Car Hire in Slovenia

An international driving permit is only required if you still have an old paper driving licence without a photo.

If you want to use the Slovenian motorway system you must purchase a vignette. These are available from petrol stations. A seven day vignette costs around €15 though your rental company may be happy to charge you more on a daily rate. Police can issue on the spot fines of up to €800 for not displaying a valid vignette and will of course be particularly vigilant when it comes to foreign or rental cars.

Slovenia has specific rules for winter preparation of cars between 15 November and 15 March. Cars must either have winter tyres or have a good amount of tread on summer tyres and have snow chains available. Watch out for mandatory additional charges by car rental companies for winterisation as some believe you should pay an additional €4 or so per day in order rent a car that's legal to be driven.

Dipped headlights should be used in daytime throughout the year.

Car hire normally includes full third party liability insurance, collision damage and theft waivers. Excesses of €800-1500 are pretty normal for a compact car (and higher rates for larger cars) and insurance will exclude easily damaged items like windows, tyres and the underside of the car. Additional waivers can be purchased at the rental desk but are much cheaper through the MoneyMaxim car hire insurance comparison service.

Another mandatory additional charge levied by many car hire companies is Road Tax. Expect an additional €2 to €4 charge per day.

Perhaps surprisingly given the number of other additional charges, most car hire companies run full to full fuel policies so you'll only pay for what you use, though of course, if you return the car less than full, you will incur additional charges. You may also have the option to pre-purchase fuel and return empty if you prefer.

Slovenia is in the Schengen zone so there are minimal border formalities between other participating countries. This makes it easy to take your hire car to another country but do check the terms of your rental contract if you wish to do so. Some allow free cross border travel, others charge extra and some do not allow it or have specific restrictions according to which country you wish to go to.

The Slovenian Tourist Office is full of ideas to enhance your visit to Slovenia.