Countries in Europe south or west of Poland, where motorways are completely free, can be counted on the fingers of one hand. On the route to Croatia, popular among Poles, vignettes are required. In Croatia itself, as in the west of the continent and in Poland, you pay at the gates. We present the prices of highways in the countries to which – or through which – Polish tourists go on holiday most often.
By car to Croatia
Poles going by car to Croatia usually cross the border In the Czech Republic. Vignettes are required on our southern neighbor’s motorways. The one valid for ten days costs money 310 Czech crowns (approx. PLN 60). Those who go to the south of the continent for two weeks must buy a vignette 30-day, its price is 440 crowns (approx. PLN 83).
An alternative way to Croatia leads through Slovakia. The second of our southern neighbors also requires drivers entering motorways to have a vignette. Their prices are similar to those in the Czech Republic. We will pay for the 10-day vignette 12 euro (approx. PLN 54)for a monthly vignette 17 euro (approx. PLN 75).
Another country on the Adriatic route is Austriapossibly Hungary. Let’s start with the first of these countries. Austrians for a 10-day vignette wish EUR 9.90 (approx. PLN 45), which is slightly less than in the countries bordering Poland to the south. We have worse news for tourists returning to Poland via Austria after a two-week holiday. There is no monthly vignette here, so it remains to buy the one valid for two months. Its price is EUR 29.90 (approx. PLN 130). It is therefore better to buy another 10-day vignette on the way back.
Poles who traveled through Slovakia, further south can also cross Hungary. There, a 10-day vignette costs money 5.5 thousand forints (approx. PLN 66). Buying a Hungarian vignette valid for one month is an expense 8.9 thousand forints (approx. PLN 106).
However, the road through Hungary can be financially profitable as we enter Croatia directly from this country. Those who have chosen to drive through Austria still have a long way to go Slovenia. Drivers complain extremely strongly about motorway prices in this small country. Weekly vignette costs there 16 euros (approx. 71 zlotys). We will pay for the monthly vignette 32 euro (approx. PLN 142). And yet the journey on the Slovenian highways is much shorter than, for example, on the Austrian ones.
In Croatia, motorways are paid at the gates. Shutterstock
in alone Croatia, as in Poland, you pay for motorways at the gates. The tolls.eu website lists the prices of several specific routes. The 444-kilometre section from the Slovenian border (Trakošćan) to Split in the south is EUR 24.80 (approx. PLN 110). We will pay for driving on the highway from Zagreb to Rijeka, the gateway to the Adriatic part of Croatia EUR 9.20 (approx. PLN 40). In turn, the price of a trip from the capital to Zadar, located by the sea in central Croatia, is EUR 16.50 (approx. PLN 74).
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By car to Italy. And further west
A lot of Polish tourists also go by car to Italian. This is another country where motorway tolls are collected at exit gates. On the tolls.eu website, we find the prices of several popular holiday routes. From Tarvisio, located on the Austrian border, to Venice (224 kilometers) we will follow EUR 18.20 (approx. PLN 80)from Milan to Rome (556 kilometers) – a EUR 41.90 (approx. PLN 185). The motorway journey from Milan to Bari (865 kilometers) costs money EUR 64.40 (approx. PLN 290).
Most Poles travel to Italy via the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovenia. In the case of residents of the western part of our country, however, the shortest way to Italy leads through Germany. There, only drivers of vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tons pay for motorways. So the car ride is free.
To the west of Germany, Polish tourists venture by car less often, which does not mean, however, that they do not go there at all. In France, which in itself is quite a popular tourist destination, you will pay for using the motorway, just like in Italy, when leaving it. Prices are high. The less than 500-kilometre stretch from Strasbourg to Paris in the east of the country costs money EUR 40.90 (approx. PLN 180). From the capital to the Côte d’Azur, exactly to Marseille (773 kilometers), we will follow the highways EUR 59.50 (approx. PLN 265).
Coming back to Poland from France, especially from Paris, you can visit the Benelux countries. Highways in Belgium and the Netherlandsexcept for specific tunnels, are free.
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Highways in Spain and Portugal
Few Polish tourists reach the Iberian Peninsula by car. However, most choose the plane. But already willing to rent a car on the spot and organize a “detour” after Spain or Portugal is quite a lot. In both countries, payments are made at the gates.
Many sections of Spanish motorways are toll-free. We will not ride for free, even in one of the most popular regions of the country among tourists, i.e. in the southern part of the Andalusian coast. You have to pay, for example, for a ride from Malaga to the famous resorts: Marbella (5 euros, or about 22 zlotys) and Estepona (EUR 8.40, i.e. over PLN 35). Fees are also charged on the motorway connecting Basque Bilbao with Zaragoza, located roughly halfway between Madrid and Barcelona. We will pay for the entire route EUR 64.70 (approx. PLN 290).
IN Portugal the prices, calculated on the number of kilometers, are similar, but the distances between cities are much smaller, so as a result, we will pay less for driving on local highways than in Spain. The 300km stretch connecting Lisbon to Faro, Portugal’s southernmost city, costs EUR 23.80 (approx. PLN 105). The price of the journey from Porto to Lisbon, which is shorter by several kilometers, is similar. From Valencia, located on the Spanish border, to Porto, we will pass by the motorway EUR 9.55 (approx. PLN 40).
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Main photo source: Shutterstock