Do I need a vignette in Croatia, and how much are the tolls?

How the Croatian toll system works

Croatia uses a closed system. You pull a ticket from the machine when you join the motorway (or drive through the ENC lane), hand it over at your exit and pay for the distance driven. Payment is in euros, cash or by Visa, Mastercard and Maestro, contactless included. A passenger car (category I) pays roughly €6–7 per 100 km. Until 2024 there was a 10% summer surcharge from June to September; since September 2024 HAC has kept that higher rate all year, so there is no longer a cheaper winter tariff at the booth. Most motorways (A1, A3, A4, A5, A11) are run by the state company HAC; the Istrian Y (A8/A9) is run by Bina-Istra and the A2 from the Slovenian border by Autocesta Zagreb–Macelj. The system is the same everywhere.

Toll prices 2026 for a passenger car

Source: HAC toll rates, valid in 2026. The motorway ends at Karamatići; the last 100 km to Dubrovnik are on the D8 coast road across the toll-free Pelješac bridge, so you no longer pass through Neum in Bosnia. Campervans over 1.9 m high fall into category II, about 50% dearer.

ENC transponder: 21.74% off

ENC is a small windscreen tag that lets you use the dedicated lane without a ticket. Since 1 July 2025 every ENC user in category I gets a flat 21.74% discount, and prepaid accounts get 33.48% off between 1 November and 31 March. The device costs about €15 plus credit and is sold at HAC points at the larger toll plazas and at selected INA fuel stations; you top up online or in the HAC ENC app. On a Zagreb–Zadar return you save around €7.70, so the tag pays for itself on the second trip. Rental cars rarely come with ENC unless you ask — see Prenajom Auta Chorvatsko Co Vediet.

What changes on 1 March 2027: free-flow tolling

The Croatian government has confirmed that a single electronic toll system (ESNC) goes live on 1 March 2027. Toll booths are removed, cars drive under camera gantries at normal speed, and the toll is still calculated by distance and vehicle category — it is not a vignette. Two ways to pay:

• ENC tag — existing devices keep working; mandatory for lorries, optional for cars.
• Automatic number-plate recognition — for cars without a tag. You register the vehicle on the national web portal or mobile app and link a card, or pay afterwards at HAC points and partner fuel stations. Quick-registration lanes are planned at motorway entries.

For visitors this means: before a summer 2027 trip, check hac.hr for whether pre-registration is required and don't rely on paying cash at an exit. The older ARZ SMART cards are withdrawn from 1 October 2026 and balances can be moved to an ENC account. Until the end of February 2027 the ticket system stays as it is.

Common mistakes and a note for Zadar visitors

• Driving into the ENC lane without a tag — you then pay the maximum fare from the farthest entry at your exit.
• Losing the ticket — full fare from the start of the motorway.
• Buying a "Croatian vignette" online — any site selling one is a scam; there is no such thing.
• Forgetting the Austrian (€12.80) and Slovenian (€16) vignettes on the way down — the full cost of the drive is in Driving to Zadar, Croatia 2027: routes, vignettes and tolls.

Heading for the Zadar coast, leave at Zadar istok: Sukošan is 10 minutes away and you can book apartments there through Adrysa accommodation directly with the owner.