Driving in Croatia: 8 Tips You Need to Know

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Driving in Croatia was our first road trip. Well – our first proper European road trip, anyway. Before this, we’d done a few day trips in Cyprus (where they drive on the same side as the UK) and also in Athens (which was just a little bit crazy).

But, Croatia was the first time we’d got in a car in one place and driven all over the country, without going back to a base. It’s a wonderful destination to drive in. And, since then, I’ve fallen a little in love with road trips and have done them all over the world from Iceland to Oman. 

Even after all the driving we’ve done in other countries, we still think that Croatia is one of the easiest countries we’ve ever driven in. The roads are in excellent condition, local drivers aren’t too crazy, and the scenery is just stunning.

Admittedly, it’s also the only country where we’ve ever received a fine from the police abroad, but you learn from your mistakes – it was our first time after all!

Anyway, I’ll get more into that later, but for now, here are some of the top things you’ll need to know if you’re considering driving in Croatia.

✅ We rented a car in Zagreb and drove to Zadar with DiscoverCars. Since then, we’ve rented cars all over Europe and beyond and find they have a great range and competitive prices – click here to book now!

Requirements for Driving in Croatia

One of the first things you’re going to want to know is what the requirements are to drive in  Croatia. You need a valid driver’s licence from your home country.

However, if your driving licence is not written in a Latin alphabet, you’ll need an International Driving Permit (IDP). Our licences are both written in English, so we just needed to bring those. 

It’s also worth keeping your passport in your car in case you get pulled over. You may well need to show it. However, if you’re doing a road trip across the country, you’ll most likely have it on you at all times anyway!

How Much Does Renting a Car in Croatia Cost?

Renting a car in Croatia was surprisingly affordable. We hired a standard 5-seater economy car for 6 days (we dropped it off on day 7) in September.

We booked through DiscoverCars because we wanted a reliable car hire company and it only cost us  £190.62 which included unlimited mileage. This is much more affordable than other cars we’ve hired (Iceland springs to mind here). Plus, we also got a very nice car for the price we paid. 

Our booking stated Renault Clio or similar, so we weren’t expecting anything special. But, we ended up with a virtually new Mazda C3 which made for a very comfortable drive. It was a manual though, so if you want to hire an automatic, you’ll most likely be paying a little bit more.

Will I Need to Pay a Deposit?

Yes, most rental companies will require you to pay a cash deposit onto your credit card when you pick up your hire car in Croatia.

We always use DiscoverCars and this is usually just a few hundred euros but can be around €500 or more. This usually depends on your age as well, so younger or older drivers may have to pay a higher deposit. 

This deposit is typically placed on hold on your credit card and then returned pretty quickly if you give back the car without any damage. If you have damaged the car, the rental company will take the damage charged out of your deposit.

Is There A Young Drivers Fee?

Yes, quite a few car hire companies will charge an additional fee if you are under 25 when you take out the car hire. I can’t remember exactly what this added to our booking in Croatia, but it typically adds around £30 to the car hire fee. 

One-Way Drop-Off Fee

Our Croatian road trip started in Zagreb and ended in Zadar. We didn’t pick up our car until the 3rd day of our trip because we knew we wouldn’t need it for exploring the capital. The capital is very walkable, so this would’ve been a waste of money. 

On day 3, we picked up our car from Hotel Westin Zagreb and we dropped it off at the airport terminal in Zadar 7 days later. The one-way drop-off charge for our trip was £55.25. Considering we drove it over 300km, I don’t think was too much money.

✅ I recommend this company to book your hire car in Croatia!

What About Car Hire Excess Insurance?

I highly recommend getting car hire excess insurance when you rent a car in Croatia. You never know what might happen. Although many of the roads are in great condition, you can never account for other drivers, random stones chipping the paint, or even breakdowns.

We were once charged €400 for a small chip on the front bumper from where a bit of gravel hit our car when we were driving on slightly uneven roads. This was in Montenegro, but the same applies to Croatia. Unexpected things can happen and you don’t want to end up with high insurance bills if they do. 

I always take out excess insurance separately. Sure, the car hire company will always offer it and quite often try to pressure you into buying it at the pickup desk. But this insurance is almost always quite basic cover (even though they claim it’s ‘full cover’), and they can be painfully slow to pay out.

When we had our insurance incident, we raised a claim when we got home from our trip. We had to fill in a form with our age, car registration, type of damage, photo evidence, and a load of other information.

RentalCover were very efficient and the money was paid back into our account about 3 working days after we filled in the form. 

If you’re planning on driving in Croatia, I highly recommend taking out your excess insurance with Rental Cover.

✅ Get a quote for car hire excess insurance with RentalCover, here

Top Tips for Driving in Croatia

So, let’s go over some of the top tips I have after our experience driving in Croatia. It was certainly one of the best driving experiences we’ve ever had abroad, but there are still a few things you should be aware of before you arrive.

1. Plan Your Route in Advance

It’s a good idea to think ahead and plan your route in Croatia. Checking the route on Google Maps before you set off can ensure that you don’t miss anything that you’d like to stop at. Imagine driving straight past Plitvice Lakes National Park for example – I’d definitely have to turn back!

As well as landmarks, it’s also a good way to check for things you might need along the way. For example, you might need to find a petrol station part way through your drive or you might want to stock up on groceries before you reach your next accommodation. 

Also, if you’re visiting a city, or popular tourist destination, checking the route before you set off will give you a chance to find a place to park.

I’ve had a few instances before where we didn’t check for parking and ended up driving around for about 30 minutes looking for a parking space. Checking in advance prevents this.

✅ I recommend this company to book your hire car in Croatia!

2. Be Prepared for Toll Roads

Croatia has tolls on many of the major roads and you’ll need to stop at these if you’re planning on driving between the bigger cities.

We started our journey in Zagreb and ended in Zadar, but we also spent a few days in Split, and Trogir, and drove to Pula. Along these routes, there were quite a few toll booths. 

The toll costs vary depending on how far you’ve travelled and the type of vehicle you’re in.  The booths are very easy to use. You simply take a ticket when you enter the booth and they pay on the exit.

Payment can typically be made in either local currency (Kuna) or by credit cards and sometimes in Euros. There’s sometimes an automatic cashier, and sometimes a toll booth operator.

Tolls range from €8 up to €30. But, this depends on the distance travelled. For instance, the journey between Zagreb and Dubrovnik would encounter the most tolls and rack up the €30 charge. Everything else would be less than this.

Top Tip: During the high season, toll booths may experience longer queues, so plan your departures or transits accordingly to avoid delays.

3. Be Aware of Parking Regulations

There were some occasions while driving in Croatia where we had a lot of difficulty finding somewhere to park.

Our main trouble with parking was in Split. Honestly, that city is not built for cars (a pretty obvious thing to say, I know, since it was built hundreds of years ago!), but it certainly made having a rental car much trickier. Especially as we were staying for two nights in a little apartment in the centre of the old town. 

In hindsight, I should have thought about this. Now, I always look to see if the place we’re staying has parking if we’re hiring a car. But at the time, I didn’t. So this caused a few problems. 

In the end, we managed to find a car park to leave the car overnight, but it definitely wasn’t the cheapest place! I’ve also heard similar nightmare stories about parking in Dubrovnik. 

As you may have guessed, parking in Croatia can be a bit of a challenge, especially in busy tourist spots and city centres. Many major cities have designated parking areas, often labelled as ‘Zone 1’, ‘Zone 2’, etc. ‘Zone 1’ is typically the closest to the centre and the most expensive. 

Street parking is usually operated by pay-and-display machines. You’ll need to purchase a ticket and place it visibly in your car, or you can often pay via SMS. Private parking lots and garages are also available and often more secure. 

During the summer months, I recommend arriving early to secure a spot. Parking spaces can quickly fill up. c

Top Tip: If you’re planning on driving in Croatia, try to find accommodation that has parking facilities. This can save you a lot of hassle and potential fines.

4. You Might Not Need a Huge Car

You most likely won’t need a huge car to drive in Croatia. We originally booked a Renault Clio. Admittedly, the Mazda that we got was slightly bigger but still wasn’t a huge car. And we didn’t need it. 

Croatian roads are a lot of motorways, smaller local roads, and busy city lanes. Compact cars make it much easier to navigate the narrow streets of historic towns.

If you’re planning to head into the countryside, more rural areas, or are travelling with a lot of people or gear, you may need a larger car. But, for most people, a small car will be just fine.

✅ I recommend this company to book your hire car in Croatia!

5. Familiarise Yourself with Road Signs

Although many of the signs in Croatia are pretty straightforward, it’s always a good idea to familiarise yourself with another country’s signage and road rules before you attempt to drive there. You don’t want to get pulled over for something as simple as misunderstanding a sign!

Typically, blue signs with white numbers indicate speed limits, and the circular sign with a red border and horizontal line means ‘no entry’. Understanding parking signs is also crucial.

Blue zones indicate paid parking areas, and you must use a parking disc or pay at a meter. ‘Zona parkiranja’ signs identify parking areas and corresponding rules. 

Watch for ‘Pedestrian Zone’ markings at historical sites, where access is limited, and for the unique ‘diamond-shaped’ signs indicating priority roads which are important at uncontrolled intersections.

You can find out more about Croatia road signs here.

6. ALWAYS Stop at Zebra Crossings 

This was one of the things we messed up on when driving in Croatia. A very important rule to remember is to always stop if there is a pedestrian near or approaching a zebra crossing. We missed this and ended up being pulled over by the police. 

Whilst in Pula, we were trying to find a space to park to go and visit the amphitheatre. We were in the town centre and it was all a bit new, a lot was going on.

We were trying to follow the map whilst looking for a parking spot and, unfortunately, we didn’t notice that a pedestrian was waiting to cross at the zebra crossing and just drove straight over it.

Even more unfortunately, we did it right in front of a police officer. 

This was the first (and only, so far – touch wood!) time that we’ve been pulled over whilst driving abroad. It was a bit scary because we didn’t know what was going to happen. The officer took my fiance’s passport (as he was the one driving), and his driving licence, and wrote us a fine of €20. 

Overall, it could have been a lot worse. But, we were soon back on the road again and being extra careful every time we saw a zebra crossing. So, always remember to stop.

7. Stick to the Speed Limits

We’ve never been caught speeding abroad. Admittedly, we also tend to drive a lot more carefully than we do in the UK. And for good reason. 

When it comes to speed cameras abroad, other countries tend to be much sneakier. Quite often cameras are disguised cleverly into the background so that, if you didn’t know it was there, you wouldn’t know it was there!

Either that or there are cameras located quite clearly every few hundred meters, so you wouldn’t dare speed even if you wanted to!

This is quite a contrast from the bright yellow, very obvious speed camera that we have in the UK. So many people slow down just before them only to speed right back up again once they’ve passed by!

Croatia has a network of speed cameras strategically placed in areas known for speeding incidents, near schools, and on stretches of the motorway where there are a lot of road accidents.

Fixed speed cameras are often signposted well in advance. However, there are mobile speed cameras too. These can be put on any part of the road without notice. 

Fines for speeding can be hefty, and they are also quite strict with their speeding laws, so it’s always best to stick to the speed limits. These are typically 130 km/h, 90 km/h on open roads and motorways and 50 km/h in cities or more urban areas.

✅ I recommend this company to book your hire car in Croatia!

8. Know What to Do in Case of an Emergency

Nobody likes to think of what to do in the case of an accident abroad. But, if you’re planning on driving in Croatia, you’ll want to be prepared if the worst should happen. 

Seek medical attention if there are any injuries by dialling 112. If the accident is serious, wait for the police to arrive—calling them at 192 is mandatory for traffic accidents.

Exchange information with the other drivers involved, including full names, contact information, insurance details, and vehicle registration numbers.

Make sure to take photos of the accident scene and any damages for your records. Additionally, notify your rental car agency as soon as possible and follow their guidance.

Also, the Croatian Auto Club (HAK) can assist with any roadside accidents. You can reach them by dialling 987.

Top Tip: Do not sign any documents or make any admissions of guilt without consulting with your car rental agency or your insurance company.

Is It Safe To Drive In Croatia?

Yes, we found Croatia to be a very safe country to drive in. The roads were well-maintained, and the Croatian drivers were some of the most considerate drivers we’ve encountered anywhere in Europe.

Even when we drove from one end of the country to the other, we were mostly on multi-lane motorways. 

It was completely unlike driving in Montenegro. Considering the counties share a border the road conditions couldn’t be more different. 

If you want questionable mountain tracks and winding roads with no barrier and an almost sheer drop on the other side, and dodgy drivers who like to cut you up at the last minute, drive in Montenegro!

If you want safe, well-maintained motorways, considerate drivers who stick to their lanes, and barriers blocking you from an unpleasant fall, drive in Croatia.

Overall, yes, we found it very safe to drive in Croatia. 

Additional Tips for Driving in Croatia

Here are a few other things to note if you’re considering hiring a car in Croatia:

• Like most European countries, Croatians drive on the right side of the road. 
• You can get a heavy fine for using your mobile phone while driving.
• It’s advisable not to drink any alcohol if you’re planning on driving. If you have an accident, breathalysers are mandatory to check your blood alcohol level and there is a zero tolerance policy if you have been drinking.
• From November, 1st until March, 31st, you’ll need to use dipped headlights at all times.
• Fuel prices in Croatia are frequently changing. However, you can expect to pay around €1.51 for petrol and €1.41 per litre.
• Fuel is more expensive at motorway service stations and near toll booths, so try to fill up in towns and cities.

✅ I recommend this company to book your hire car in Croatia!

Final Thoughts on Driving in Croatia

Overall, driving in Croatia was a good experience. It was the ideal place to dip our toes into driving in Europe and the roads felt safe.

Aside from our little mishap with the zebra crossing, we didn’t have any issues getting from one place to the other. Plus, having a car gave us the freedom to plan stops along the way (like Rastoke) that we wouldn’t have been able to see if we had travelled by public transport. 

Croatia is a beautiful country and if you’re planning on exploring it in depth, hiring a car is definitely the easiest way to get around.

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