Renting a car in Croatia is possibly the best option to tour the country. We did it for 5 days and we don't regret it at all! We are going to tell you more about our experience traveling in Croatia by rental car let's see if we convince you 😉
Why rent a car in Croatia?
- Freedom. You do not depend on public transport to move, or schedules or long waits or walks to reach your destination.
- Public transport prices. Croatia is not a completely cheap country and transport is no exception.
- Photos. When you get ready to choose the best photos of your trip in Croatia you will realize that some of them would not have been possible if you do not travel by car, the roads (especially the locals) pass through very beautiful villages and spectacular landscapes, where you can Stop and make beautiful photos.
- Get where others don't arrive. There are some places in Croatia where it is not possible to arrive by public transport, or where the best option to travel them is with your own means of transport. For example in the Peninsula of Premantura, south of Pula, with very cool beaches and little accessible without a car.
General information
| Roads
In Croatia we can distinguish two types of roads: freeways and the local roads. Our recommendation is to always travel on local roads, as they pass through beautiful landscapes and villages and also save money from tolls, which are not exactly cheap. The trip will be much longer, but if you are not in a hurry it is the best option. Highways are shown in green on local signs and roads in both blue and yellow.
| Gasoline
The price of super 95 gasoline is about 9Kunas per liter (approx. 1,20€). The somewhat cheaper diesel (about € 1.10). We made a total of about 1,200 km and spent about 480 Kunas (about € 63), or about 40 kunas per 100 km (about € 5.20 per 100 km).
| Public transport
We leave you the indicative prices of some popular routes:
- Zagreb-Split: € 20 - € 30.
- Zagreb-Pula: € 20 - € 25.
- Zagreb-Dubrovnik: € 25 - € 35.
- Split-Dubrovnik: € 15 - € 20.
| Maps and mobile applications
It is not a bad idea to get a road map of Croatia. Although we prefer to always use the mobile. What we did before going out with internet connection was to use the Google Maps, we put the route and we were “going through it virtually” with a good level of detail (that is, with enough zoom). In this way the maps were loaded and if you do not close the application during the whole trip you can use these maps offline (you can use the mobile and other apps but never close Google Maps completely, that is, do not press the back button having it open ). Mind you, then we find out the option to download the maps on Google Maps and now it is much simpler as well!
Then you just have to activate the GPS and that's it! In cities, the app we use is the CityMaps2Go, although you can not plan a tour has many details of the cities and works perfectly with the GPS on. And another that we later discovered that is super useful is MAPS.ME the one that can be used as a GPS, although it sucks a lot of battery (don't forget to buy an adapter to charge the phone in the car cigarette lighter!)
| Green card
It is a card that allows you to circular by other countries like Bosnia. It is necessary that the car has it if you have any idea of crossing Croatia from north to south (or vice versa) because there is a part of Bosnian territory that, unless you choose to take a ferry and use an island, you will have to cross. We were pardillos and when at the rental agency they told us that it was not included and it was necessary to have it, we paid the € 25 they asked for. But we think we screwed up. Why? First of all because at the border they only asked us for passports. Secondly, because we believe that this card is another role of the car, so probably if you say that you are not going to cross Bosnia but through the islands (of Croatian territory) and by ferry, they will keep the card in the car's papers and you can Take her without paying her. But beware, they are only assumptions, you make the decision.
| Route
Depending on the days you have you can do one route or another. For a 10-12 day tour of Croatia This can be a standard route:
- Zagreb: 2 days. Pick up the car on the third day.
- Istria: 3 days. You can base in Pula or Rovinj and explore the entire Istrian peninsula.
- Zadar: 1-2 days We skipped it and went straight to Split, although the trip was very long. You can spend the night in Zadar or Rovinj on the way to Split if you don't want a long journey.
- Split: 3 days. Explore the ancient city (Diocletian's palace) and go out with a little boat to visit some Adriatic islands such as Brac, Solta, Hvar or the farthest Korcula. It is also worth approaching the nearby Trogir, a small jewel and Salona, a Roman enclave with wonderful remains.
- Dubrovnik: 2 days. Deliver the car the same day you arrive (total 7-9 days of rental) and enjoy your last days of travel in the Pearl of the Adriatic.
This is a typical route, although you will realize that many of the treasures of Croatia will go through the road.
| Cross the Bosnian border in Croatia
As you know Bosnia has an exit to the sea through Croatia, splitting this country in two. If you want to reach Dubrovnik from the north and vice versa, you will have to cross the Bosnian border (if you do not decide to do so using light ferries). The process is fast and simple. You arrive at a checkpoint, as if you were at a tollbooth, on the right are the truck lanes, on the left for all citizens and in the middle for EU citizens. You arrive, deliver your passport, they check it (they don't put a stamp) and goodbye very good. We did not check the green card (which we have talked about above) or the car or anything. There was almost no traffic (3 cars waiting) so in total it took a couple of minutes.
Car rental
There are many websites where you can rent a car in Croatia. We, after messing around a lot, decided to do it with the Autoeurope website. When you make the reservation they send you the confirmation where they indicate the company with which you have the reservation, in our case it was Avantcar. Looking for information we saw that many people were forced to pay higher insurance when picking up the car, we sent them a questioned email if there were no extras at the agreed price and they said no. Of course, we were offered insurance that covers all damages for € 12 more per day and we accept it (we are getting old!). These were the prices:
- Rent: € 17.50 per day (total € 87.50).
- Insurance: € 12 per day (total € 60).
- Green Card: € 25.
- TOTAL: € 172.50 (€ 34.50 per day).
The car they gave us was a Volkswagen Up, the smallest and cheapest of all. We do not need more, although in overtaking perhaps a little more power would not have come at all bad!
EYE: See if they charge or not a fee to return the car in another office different from where it is collected. This rate in other agencies cost about € 80, which was almost the rental price for 5 days!
