Zagreb to Split by car

How long does it take to drive from Zagreb to Split?

From Ban Jelačić Square to the Riva in Split, the drive is 408 km and 4 hours 35 minutes without traffic or stops. From Zagreb Airport, the usual pick-up for car hire in Zagreb (76 of 79 cars for 5 October to 19 October 2026), it is 420 km and 4 hours 45 minutes. The reverse drive, after hiring a car in Split, is 4 hours 35 minutes. Toll plazas, breaks and summer traffic add to each of those figures.

Almost all of it is one road: the A1 Zagreb - Split - Dubrovnik, operated by Hrvatske autoceste (HAC). It starts at the Lučko junction on the A3 Zagreb bypass and runs as continuous motorway to the Split junction. You reach Lučko on Zagreb roads or the A3, and from the Split junction the state road D1 takes you into the city.

What the A1 is like between Zagreb and Split

It is a full-profile motorway, and between the Bosiljevo and Ravča junctions it passes through two long twin-tube tunnels. Mala Kapela, a twin-tube tunnel of 5,760 m, is the longest tunnel in Croatia, and Sveti Rok is 5,681 m. In any tunnel you must drive with dipped headlights on, and you may not stop, park, make a U-turn or reverse.

Traffic follows the season. In 2025 the A1's average daily traffic was 47,984 in August, 40,948 in July, 27,907 in September and 11,533 in January.

The bora, a strong, gusty wind off the land, has closed the A1 between the Sveti Rok and Posedarje junctions to all traffic, as on 15 November 2024 and 6 April 2025, or left it open to cars only, as on 2 October 2025. HAK, the Croatian automobile club, and Hrvatske ceste publish the closures; check them before setting off on a windy day.

Do I pay tolls driving Zagreb to Split?

Yes. The A1 uses the closed toll system: today you take a ticket at the entry plaza and hand it in and pay at the exit, with the toll charged by distance and vehicle class. An ordinary two-axle car up to 1.90 m high is Class I. A two-axle vehicle over 1.90 m with a maximum mass up to 3,500 kg, or any car towing a trailer, is Class II and pays more.

HAC toll plazas take cash in euros, ENC electronic tags, and Diners, Mastercard, Maestro, Visa, INA and MOL group cards. Tolls are the renter's cost under the rental conditions. HAC publishes the price for every pair of junctions on its A1 price list.

The booths are on their way out. Croatia is replacing them with a barrier-free system, Crolibertas, that charges cars without an ENC tag by number-plate recognition. The Toll Collection Act sets 1 March 2027 for the system to apply in full, and in September 2026 the gantries were still being installed. Until it starts, the ticket system applies.

What happens if I lose the toll ticket?

You pay double. On HAC motorways, reaching the exit without a valid entry record, including a lost ticket, or with a record more than 24 hours old and no proof of a reason for the delay, triggers a contractual penalty: twice the toll for the longest route on that motorway, counted from your exit, for your vehicle class.

Drivers with an ENC tag do not take a ticket at all; they use the lanes set aside for ENC, which HAC can turn into combined lanes that also take cards and cash at peak times.

Can I pick up in Zagreb and drop the car in Split?

Yes. For 5 October to 19 October 2026, 53 cars could be picked up in Zagreb and left in Split, and the typical drop-off charge on that pair was €108, already inside the price shown. If you leave the car in Split, there is no second day on the A1 to return it.

Search one-way cars from Zagreb to Split

Rental rules for the drive south

Fuel is like for like: the car goes back with the level it left with, or the difference is charged at the company's rates. From 15 November to 15 April winter equipment is compulsory on the designated winter sections of public roads, motorways and state and county roads among them, so check whether your dates and route fall under it. On the insurance side, the hire car's cover requires immediate notice to the rental agent and a police report after an insured event, unless the agent agrees otherwise, and at the standard level it stops short of the wheels, the undercarriage, the windscreen and the interior.

Can we go via Plitvice Lakes on the way?

Yes. The direct drive is 4 hours 35 minutes without traffic. Through the park, the legs are 2 hours 10 minutes from Zagreb to Entrance 1 and 3 hours 20 minutes from Entrance 1 on to Split, before any time spent walking the lakes. From Zagreb the state road D1 runs via Karlovac to the D429 at Prijeboj, where the entrances are.

Park tickets bought online are timed to a date, an entry time and an entrance, and the park strongly recommends buying them in advance. Both entrances have paid parking, and the timed ticket fixes which entrance you drive to on the Plitvice detour.

Driving north: Split to Zagreb

The same road in reverse is 4 hours 35 minutes over 410 km without traffic. Starting from the coast, 55 Split cars could be returned in Zagreb for the same dates. Each end has one of the airport pick-ups in Croatia, so the trip can start at either end and finish at the other.