Faster way to the Adriatic during rush hour

The fastest way to get to the sea is by motorway. The Croatian ones are mostly new, beautiful and fast, but waiting in line to pay the toll often means you'll lose more time than if you were driving on a normal "slow" road. This is especially true during rush hour, i.e. on Saturdays during the peak tourist season. We have a few tips for you on how to speed up your journey through the toll gates on Croatian motorways:
Tip #1:
Pay only with a credit card at the turnstiles. /According to Croatian information, any valid credit card can be used for payment./Turnstiles where you can pay by card are marked CARD. Operating the turnstile is very easy: first, insert the highway ticket into the marked hole, the display shows how much you have to pay. Insert the credit card into the second marked hole. The barrier will lift - the payment is made. Take the credit card back and if you want a bill, press the red button. The whole procedure is very easy, convenient and, most importantly, fast. We recommend it.
Tip No. 2:
Avoid the MACELJ toll gate on the Croatian border. There are almost always queues here. If you are driving towards the sea, the queues are not that long, because you are passing through two border crossings and you only have to take a ticket at the turnstile. The situation is different when returning, when driving from the sea. At the end of the Croatian motorway in front of the Macelj toll gate, there are often many kilometres of queues. We recommend: do not drive the motorway to the end, but take the penultimate exit DURMANEC. Then continue on the normal road to the border crossing /about 10 km/. The road is nice, well marked. You will avoid queues and save on the motorway.
Another toll gate where you will waste a lot of time waiting to pay the toll is on the way to Zagreb from the sea. About 3 km before this gate, a new large-capacity gate has been built /to the right of the highway/, where you can only pay cashless. Be careful, do not drive past the exit from the highway to this gate and pay without queuing by credit card. You will save a lot of time. We recommend it.

When paying tolls with a credit card, you do not enter your PIN code anywhere. The toll gates are unattended.

Last updated: December 2024.