Rent a car in Zadar

Put a pin in Zadar and draw a circle ninety minutes wide: Plitvice Lakes falls inside it, so do the Krka waterfalls, the Pag bridge, and a long stretch of the A1. No other Croatian city gives a rental car that much work in a single week, which is why we tell undecided renters to base here. Ryanair chose Zemunik for its budget routes for the same reason, and Zadar Airport car rental puts you on the road about fifteen minutes after your bag comes off the belt.

The town itself asks almost nothing of your car. The old town is a peninsula, pedestrian from the Land Gate to the sea organ, so park in the Ravnice lot by the walls or the garage near the marina and walk everything; the sunset at the Greeting to the Sun is better with the keys left in your apartment anyway. If this is your first time on Croatian roads, what to know before driving in Croatia is worth ten minutes before you set off; tolls, fuel and speed limits are all in there.

Our favourite Zadar week alternates road days and boat days. Drive to Pag one morning for the salt pans, the cheese and the bare moonscape hills, then give the next day to a Kornati boat from the harbour and let the car rest in the lot. Pointing south, the Skradin entrance to Krka is under an hour away, and you can rent a car in Sibenik down the coast if the second half of your trip is based there instead. Head the other way and Istria is a straight run up the A1, where a base in Pula puts Rovinj and the hill towns within a day of the same booking.

People ask us whether they should collect in Split and drive up. Our honest answer: only if you need something unusual in peak season. The bigger Split fleet carries more nine-seaters and automatics in August, but for a normal hatchback or small SUV the Zadar suppliers have the range, and starting here saves you nearly two hours of motorway before the holiday begins.