Driving from Dubrovnik Airport is set out below one route at a time, each routed from the airport's rent-a-car map point. The routes to Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the islands leave Croatia or cross water, and a hire car needs an arrangement made before each of those: permission from the booking help desk to go abroad, or a ferry arrangement requested before the booking is completed.
Into Dubrovnik
The city is 21 km from the airport's rent-a-car point by routed distance, and the airport says the drive averages 30 to 35 minutes. From 1 March to 30 November a hire car may enter the zone around the Old Town only with pre-booked parking, registered accommodation parking or a hotel stay inside the zone, so the airport run to the Old Town ends in a car park outside the zone unless you have one of those.
The Tourist Board names Gruž and Ilijina Glavica among the places to park outside the zone, with the city bus into the Old Town. Street parking in zones 1 and 3 is charged every day from 06:00 to 22:00.
North along the coast
Split is 252 km and about 3 h 40 away over the Pelješac bridge, with no border on the way. The motorway starts near Ploče and charges a ticket toll. Split is a drop-off city for one-way hires, so a hire car can be left there at the end of the road north from Dubrovnik to Split.
The older coast road through Neum passes through a short stretch of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with crossings at Klek-Neum I and Zaton Doli-Neum II, and would need the hire company's permission to leave Croatia. The bridge route does not.
| Destination | Km | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Ston | 72 | 1 h 25 |
| Split | 252 | 3 h 40 |
South into Montenegro
Kotor is 58 km away with the Kamenari-Lepetane ferry, through the Karasovići-Sutorina crossing on an external Schengen border. On the road from Dubrovnik to Montenegro a Croatian plate is accepted as insurance, and the hire company's permission is still needed.
| Destination | Km | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Kotor (via the Kamenari ferry) | 58 | 1 h 25 |
Inland to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mostar is 162 km and about 2 h 55 through the Metković-Doljani crossing, and Trebinje 41 km through Gornji Brgat-Ivanica. Both trips need the hire company's permission, and the drive from Dubrovnik to Mostar crosses an external Schengen border with checks both ways.
| Destination | Km | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Trebinje | 41 | 50 min |
| Mostar | 162 | 2 h 55 |
Across to the islands
The Orebić ferry port for Korčula is 127 km and about 2 h 20 away on the Pelješac peninsula, and Jadrolinija car ferries run to Mljet from Prapratno and to Šipan from Dubrovnik. A hire car on the trip from Dubrovnik to Korčula needs a ferry arrangement made before booking.
Lopud, on the Šipan line, is car-free and takes no vehicles, and Jadrolinija recommends arriving one to two hours before sailing on lines without reservations.
| Destination | Km | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Orebić ferry port | 127 | 2 h 20 |
On every road
Headlights by day from 1 November to 31 March, a 0.5 per mille alcohol limit for ordinary car drivers, winter equipment on designated roads from 15 November to 15 April, and tolls on the A1 paid at the exit are all part of driving in Croatia with a hire car. The hire terms add that fines and tolls are the renter's cost.
A fine or unpaid toll that reaches the rental company after the hire is charged to the deposit, which some companies hold for 30 to 45 days after the car is returned.
