[floyd]

Introduction

In this post, I wanted to share my experience in hiring and driving a self-drive car in Croatia. Driving in Europe has been a bucket list thing for a while, and it turned out to be a really great experience. The trip to Croatia was a vacation that we had planned sometime last year, and the itinerary was the following

Day-1 & 2: Zagreb, the capital of Croatia & a day trip to Pltvice National Park
Day-2 & 3: Dubrovnik, the touristy town of Croatia on the Adriatic coast
Day-3 & 4: Split, another town on the coast, but less touristy
Day-5: Back to Zagreb
Day-6: Fly back home

I wont go through all the details of the whole trip here, as that is a longer post, and I would eventually do it sometime later. I would be concentrating mostly on my self-drive experience here.

About Dubrovnik & Split

As shown in the map, both Dubrovnik and Split are on the Adriatic coast of Croatia. Culturally, they are closer to Italy than to Eastern Europe, with Italy being just across the sea.



Dubrovnik is located in the southern coast of Croatia, sometimes also called "Dalmatia". It's a well-known tourist destination in Croatia. Apart from the great Adriatic coastline and the history of it's old town, tourists are also drawn here because of the popular Game of Thrones series. The old town here served as the location for "King's Landing".



And also the "Blackwater Bay", which is really known as Pile Cove (pronounced Pee-Lay).



Split, also has a history, with a Roman "Diocletian Palace" in it's old town, as well as several beach resorts, and a lovely harbour.



The two towns are about 230 km apart, and one can travel between them by boat/ferry or road.


Hiring the Car

Since we were in Dubrovnik for only 2 days, I set out looking for a car rental agency as soon as we checked in to the hotel. Just near my hotel, there was a well-organized one, called "Uni Rent", but it was closed. So I headed to another, shadier looking one, next to it. The old man running this had two cars available. One was a tiny hatch (I don’t recall the make), and the other was a Peugeot 308. I am not a fan of French cars, but the other hatch looked plain silly. So we settled for the 308. The pic below is courtesy Wikipedia, as I realize I dont have a good enough pic of the car. The actual car was different, but also white.



The guy charged 300 Kuna per day for this, which converts to around 3,000 INR (a Kuna is about Rs. 10). I know this was a bit steep, as I had checked earlier that a Volkswagen Golf was available online for 250 Kuna, but I had no option. So it was settled, and I paid the day's deposit, and took the car. The guy just took a photo copy of my license and passport. At the last minute he mentioned that I must refuel the car before returning, and that it is a diesel vehicle. Good thing he told me, there was nothing on the car to indicate whether it ran on petrol or diesel!

Here is an actual pic of the car, from the behind.



This pic was taken to remind me of the car's number, just in case I forgot where I parked!

The First Drive



It would be worth mentioning here that I had done a research on the driving laws in Croatia. I could not find any official sources, but most tourist sites mention that you can drive in Croatia with a foreign license, and do not need a IDP if the license is in English/Latin script. I also had some experience in driving on the right side of the road, as I had spent about 6 months in the US, where I also drove. However, the key difference here is that roads are much more narrower than in US, and my rented car in the US was an Automatic (here it is manual). So this was the first time I would be dealing with the combo of driving on the other side of the road + a gear located on my right! Add to that the fact that the car had no GPS, so I had to rely on my wife looking at offline Google Maps and telling me where to turn. Needless to say, I was nervous the first few hours with the car. We headed to the old town first, and I found a sign to a parking lot, and drove in there. More on the parking experience later!



We visited the old town, which was teeming with tourists, even though it was 6PM already. Dubrovnik is an expensive place, and while there is much to see, a guided tour is quite expensive. Walking tours are 120 Kuna (1,200 INR), and do not include the city walls or any Game of Thrones sites (these are separate tours, costing 120 Kuna each!). We decided to explore the place on own own, the first day, and take a walking tour the next day, if we felt like it. We had dinner at a small restaurant in the narrow lanes, and then headed back to the parking lot. Now here was the first shocker. We had parked for about 2.5 hours, 6:00~8:30 PM. The charges was 105 Kuna! This should serve as a warning to all who want to drive in Europe... parking everywhere is very, very expensive! Driving back to the hotel, I parked the car in the same parking lot where I had taken it from i.e. in front of the car rental shop. I knew if I used the hotel parking lot, I would be charged for it on my checkout! Further Indian jugaad followed on the next day, when we parked the car near the old town again, but it was on a lonely and unmarked spot, which had no parking meter. There were a few other cars also parked here, and my wife quickly checked that there was no parking tickets on their windshields. I was still uncertain, but decided to take the risk, as parking anywhere else was at lest 35 Kuna an hour. It turned out perfectly, and we stayed in the old town the whole day, and returned without paying a single Kuna!

Planning for Split Drive
So, on reaching the hotel the 2nd day, I took a closer look at the route to Split. See the map below... notice something??



See the city marked Neum above? That city is in Bosnia & Herzegovina. The road from Dubrovnik to Split crossed the international border here! We had no visa for Bosnia... both of us were on Croatian visas! After a bit of online research, I realized that it is fine to drive through Neum corridor on Croatian visas, but they must be multiple entry (as you are leaving Croatia, and re-entering it again). Thankfully our visas were multiple entry, and so this posed no real problem. I was still unsure though, as we started the drive the next day.

We set out with Goolgle maps navigating for us. The roads had medium traffic, and I followed a safe distance behind a truck, which helped me keep to the speed limits, and stay on the correct side of the road. Dubrovnik bridge was crossed soon.



The road here became a 2-lane road, with hills on one side, and the lovely blue Adriatic on the other. The speed limits here varied from 50kmph to 80 kmph. I stuck to the speed limits, as I didn't want the cops to flag me down!







As one can imagine from the photos above, the drive was really picturesque, and all along the coast. As I kept to the speed limits, and it was just a 2-lane road, at times, a row of cars started piling up behind me. I had to go above the limits once in a while, until one after the other, all the cars behind overtook us. Well, it was evident that the speed limits were not adhered to here, but I wasn't yet confident enough to tempt fate here! The last thing I wanted is to be flagged down by cops who dont understand my language!



At the Border - Neum
Soon, the traffic started slowing down, and a queue formed and we knew that the border checkpost must be approaching. The border looked like a regular toll gate, but it had lanes marked for "EU" and "All Passports".



There was a queue in the "All Passports" line. A couple on a motorbike were ahead of us in the line. The lane on the right was marked for trucks and buses.



This was a unique experience, and a first for me - crossing countries in a car and getting your passports checked. As we approached the window and I reached out to hand over our passports, the official just waved us on. Maybe he understood that we were going to Split, and not staying in Bosnia. Whatever the case, we were now driving in Bosnia and Herzegovina!



The stretch in Bosnia is just about 10km, and we entered back in Croatian territory. Now the roads left the coastline, and widened. The speed limits also increased, at first to 100 kmph, and then to 130 kmph. There were also several tunnels that we drove through, like this one below.



On this stretch of the road, I started appreciating the Peugeot more. Even at the 130 kmph, it handled solid. The other thing that I noted was that even though we had covered a 100 kms, the fuel gauge had hardly come down. This was clearly a very fuel efficient model. The French clearly know a thing or two about cars, I guess!



One minor mistake I did on this road was while stopped at the toll gate. As I reached the toll gate, I found that all the booths were unmanned. So I thought I need to pay the tool using a card, or insert cash into the machine. As I was fumbling around with the machine, the car behind me honked. Unlike in India, in Europe and America, someone honking at you means that he is really annoyed at something you are doing. I soon realized my mistake, and that at this gate, one is just supposed to press the button and take a ticket. The payment comes later, near Split. So with the toll ticket taken, I moved on. The toll charges came to 45 Kuna (about Rs. 450), which was paid at the next toll gate. The overall drive was really spectacular, and I started connecting with the 308 now!

At the Destination

We reached out hotel in Split at around 1:00PM. The drive from Dubrovnik had taken about 3 hours. The hotel had a parking lot, which (as usual) charged 12 Euros for overnight parking.



Again, self-drive in Europe really does start pinching, especially if you dont know any locals who can advise you on alternate/free parking areas. Anyways, like I mentioned, the drive was so spectacular that I didn't mind spending about Rs. 900 a night for the parking. Split's attraction - other than the beaches - is the Diocletian Palace, which is a complex of an old Roman palace and temple, which was later turned into a cathedral in the 13th century. We headed out to the old city, and I found a parking place near the railway station where the charges were lower - about 15 Kuna an hour (as far as I remember).



The whole place can be explored in a single day, and also has many quaint restaurants along the old city lanes. Here also there are tour guides who conduct walking tours (for a fee, of course), and we joined one. The guide revealed that some scenes from Game of Thrones were also shot here, in particular, the place where the Danerys' two lesser dragons were chained.

Returning back to the hotel after dinner, I realized that I didn't have any good picture of the car. So I snapped a few in the parking lot of the hotel.



Drive Back

The return journey was, of course, similar and we followed the same route back. However, this time, we had a flight back to Zagreb to catch, and were pressed short of time. I was also more familiar with the road and the car, so drove much faster on the return. When we were back on the 2 lane coastal roads near Dubrovnik, I was always driving above the speed limit, but so were all the others! The only other thing worth mentioning was that our passports were stamped this time at the Neum border checkpost. This was considered as a re-entry into Croatia.
I also had to refuel the car before returning it to the rental agency, so I stopped at a petrol pump near Dubrovnik to top off. It was about 240 Kuna, and was around 30 liters of diesel. We returned the car without any hassles, and took a taxi to the airport. We were a bit worried about the timing, since the drive from Split was 3 hours, and then we had to catch a cab to the Dubrobnik airport. However we reached well in time for the flight, and were in Zagreb for the last day of our vacation.

[SDP]

Moving out of assembly line. Thanks for sharing ! Amazing pics!

[Rohan24]

Great Drivologue floyd! The pics are spectacular.
Thank you for that GK regarding Game of Thrones

All these Balkan countries that line the Adriatic coast are so beautiful.
Driving in Europe is an experience in itself, and is on top of my bucket list as well.

[dinesh6481]

Wow. Everything seems so easy. I always wonder why Adventure and Fun are so easy to enjoy in the west? Have they built their system around that? Be it the ease of visa or car rental or public transport for Points of interest. Compared to our system, they have thoughtfully invested in their tourism sector with some real research. All their policies revolve around the ease of tourism.

Euro Road trip along with Pacific coast driving of Australia are on bucket list. Hope to do it in some time next few years.

[arjab]

Beautiful pictures and very nice narration!

The French triad; viz; Peugeot, Renault and Citroen always made entertaining and nice vehicles.
Peugeot was and is specially good with hatches that are fun to drive, attractively styled and economical to buy and run.
The 205 GTi hatch of yesteryear's is regarded as a classic and a forerunner of the hot hatch brigade.
It's unfortunate that they messed up their India plans and now, i guess, too scared for a re-entry!

Thanks once again for the lovely read.

[Omkar]

Locations in Game of Thrones are amazing and I always wondered where some of the scenes were shot. Watching normal people with normal clothes at the "Blackwater Bay" is something unusual.
But it completely took me back to the wildfire scene. Okay, enough about GOT.

The roads and the drive seemed to have been wonderful with the view being spectacular!

Originally Posted by floyd

This should serve as a warning to all who want to drive in Europe... parking everywhere is very, very expensive!

I am pretty sure this is soon going to be the case in India as well (especially Bombay).

It was great of you to mention some of the minor details like, there is no need for an international drivers permit and the toll booth system and many others. These details are something one goes through for the first time and would prove essential for readers as well.

[floyd]

Thanks for the comments, guys. I'm glad that this post was both useful and entertaining.

Originally Posted by dinesh6481

Wow. Everything seems so easy. I always wonder why Adventure and Fun are so easy to enjoy in the west?

Well, I think it's just the norm in EU and USA that everyone drives their own car. Hiring a taxi driver to take you around is the easiest way to go broke in these countries! But I understand what you are saying - that it is easier for the tourist in these countries. But on the flip side, it is very expensive too.

Originally Posted by arjab

Beautiful pictures and very nice narration!

The French triad; viz; Peugeot, Renault and Citroen always made entertaining and nice vehicles.
Peugeot was and is specially good with hatches that are fun to drive, attractively styled and economical to buy and run.

Yes, I think I quite warmed up to the car after the to-and-fro drive. Like I mentioned, solid, rock-steady handling, even at 130 kmph speeds!

[godwinrighthere]

I live in France and have driven in many European countries. I have recently traveled to Croatia and visited Zagreb, Zadar, Split, Korcula and Dubrovnik. We were 6 and drove a 9 seater (Renault Traffic).
Here are my views on your post
According to me Croatia charges one of the lowest parking fees compared to other european countries.
Croatia is a part of Schengen now and if you hold a Schengen visa, you are allowed to enter Bosnia. So if you are driving from croatia, they will not stop you. That explains why the police waived at you. (there is also another way to reach Dubrovnik without touching Bosnia. Ferry to Orebich and drive from there. We did this)
You have to have your headlights on when you drive in Croatia. This is not seriously implemented in summers. But you would have noticed that most of the vehicles had their headlight on.
Having spoken with many drivers in Croatia, we got to know that one can safely drive upto 170 kmph without being pulled over by the police.
Cheers

[poised2drive]

Simple yet beautiful trip and travelogue...

Most of the Indians got to look beyond Germany/France/Austria and try to visit the Eastern and S Eastern European Countries.

Originally Posted by floyd

Introduction

I also had to refuel the car before returning it to the rental agency, so I stopped at a petrol pump near Dubrovnik to top off. It was about 240 Kuna, and was around 30 liters of diesel. .

Generic Question !

Kithna Dethi hain !? [ Just curious ]

[floyd]

Originally Posted by godwinrighthere

Croatia is a part of Schengen now and if you hold a Schengen visa, you are allowed to enter Bosnia. So if you are driving from croatia, they will not stop you. That explains why the police waived at you. (there is also another way to reach Dubrovnik without touching Bosnia. Ferry to Orebich and drive from there. We did this)
You have to have your headlights on when you drive in Croatia. This is not seriously implemented in summers. But you would have noticed that most of the vehicles had their headlight on.
Cheers

Actually, it is a bit more complicated. Croatia allows you to enter the country if you hold a valid Schengen visa. But if you dont already have a Schengen, you need to apply for a Croatia visa. I initially had the idea that I would apply for a German Schengen, and spend a day in Frankfurt, and then head to Croatia on the same visa. One of my friends who works with corporate travel advised me against this, as the rules are such that you need to apply for a visa in the country that you are staying the max duration in. Long story short, we had Croatian visas, and not Schengen ones. With Schengen, there would be no issues, I'm sure in crossing borders in Europe.

About the headlights - yes, I forgot to mention this. Headlights have to be always on while driving.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by floyd

One of my friends who works with corporate travel advised me against this, as the rules are such that you need to apply for a visa in the country that you are staying the max duration in. Long story short, we had Croatian visas, and not Schengen ones. With Schengen, there would be no issues, I'm sure in crossing borders in Europe.

Not true. You may also apply for the visa in the country that you are going to land. Once you have a Schengen visa nobody in that region is bothered how many nights you spend in which country.

I did a cross country drive last year, passed 3-4 countries at minimum and there wasn't a single checkpoint where my passport was checked, Schengen area (especially Central Europe) is cool that ways.

Good that you didn't get tempted into driving fast given the roads there, Swiss cops caught me doing 220+ in the night and the experience was one of a kind.

[mr.sinha]

Thanks floyd. Enjoyed your short and lovely travelogue, however was disappointed to not see any pics of Plitvice NP.

In Dec 2011, I had done a long driving trip across Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia/Hzg. Missed Dubrovnik, as from Split, I cut across into Mostar in Bosnia.

This part of Europe is indeed awesome and more beautiful than the usual touristy places in Western Europe.

Here's my old travelogue in case you are interested:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...rzegovina.html

[godwinrighthere]

Originally Posted by fine69

Not true. You may also apply for the visa in the country that you are going to land. Once you have a Schengen visa nobody in that region is bothered how many nights you spend in which country.

I did a cross country drive last year, passed 3-4 countries at minimum and there wasn't a single checkpoint where my passport was checked, Schengen area (especially Central Europe) is cool that ways.

Not Right. I agree that nobody really is bothered once you have got the Schengen visa. But there exists a rule that you should apply for the Sch. visa to the country where you have max nights stay. The reason is simple, if you are not going to stay in Spain (for example) for the maximum number of days, why will Spain spend its resources on processing your visa?

[fine69]

Originally Posted by godwinrighthere

But there exists a rule that you should apply for the Sch. visa to the country where you have max nights stay. The reason is simple, if you are not going to stay in Spain (for example) for the maximum number of days, why will Spain spend its resources on processing your visa?

Rule? Can you point to the source please. So far I know that its a recommendation but definitely not the ground for getting a Schengen visa rejected. My brother-in-law went to his honeymoon in July and got his Schengen visa for Germany (first Schengen country) where he stayed for 2 nights only while he spent maximum days in Italy (5 nights) out of the total 11-12 days he was there.

He got this done through Thomas Cook as it was a package tour but this is how I know that its not a mandate.

EDIT: Spoke to him just now. Thomas Cook was also the visa agent for him and his wife.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by mr.sinha

Thanks floyd. Enjoyed your short and lovely travelogue, however was disappointed to not see any pics of Plitvice NP.

Well, I wanted to focus on the drive here. For Pltvice, I had taken a "small group tour", where the tour guides had their own van. Pltvice was indeed very beautiful, but it was very crowded. Even by Indian standards, there were too many tourists, but I guess it was because we went on a Sunday.