Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Slovenia has done away with its tollbooth system. Instead, drivers who use Slovenia's
expressways are required to buy a toll sticker, called a vignette (Slovene:
vinjeta,
veen-
YEH-tah; €15/week, €30/month). Vignettes are sold at gas stations, post offices, and some
newsstands. Your rental car might already come with one—ask. A few of my readers have
reported waiting too long to buy one, and getting slapped with a €150 fine, plus €15 for the
sticker. If you're coming into Slovenia on an expressway, watch for
vinjeta
signs at gas sta-
tions as you approach the border, and purchase the sticker before you cross.
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro don't levy tolls—in fact, they don't even have ex-
pressways.
Road Conditions:
Croatian, Slovenian, and even Bosnian roads are extremely well-en-
gineered and typically in excellent repair. (The less said about Montenegrin roads, the bet-
ter.) Croatia is still working on finishing its speedy A-1 expressway from Zagreb all the
way south to Dubrovnik; currently it ends about 80 miles south of Split, where you'll have
to transfer to the winding coastal road. For the latest on new expressways in Croatia, see
www.hac.hr
and
www.hak.hr
;
for Slovenia, see
www.dars.si
.
Secondary roads can be very
twisty—especially along the coast or through the mountains. If you get way off the beaten
track, you might find gravel. Locals poetically describe these as “white roads.” (Get it? No
