# advice needed on tolls



## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

we are going croatia via austria begining of august and i was wondering if we need a vignette for slovinia and croatia? i know about the austrian vignette as we have been a couple of times in the m/h but never further than that.
also is there anything else we will need other than insurance m/h docs etc?
thanks tommy


----------



## philjohn (May 29, 2005)

Hi,

No both Slovenia and Croatia have motorway tolls like the rest of Europe. Croatia you have to drive with dipped headlights.

Phil J


----------



## safariboy (May 1, 2005)

Slovenia require a vignette from 2008. It is unclear from the site I was looking at whether this was true under 3500kg. It is over.

Take plenty of photcopies of docs. You also need you vehicle registration document. (V5)


----------



## skiboycey (May 21, 2009)

Be careful in Austria if you are over 3500kg as you need to hire a 'black box' at the border and then you're charged per Km you drive. You give the box back to the border guards when you leave and get your modest deposit back on it (about 90 euros I think.)

A friend of mine didn't know this as he entered via a non-motorway border into Austria and got clobbered for a 700 euro fine when he was leaving via the Brenner Pass in spite of the fact that he'd actually bought a vignette. After the unpleasant and agressive attitude of the border guards to an honest mistake he's sworn never to go there again which will hopefully deprive them of more than the 700 euros in the long run...

Cheers, Mark


----------



## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

safariboy, do you get the vignette at the border like austria?

skiboycey, we are a little over 3500kg i think the max weight on our van is 3850kg but if they weight us i think we will come under 3500kg as there is only me mrs and a 4 year old so not 2 much stuff lol last year i was cheeky and just bought the vignette so will try my luck this year lol.
its the slovenia and croatia part im not sure on


----------



## skiboycey (May 21, 2009)

It's the weight on the V5 that matters, not the weighed weight. I think the actual charges for the motorways are not that much more with a box than for a normal car and the deposit is quite small for it so perhaps it's worth getting one. Either that or get on Photoshop and make yourself up a V5 with 3500kg on it!

When my mate got done they gave him a sheet of paper written in lots of languages which explained (in rude German translated English) that EVERY vehicle above 3500kg has to have a box including campers, big cars, horse-boxes etc. etc. and that there's no excuse for not having one. One of the guards actually said to him 'You have enjoyed Austria and now you have to pay'. This is what particularly incensed him and why he'll never, ever return there again which is rather a shame as it's a very nice place... The fact that the sheet was written in lots of languages and that they had a lot of copies seems to indicate they do this a lot. 

The other thing to do would be to make sure you quit the motorway before the border crossing as this is mostly where you're likely to get caught. I live near Geneva and we've been doing this for years to avoid having to buy the Swiss vignette just to use 6km of motorway to get to the airport there. We come off the motorway 2k before the border and get back on it 2k after thus avoiding the legendarily miserable motorway border guards. In fact where we do cross is almost never manned making rather a mockery of the whole system but that's governments for you...

Cheers, Mark


----------



## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

skiboycey said:


> It's the weight on the V5 that matters, not the weighed weight. I think the actual charges for the motorways are not that much more with a box than for a normal car and the deposit is quite small for it so perhaps it's worth getting one. Either that or get on Photoshop and make yourself up a V5 with 3500kg on it!
> 
> When my mate got done they gave him a sheet of paper written in lots of languages which explained (in rude German translated English) that EVERY vehicle above 3500kg has to have a box including campers, big cars, horse-boxes etc. etc. and that there's no excuse for not having one. One of the guards actually said to him 'You have enjoyed Austria and now you have to pay'. This is what particularly incensed him and why he'll never, ever return there again which is rather a shame as it's a very nice place... The fact that the sheet was written in lots of languages and that they had a lot of copies seems to indicate they do this a lot.
> 
> ...


cheers skiboycey


----------



## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

For Slovenian tolls, where to buy the vignette, how much etc see:

http://www.slovenia.info/?faq=0&lng=2#1

G


----------



## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

great stuff grizzly, so slovenia is the same as austria get a vignette from the petrol station so its just croatia now are they the same? or do you pay like in france? im only going as far as pula


----------



## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

This was the situation this time last year and, _as far as I know,_ it is the same now.

http://www.split-guide.com/cms/taxonomy/term/137

If you're going to Pula from Slovenia we'd recommend going into Croatia via the road that goes out of Piran /Portoroz in Slovenia.

It is the road no.111 (Slovenian side) and 200 (Croatian side) between Secovlje and Plovanija. The main motorway road was packed with traffic going through the border and there was traffic in the opposite direction queuing for miles to leave Croatia. This crossing is on a country road and you will be the event of the day ! It's a perfectly good road with no hidden problems !

Piran is lovely anyway and there is a good campsite at Portoroz from which you can walk, cycle or catch the bus. Camping Stoja at Pula is great as well. Try to get a pitch on the promontary by the sea- you'll have to pay a little extra but it is worth it.

Remember that unless you have bought/ upgraded them your sat nav maps might not work in these 2 countries. In Slovenia anyway there are excellent maps available from the tourist office- I think they're called something like Point...and they are free.

I have written an account of our trip in my blogs ( button below)

G


----------



## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

thanks grizzly, your blog is a good read i just hope the weather is a bit better for us lol, 
would you recomend camping sobec rather than camping bled and what kind of prices were the campsites in slovenia and the one you was watching the dolphins from in croatia?


----------



## safariboy (May 1, 2005)

Camping Bled is nearer in to the town and just off the lake. We stayed at Sobec and it was OK but it is a long a hilly trail to get to the lake and into town.


----------



## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

safariboy said:


> Camping Bled is nearer in to the town and just off the lake. We stayed at Sobec and it was OK but it is a long a hilly trail to get to the lake and into town.


He speaks as my husband....!

We thought, when we saw it, that we should have stayed at Camping Bled. There was nothing wrong with Sobec but it was a bit far from town.

At Camping Stoja in Pula we paid the kuna equivalent of 12 euros per night- that included the extra for being on the sea edge and having a larger pitch. I have no idea what the price is now but that was early September 2007.

Sites in Slovenia were then all very reasonably priced- but that was then...!

There are photos of all of them in my photo album ( press the button below) and I've reviewed them in the campsite database ( see blue link under my avatar)

G


----------



## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

thanks again for the info ive just checked my tomtom and all the named campsites are in it so shouldnt have a problem finding them (hopefuly) :roll: is it ok just to turn up? i dont like to book because i might find some where along the way i would like to stay an extra few days and dont like to be tied, (we are going august)


----------



## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

tommytli said:


> is it ok just to turn up? i dont like to book because i might find some where along the way i would like to stay an extra few days and dont like to be tied, (we are going august)


That I couldn't say. We never used to book when we were tied to school holidays and never failed to find a place but that was 4 years ago.

European campsites are less concerned about numbers and usually able to squeeze you in somewhere but places like Pula do have a very large German contingent who come back year on year and probably book for 3 or 4 weeks at a time so they are a bit honey-pottish.

I think I would phone ahead to check and reserve so that you don't have to travel if there is no hope of a place. I'd also be careful about changing sites on a Friday or Saturday which is when people go off for the weekend and all sites tend to be fuller than usual. Most campsite receptionists speak pretty good English or can soon rustle up someone who can and we have always found them very helpful.

G


----------

