Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(including the quick 2-hour drive from Zagreb to Ljubljana). This is especially frus-
trating when connecting some car-friendly parts of southern Slovenia (such as the
Karst) with similar areas in nearby northern Croatia (such as Istria or Plitvice Lakes
National Park).
First, compare rates at various rental companies to see if one happens to offer a
lowerdrop-offcharge(ithappens,butit'srare).Ifthere'snowayaroundthehighfee,
think creatively to avoid this huge and unnecessary expense.
Let's say you want to pick up a car in Ljubljana, drive through Slovenia's Karst
to Istria, then continue to Split and drop your car. But you find out the drop-off fee
is $400. Here are two possible alternatives: First, you could do a circuit around the
sights of southern Slovenia, then head back up to Ljubljana (fast and easy, thanks to
the short distances and speedy expressways), drop your Slovenian car there, and take
public transit to northern Croatia (such as the bus to Rovinj, or the train to Zagreb,
Rijeka, or Pula). After sightseeing there, you could pick up a second car for your
Croatian driving (for example, take the bus from Rovinj—which doesn't generally
have handy car-rental offices—to a nearby city that does, such as Pula or Pore
č
). Or
you could begin your trip in Croatia, pick up your rental car there, then loop back up
into Slovenia with the Croatian car before continuing to Croatia.
There's no doubt that these solutions add some hassle to your itinerary, but they
could save you hundreds of dollars.
For the best deal, rent by the week with unlimited mileage. To save money on fuel, ask
foradieselcar.Inormallyrentthesmallest,least-expensivemodelwithastickshift.Almost
all rentals are manual by default, so if you need an automatic, request one in advance; be
awarethatthesecarsareusuallylargermodels(muchmoreexpensive andnotasmaneuver-
able on narrow, winding roads).
For a one-week rental, figure on paying roughly $350, not including insurance, fuel,
tolls, and parking. Note that short rentals cost significantly more per day, while longer rent-
als can be cheaper per day.
Be warned that dropping a car off in a different country—say, picking up in Ljubljana
and dropping in Dubrovnik—can be prohibitively expensive (see the “Rental-Car Conun-
drum” sidebar for ways around this). Again, I prefer to connect long distances by train or
bus, then rent cars for a day or two where they're most useful. But be aware that some com-
panies have a minimum rental period (generally three days); you can keep the car for fewer
days, but you'll pay for the minimum period anyway. If you want the car for just a day or
two, try to find a company that allows short rentals.
