly to visitors who have made the effort to speak their language with them.