Zagreb Airport car rental

Start in Zagreb, return anywhere in Croatia.

Flexible airport pickup and one-way return options for travellers connecting Zagreb with the coast.

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SPU

Simple pickup

Clear handover details before arrival.

Flexible return

One-way return by confirmation.

✓

Clear rules

Fuel, deposit, delivery and extras confirmed upfront.

Zagreb Airport guide

For trips that start inland and finish on the coast.

Zagreb Airport pickup is useful when guests land in the capital and want to continue toward Split, Zadar, Istria, Plitvice Lakes or Dubrovnik. Send the route early so one-way return, delivery and vehicle category can be confirmed with the final quote.

Good for longer Croatia routes where comfort and luggage space matter.
One-way returns to Split Airport or another Croatian destination by confirmation.
Flight number and hotel address help plan a cleaner handover.

One-way between Zagreb and the coast

The classic Croatian itinerary lands in Zagreb and finishes on the Adriatic — or runs the same route in reverse. A one-way rental lets you spend a day or two in the capital, then drive south at your own pace with no need to double back. The A1 motorway links Zagreb and Split in around four hours direct, but most travellers break the journey at Plitvička jezera, a short detour off the motorway roughly two hours from Zagreb. From the lakes it is another two and a half hours or so down to Split, where the karst plateau drops away to the sea. Our Plitvice drive guide covers that middle leg in detail.

How a Zagreb Airport pickup works with a Split-based operator

Motion Rent's base is Split Airport, so a Zagreb Airport handover is not an off-the-shelf pickup — it is arranged on request and confirmed in advance. Send your dates, flight number and route, and you receive the availability, the one-way logistics and any applicable fee in writing before you pay anything. To be honest, if your whole holiday stays around Zagreb, a local desk there may suit you better. Where this arrangement earns its keep is the multi-city trip: fly into Zagreb, drive Dalmatia properly, then hand the car back at Split Airport — or the reverse, starting on the coast and finishing in the capital before a morning flight home.

Planning the Zagreb–Dalmatia drive

A few practicalities make the drive smoother. The A1 is a toll motorway: take a ticket at the entry gate and pay by card or cash on exit, with the amount depending on the distance driven. In July and August, Saturdays are changeover days, and traffic builds at the Lučko toll plaza outside Zagreb and around the Sveti Rok tunnel — leaving early in the morning, or travelling on a weekday, avoids the worst of it. Fuel stations with cafés appear at regular intervals along the motorway, so stops are easy to plan rather than left to chance.