In Croatia you drive on the right, with the steering wheel on the left, and roundabouts go anticlockwise. At junctions without signs or road markings, traffic from your right goes first, even from a small side street.
Watch for fixed cameras, and for unmarked camera cars.
The most important first.
The general limit is 0.50 g/kg, but drivers under 24 and anyone driving for work must have no alcohol at all.
A red light means stop for every direction. Only a lit green arrow beside the red light lets you turn, after giving way to traffic and pedestrians.
At junctions with no signs or markings, traffic from the right goes first, even from a small side street. A warning triangle with a black X marks such a junction ahead.
Where a roundabout entry has a give-way sign, traffic already on the roundabout goes first. Where the entry has no sign, priority to the right applies, so cars entering have priority over cars already going round.
From 15 November to 15 April, designated winter sections, including the A1 between Zagreb and Maslenica and the A6 to Rijeka, require winter tyres, or summer tyres with at least 4 mm of tread plus chains, whatever the weather.
Strong bura wind can close motorways, the coast road and bridges. Motorcycles and vehicles towing trailers or caravans are banned first, then other high-sided vehicles, then everything except cars, and in the strongest wind all traffic. Obey the variable speed signs and follow signposted detours.
Motor vehicles may not enter without a special permit. Stopping and parking are banned. Where: Areas set aside for pedestrians, marked by a sign with walking figures and the words Pješačka zona. Fine: €30 for stopping or parking. Check how to reach your accommodation before driving into an old town centre.
From 1 November to 31 March, you must drive with daytime running lights or dipped headlights on, even in bright sunshine.
In Zagreb and other cities with trams, give way to a tram at a junction whichever side it comes from, unless signs say otherwise.
Police cameras in roadside housings record speeding, phone use and missing seat belts, and they do not flash. Cameras are moved between housings, so treat every housing as live.
Drivers without residence in Croatia pay the fine on the spot, at half the minimum amount. If you refuse, police can keep your passport or licence and take you to court.
On most local car ferries, a ticket does not reserve a place for your car. Queue at the port well before departure, especially in summer.
If a foreign-registered car is damaged in an accident, the police officer at the scene gives the owner a damage report, which is needed to take the car across the border.
The sign with the town's name on it sets the town limit by itself, usually with no speed sign.
The car must carry a hi-vis vest, a warning triangle, a first-aid kit, a spare wheel or tyre repair kit, spare bulbs and winter tyres, or summer tyres with at least 4 mm of tread plus snow chains (in winter). Hire cars should have them, but check before you drive away, because the driver gets the fine.
Drive no faster than walking pace. Children may play anywhere in the street. Where: Areas within towns, marked by a blue sign showing people, a car and a house. Expect children and pedestrians in the roadway.
Most motorways charge a toll by distance. Take a ticket at the entry booth and pay at the exit booth in euros or by card. Without an ENC electronic tag, use a lane marked CASH or CARD. Lanes marked ENC are for vehicles with a tag. You can pay a toll booth operator or an automatic pay machine. Some smaller exits have only a machine.
Where no sign says otherwise, in kilometres per hour.
The app animates all 7 junctions for Croatia, including the ones above.
Open it in the appStop at the line before the junction or level crossing and give way to all traffic on the road you are entering.
You must give way to all vehicles on the road you are entering.
A junction is ahead where neither road has priority.
You are on a priority road. Traffic on side roads must give way to you.
The priority road ends here.
Speed checks take place on this road or section.
Traffic on this road or section is monitored by cameras.
The general limits in Croatia: 50 km/h in built-up areas, 90 km/h outside them, 110 km/h on expressways and 130 km/h on motorways. Dipped headlights are required all day from 1 November to 31 March.
You are entering a built-up area.
The built-up area ends here.
A motorway starts here.
An expressway or a road reserved for motor vehicles starts here.
Police speed cameras sit in roadside housings, many of them on street-light poles, and are moved between housings so drivers cannot tell which ones are live. There are now about 800 housings, some on motorways. The cameras do not flash, and they also record phone use and missing seat belts. Unmarked police cars patrol motorways and expressways.
Kamera za nadzor brzine
Looks like: A metal cabinet, mostly mounted on a street-light pole about 2.6 to 3.3 metres up. Newer housings are black. There is no flash.
Catches: Speeding, in both directions and across several lanes. Newer cameras also record drivers holding a phone or not wearing a seat belt.
Only about a third of housings hold a camera at any time, and police move the cameras between them. Treat every housing as live.
Policijski presretač
Looks like: An ordinary car without police markings.
Catches: Speeding and other offences on motorways and expressways.
In use since 2005.
Preventivni radarski mjerač brzine
Looks like: A black panel showing your speed in km/h with the word USPORI, sometimes also SLOW DOWN, and sometimes two flashing amber lights.
Catches: Nothing. It only shows your speed, usually near schools and kindergartens.
It does not record or fine.
Every camera type in Croatia, the warning signs and how fines reach you
| Licence from | Permit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| the EU, Iceland | Not needed | Licences issued in any EEA country are valid in Croatia. |
| United Kingdom | Not needed | A UK photocard licence can be used for up to one year. Holders of an old paper licence may also need an IDP. |
| Australia, Canada, United States, New Zealand, Switzerland | Recommended | The law accepts a valid foreign licence, subject to reciprocity, and an IDP issued in the licence's country. Sixt accepts licences in the Latin alphabet without an IDP. The Canadian government advises carrying an IDP, and Smartraveller warns that driving without one could void your travel and vehicle insurance. |
| Japan | Required | Japanese licences are not in the Latin alphabet, so carry an IDP with your licence. Hire companies such as Sixt will not rent a car without one. |
Motor vehicles may not enter without a special permit. Stopping and parking are banned. Where: Areas set aside for pedestrians, marked by a sign with walking figures and the words Pješačka zona. Fine: €30 for stopping or parking.
Tip: Check how to reach your accommodation before driving into an old town centre.
Drive no faster than walking pace. Children may play anywhere in the street. Where: Areas within towns, marked by a blue sign showing people, a car and a house.
Tip: Expect children and pedestrians in the roadway.
Most motorways charge a toll by distance. Take a ticket at the entry booth and pay at the exit booth in euros or by card.
| At the pump | Means |
|---|---|
| Eurosuper 95 | Unleaded petrol, 95 octane |
| Eurosuper 100 | Unleaded petrol, 100 octane |
| Eurodizel | Diesel Easy to get wrong |
| Class Plus | Premium grade of petrol or diesel at INA stations |
| Autoplin (LPG) | LPG autogas, not petrol Easy to get wrong |
Street parking is split into zones. Zone I in the centre costs €1.60 an hour with a 2-hour maximum, and is charged 7:00 to 24:00 Monday to Saturday and 7:00 to 15:00 on Sundays and holidays.
Most of Zone II costs €0.70 an hour with a 3-hour maximum, and Zone III costs €0.30 an hour with no maximum. Both are charged 7:00 to 20:00 on weekdays and 7:00 to 15:00 on Saturdays, and are free on Sundays.
SMS parking works only with Croatian mobile numbers. Pay with the ZgPark app or at a parking meter.
Trams have priority at junctions whichever side they come from, unless signs say otherwise. Take care around tram rails.
The Zagreb police area added more than 40 speed camera housings in a year, reaching 86 by June 2026.
Car ferries to the islands leave from Split. On the Split to Stari Grad (Hvar), Split to Vis and Split to Rogač (Šolta) lines, a ticket guarantees your car a place. On most other local lines it does not.
In summer, ferries to and from Hvar and Korčula are packed. Arrive 45 minutes to two hours before departure with your ticket and queue.
Bura can close the A1 between Sveti Rok and Posedarje, on the route from Zagreb. Cars are then sent along state roads through Maslenica, Zaton Obrovački and Gračac.
The Split-Dalmatia police area has the most speed camera housings in Croatia, 95 in June 2026.
The A6 motorway from Bosiljevo to Rijeka is a winter section. From 15 November to 15 April you need winter tyres, or summer tyres with at least 4 mm of tread plus chains, whatever the weather.
In bura, the A6 between Delnice and Kikovica and the D8 coast road south of Rijeka can be closed to everything except cars. On the A7 near Rijeka, motorcycles and vehicles towing trailers are banned first.
50 km/h in built-up areas, 90 km/h on other roads, 110 km/h on expressways and 130 km/h on motorways, unless signs say otherwise. There are no separate limits for young drivers.
Yes, from 1 November to 31 March. Daytime running lights or dipped headlights must be on while driving. Motorcycles need them all year.
0.50 g/kg of blood (0.05 per cent). It is zero for drivers under 24 and for anyone driving professionally.
No. You may turn only when a green arrow beside the red light is lit, and you must still give way to traffic and pedestrians.
From 15 November to 15 April they are required on designated winter sections, such as the A1 between Zagreb and Maslenica and the A6 to Rijeka. Summer tyres with at least 4 mm of tread plus snow chains are also accepted. On any road covered in snow or ice, you need winter equipment.
Yes. Police have about 800 roadside camera housings, some on motorways, and move cameras between them. The cameras do not flash and also catch phone use and missing seat belts. Radar detectors are illegal.
Not with a licence from an EEA country or a UK photocard licence. With a licence from elsewhere an IDP is recommended, and you need one if your licence is not in the Latin alphabet.
Take a ticket at the entry booth and pay at the exit in euros or by card. A free-flow system with number-plate cameras is due from 1 March 2027, but its start is in doubt. Until then the booths stay.
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Checked 15 October 2026. Official sources first.