A one-way rental from Dubrovnik starts with a car collected in Dubrovnik, where most cars are based at Dubrovnik Airport, and returns it in another Croatian city. In searches for October and November 2026, cars collected in Dubrovnik came back for drop-off in Split, Zagreb, Zadar and Pula.
Choose the drop-off city in the form before you search. The cars listed are then the ones offered for that route, each with its own deposit, card requirement and cancellation terms.
Which cities can I drop the car off in?
Split, Zagreb, Zadar and Pula returned one-way cars from Dubrovnik on both autumn 2026 windows checked.
Availability moves with the dates. A drop-off city that returns cars for October may return fewer for a later month, and the search for your own dates is the only current answer.
Does a one-way rental cost more?
A one-way fee, where one applies, is a condition of the individual car and the rental company.
Other costs on the drive north fall on the renter under the terms for Croatia: fuel, parking, fines and toll roads. The car must still come back with the fuel level it left with, which on a one-way means refuelling before the drop-off in the other city.
Rental conditions
Deposit
Set per car and shown before you pay; zero on part of the Dubrovnik supply.
Card
Some cars need a physical embossed credit card in the main driver's name.
Cancellation
Free cancellation is shown on each car that offers it.
One-way
Drop-offs in Split, Zagreb, Zadar and Pula on cars that allow it.
How long is the drive from Dubrovnik Airport to Split?
About 3 h 40 by routed time, 252 km, rounded up and without stops. The fastest route runs north on the D8, crosses the Pelješac bridge and joins the A1 motorway near Ploče, so it stays inside Croatia and passes no border. The bridge carries no toll.
The older coast road through Neum is still open. It crosses a short stretch of Bosnia and Herzegovina with two border crossings, Klek-Neum I and Zaton Doli-Neum II, so taking it means two external border checks. Those two checks are the difference between the Neum road and the bridge route from Dubrovnik to Split.
| To | Distance | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Makarska | 203 km | 3 h 15 |
| Split | 252 km | 3 h 40 |
| Zadar | 371 km | 4 h 55 |
| Plitvice Lakes (Entrance 1) | 473 km | 6 h 15 |
Do I pay motorway tolls on the way north?
Yes, on the A1. Croatia has no vignette: the motorway toll is charged by distance and vehicle category. On the closed system you take a ticket at the entry plaza and pay at the exit, in cash in euros, by card where the plaza shows it is accepted, or with an ENC device.
Keep the ticket. Reaching the exit without a valid entry record, or with one more than 24 hours old and no proof of the reason, costs double the toll for the longest route on that motorway from your exit point. The motorway operator plans to replace the barriers with barrier-free tolling, due to run nationwide from 1 March 2027.
How far are Zadar and Plitvice from Dubrovnik Airport?
Zadar is about 4 h 55 by routed time and 371 km, by the same bridge and the A1. Plitvice Lakes on the drive north is about 6 h 15 and 473 km from the airport to Entrance 1, reached on state roads D429 or D52.
The minimum chargeable period is 24 hours, and any extension has to be agreed with the rental agent in advance.
What do I check when I return the car in another city?
The drop-off address is in the rental voucher. Return the car with the fuel level it had at collection and clean enough to inspect.
Any fine or unpaid toll that reaches the rental company after the return is charged to the deposit, with administrative costs for fines, and some companies keep the deposit for 30 to 45 days after the car is returned.
