Driving from Croatia to Bosnia in a hire car
Driving from Croatia to Bosnia in a hire car needs permission from the rental partner, requested in advance by email.
Can I take a hire car out of Croatia?
Yes, with permission. Under the rental conditions for Croatia, permission to travel outside the country is arranged by writing to the rental partner's help desk by email.
The rental conditions name no countries. The price and conditions of the permission vary with the duration of the trip, the type of car and the rental company's policy.
What does the permission cost?
The conditions name three things the price and conditions depend on: the duration of the trip out of the country, the type of car, and the individual rental company's policy. They give no fixed figure, and each offer shows what deposit the car asks for before payment. Fuel, parking, fines and toll roads are also the renter's cost under the rental conditions, on top of the daily rate of a cheap car at Zadar.
What about the Green Card?
The rental conditions for Croatia do not mention a Green Card. The only condition they set for driving abroad is the permission requested by email, with its price and conditions varying by trip, car and company. Questions about the car's documents can go in the same email.
Croatian law requires a passenger car to carry a warning triangle, a first-aid kit and a reflective vest.
What is the Neum corridor?
The old coast road towards Dubrovnik crosses about 9 km of Bosnia and Herzegovina at Neum, with two border crossings, Klek/Neum 1 and Zaton Doli/Neum 2. State roads D236 and D237 link the D8 to those two crossings.
Driving through Neum is travel outside Croatia and needs the same permission. The Pelješac Bridge opened in July 2022 and the Ston bypass completed its access roads in April 2023, and since then the drive south to Dubrovnik can be made on Croatian roads without crossing a border.
Under the 2018 concession decision no toll may be charged for the Pelješac Bridge. Dubrovnik is 4 h 25 (340 km) from Zadar Airport by car.
One-way rentals from Zadar Airport can finish in Croatian cities such as Split, Dubrovnik, Zagreb and Pula. The drop-off fee for a rental that finishes at the far end is set per car and already included in the price shown for that car before payment.
Are there queues at the border?
HAK, the Croatian Automobile Club, warns that in the summer season heavy traffic and waits of several hours are possible at the busiest border crossings, especially towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro. HAK advises checking current conditions before you travel.
HAK's list of busier crossings is Bajakovo, Slavonski Brod, Stara Gradiška, Maljevac, Ličko Petrovo Selo, Metković and Karasovići.
What applies at the border itself?
At the external borders of the Schengen area everyone is checked against databases on entry and on exit, EU, EEA and Swiss citizens included. Croatia's crossings into Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro are external borders of that kind.
The rental conditions still apply abroad: paved public roads only; after an insured event, notify the rental agent immediately and obtain a police report unless the agent agrees otherwise; and fuel, tolls and fines are the renter's cost. The four things standard cover leaves out are the wheels, undercarriage, windscreen and interior.
Questions
Can I drive a Croatian hire car to Bosnia?
Only with permission, requested from the rental partner's support by email. The rental conditions name no countries; the price and conditions vary with the trip's length, the type of car and the rental company's policy.
How much does cross-border permission cost?
It depends on how long the car is out of the country, the type of car, and the individual company's policy. There is no fixed published figure.
Do I need a Green Card for Croatia?
The rental conditions for Croatia do not mention one. Permission to take the car abroad is requested by email, and questions about the car's documents can go in the same email.
Does the Neum corridor need permission?
Yes. The road through Neum crosses Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since the Pelješac bridge opened, the drive to Dubrovnik can be made without it.
Who arranges permission to leave Croatia?
Customer support, by email, before the trip. The price and the conditions depend on how long you are away, on the car and on the rental company's own policy.
What should I check about insurance before driving abroad?
The rental conditions require permission before the car leaves Croatia. They name two cases that end the cover: not notifying the rental agent immediately and obtaining a police report after an insured event, unless otherwise agreed with the agent, and deliberate damage through vandalism or neglect. Cover abroad can be raised with support in the permission email.