I am beginning to plan a trip to Croatia for next June. I have been reading Rick Steves' book and cannot really get a grip on where would be the best place to fly in to from the US. Dubrovnik or Ljubljana seem to be the two. If I fly into Slovenia and rent a car, can I drive it into Croatia? Could I rent it in one country and leave it in the other? Is flying into Zagreb something I should consider? If I flew into either Zagreb or Dubrovnik could I then rent a car and leave it at the other and fly out of the other? Or would it be better to return to the same city to fly out of again? Hope this isn't too confusing. I appreciate any help.
Posted by
Martinez, CA, USA
1506 posts
Which countries are you planning on visiting? We just returned from Slovenia, Croatia, BiH, Montenegro, and back to Croatia and used RS book as a guideline. We flew into Ljubljana and out of Dubrovnik. We picked up a car at Ljubljana airport and drove to Bled for 3 nights. Then we returned the car in Ljubljana and stayed there for 2 nights. Because it is prohibitively expensive to rent a car in one country and return it in another, we took the bus from Ljubljana to Rovinj. We got a rental car there and drove through Croatia, then Bosnia and Herzegovina, then Montenegro for 2 weeks. We returned to Croatia, returning our car in Dubrovnik where we spent 4 nights. Towns we slept in: Bled; Ljubljana; Rovinj; Plitvice; Trogir; Mostar; Dobrota,Kotor Bay; Dubrovnik; Cavtat. With a few exceptions we spent 3 nights in each town.
To try to answer some of your questions: If you rent a car in one country you can drive it in another but as mentioned above you probably don't want to return it in another country. When you get a rental quote (we use economycarrentals.com) be sure you indicate you will be driving it out of country as there may be an extra charge for the necessary documents and insurance. You can also return the car in another city within the same country. Not sure if there is any charge for that as it is included in the quote we get.
You might want to first decide which countries and towns you want to visit and look at the maps in the RS book to come up with a route that involves little to no backtracking. Then you can decide on your transportation. Hope this was of some help. This is a beautiful trip. Hope you have a great time!
Posted by
Wynnewood, PA, USA
271 posts
John, your itinerary is well-suited for a rental with drop off in another city (or, perhaps, another country). However, without a clear understanding of your itinerary, route planning suggestions are a challenge. In my case, a three week trip beginning in Krakow and ending in Dubrovnik made a drop-off-different-country essential. While the AutoEurope agents were terrific in informing me on the nuances involved in this type of rental their inventory could not provide a package. So on my own I scoured the rental car companies and found Sixt would meet my needs with a reasonable tacked on for the drop off. Of course, here is where many posters will differ on "reasonable"; in my case $200 was fair and made it a snap to leave the car airport.
Carol's post has many good points and may inspire you to try a hybrid approach. But, perhaps you will find a $0 fee for rentals like Zagreb to Dubv. or Lju to Dubv. - I've never checked them out.
We found a car a great asset in visiting Istria, Trogir and Dubrv. and I'm certain you will too.
Ciao.
Posted by
Folsom, California, USA
316 posts
To Carol,
I would be interested in knowing what airlines you flew into Ljubljana? I am doing a trip similar to John's covering Croatia and Slovenia, but have found flights into and out of Ljubljana to be MUCH more expensive than expected. Considering taking a train to Munich for a cheaper flight home.
Thanks,
Kaye
Posted by
Martinez, CA, USA
1506 posts
We used United. We use them and their credit card a lot and had enough miles for this to be a 'free' trip. I did track the price just for our own info and as I recall it was about $1500.
Posted by
Nanaimo, BC, Canada
167 posts
Croatia Airlines currently connects with Lufthansa and you can fly into, say, Frankfurt or Munich, and on to Zagreb. Within Croatia the same plane flies Zagreb-Zadar-Pula (Pula is in Istria, south of Slovenia) and you can fly Zagreb to Dubrovnik on a different plane. Their website is very clear, and prices in advance are reasonable. The route-sharing means you may be on a Lufthansa flight to Zagreb. A new airport is under construction in Zagreb, which may make the arrival transfer process more 21st century. Car rental is really best done inside one country. Croatia is outside the Schengen zone for now, which means the Slovenia/Croatia border is a real border on the edge of the EU, not like the non-borders inside the EU.
Since both Llubjana and Dubrovnik airports are out of town, renting a car there might feel easier than Zagreb, which is on the edge of a fairly confusing city to drive in. Its connections to the 'auto put' highway are still being completed and it feels far from the coast. But Zagreb is itself a wonderful city to spend time in, all renovated centre and vibrant old town, like Prague but less 'discovered'.
You may want to re-consider car rental anyway -all major cities in the region are connected by bus, and more and more people are using them to travel cheaply and without stress on long trips. Local car rentals, with Oryx in Croatia, for example may still be cheap in June to visit, say, the interior of Istria, where the big bus lines do not go.