APPENDIX - Croatia and Slovenia - page 1123

Maps and Signage: Agoodmapisessential(see here ).Whilemostroadsarenumbered,
the numbers rarely appear on signs. Instead, do as the Croatians and Slovenes do, and nav-
igate by town name—at every major intersection, directional signs point to nearby towns
and cities. The color of the sign tells you what type of road you're approaching: yellow is a
normal road, while blue (in Croatia) or green (in Slovenia) indicates that the route is via ex-
pressway. Brown indicates a cultural or natural attraction (such as a castle or a cave). Learn
the universal road signs. As you approach any town, follow the Centar signs (usually also
signed with a bull's-eye symbol).
Bosnian Detour: If you'll be driving along the Dalmatian Coast, notice that between
Split and Dubrovnik, you'll actually pass through Bosnia-Herzegovina for a few miles
(through the town of Neum). Don't stress about this international detour—it lasts about 20
minutes, and the borders are a breezy formality (you may need to show your passport, but
generally you'll just be waved through; for details, see here ) .
Parking: Get parking advice from your hotel, or look for the blue-and-white P signs.
Street parking marked with blue lines must be paid for (look for pay-and-display parking
meters, or ask at a nearby newsstand if you can pay for parking there). Parking is a costly
headache in big cities. You'll pay about $15-25 a day to park safely. Rental-car theft can be
aproblemincities,soaskatyourhotelforadvice.Manycoastaltowns—suchasRovinjand
Piran—are off-limits to cars...unless you're sleeping in the city center, in which case you
may be granted permission to drive in just long enough to drop off your bags, then return to
the parking lot outside of town. Ask your hotelier about this in advance.
Cheap Flights
Croatia is a little country with long distances (for example, it's at least a nine-hour drive
from Zagreb to Dubrovnik), so flying can save you a lot of time. Flying also makes sense
if you're going to Sarajevo, which is relatively far from other destinations in this topic, but
easily connected to Zagreb by two daily flights on Croatia Airlines.