Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Fuel
Petrol stations are usually open from about 7am to 8pm Monday to Saturday, though lar-
ger towns have 24-hour services on the outskirts.
The price of
bencin
(petrol) is on par with the rest of Continental Europe: EuroSuper 95
costs around €1.50 per litre, with diesel at €1.40.
Hire
Renting a car in Slovenia allows access to cheaper out-of-centre hotels and farm or village
homestays. Rentals from international firms such as Avis, Budget, Europcar and Hertz
vary in price; expect to pay from €40/210 a day/week, including unlimited mileage, colli-
sion damage waiver (CDW), theft protection (TP), Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) and
taxes. Some smaller agencies have somewhat more competitive rates; booking on the in-
ternet is always cheaper.
Insurance
Third-party liability insurance is compulsory in Slovenia. If you enter the country in your
own car and it is registered in the EU, you're covered. Other motorists must buy a
Green
Card
(
www.cobx.org
)
valid for Slovenia at the border.
Parking
You must pay to park in the centre of most Slovenian towns. 'Pay and display' parking
coupons (from €0.30 per hour) are sold at vending machines (no change). In Ljubljana
there are underground car parks where fees are charged (€1.50 to €1.70 for the first hour
and €0.50 to €1.50 per hour after that depending on the time of day).
Road Conditions & Tolls
Roads in Slovenia are generally excellent. Driving in the Julian Alps can be hair-raising,
with a gradient of up to 18% at the Korensko Sedlo Pass into Austria, and a series of 49
hairpin bends on the road over the Vršič Pass from Gorenjska into Primorska. Many
mountain roads are closed in winter and some well into early spring. Motorways and high-
ways are well signposted, but secondary and tertiary roads not always so; take a good map
or GPS navigation device (available from car-rental agencies).
There are two main motorway corridors - between Maribor and the coast (via the im-
pressive flyover at Črni Kal) and from the Karavanke Tunnel into Austria to Zagreb in
Croatia - intersecting at the Ljubljana ring road, with a branch from Postojna to Nova
Gorica. Motorways are numbered from A1 to A10.
