Tips for renting a car in the Balkans
During the summer of 2022, we took a several month trip through the former Yugoslavia in Eastern Europe. With the ample amount of time that we had in the region, we researched various travel options to get around between the countries. We started our Eastern European journey with a few week stay in Romania (technically not a part of the former Yugoslavia, but definitely a part of the Balkan Peninsula!) and then flew to Bulgaria, after which we took a bus from Sofia to Skopje, North Macedonia.
We wanted to travel to several countries with our remaining month of travel - North Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Was it better to travel between capital cities by bus or to rent a car? This blog discusses the tradeoffs and things to know about getting around in the Balkans.
The countries of former Yugoslavia are mountainous, and despite distances of less than 100 miles between capitals, the journeys are slow going, with small 2-lane roads winding their way around mountainous terrain and passes.
Buses in the Balkans
Madeline smirking in the bus from Sofia to Skopje
The bus route between various destinations was certainly possible, though the routes are serviced by different bus companies, so you have to check out several website to compare time tables and prices. Travel aggregators like Rome2Rio generally helped us identify the bus operators, but then you need to go into each individual bus website for up-to-date information on the timetables and prices. In short, you need to do a fair bit of research while on the ground to figure out exactly when and where to go.
In our experience, the quality of the buses was fine, but there are a few nuances compared with coach buses in other Western European countries. For our bus from Sofia to Skopje, the 3 hour drive turned into a cigarette-smoke-filled 4.5 hours. While there were no smoking signs everywhere on the bus, that didn't stop the bus drivers from lighting up at will - the smell of smoke wafting to the back of the bus from time to time. Travel times also took a bit longer due to a planned "refreshment" stop and a border crossing where everyone got out twice - once for exiting Bulgaria and another several minutes later for entering into North Macedonia. And the customs agents made everyone take out their luggage and then repack it into the belly of the bus.
Based on our research in the summer of 2022, we determined that for 5 passengers we would likely spend $600-700+ in bus fare to accomplish our journey. And we would also travel on smoke-filled buses, subject to the times of the bus company, and often with journeys that arrive late at night. Then add taxi fares to and from our Airbnbs (not to mention any tour companies for excursions outside of city capitals) and we were looking at well over $1,000 for intercity travel through the former Yugoslavia.
Renting a car in the Balkans
This border crossing between Croatia and Montenegro had an amazing view!
While the bus journey was certainly feasible, in the end we opted for a bit more freedom, though at a higher price. We generally use the car rental aggregator Qeeq.com (note that’s an affiliate link!) for our rental car needs; after much comparison over the years, we've found that Qeeq consistently finds the best deals. That said, we received a local recommendation from our Romanian friend that wasn't listed by the aggregators --> FMN|Rent had amazing service out of the Bucharest Airport and we would highly recommend them!
Our search for a car that would allow us to drive from Skopje Macedonia through several other Balkan nations led us to Green Motion Car Rental, which we've previously used in Morocco. Based on our outbound flights, our plan was to visit Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, and then to drop off the car in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina.
For a month, the rental rate was $1400 plus a €400 fee for dropping off the car in a different location. Though that was pricey for a car rental (it wasn't even a luxury car!), we decided that the flexibility to go wherever and whenever we wanted was worth the extra fee.
Green cards
To cross a border with a rental car, you need a "green card", which is a proof of insurance and permission from the rental agency that you can take the car to that country. From our research in the summer of 2022, the rental car companies charge €35 for a green card for each country; you get the original country as part of your rental. So for our trip to 6 countries, we expected to pay an additional €175.
A “green card” office at one of the border crossings. We never saw anyone using those offices…
The rental company puts the "valid" countries that you can drive onto the rental agreement, which is important to show at the border crossings. When entering a new country, the border patrol asks for:
Passports of everyone in the car
The rental car agreement (including the green card information)
The registration of the rental car
Due to a schedule mix up with Green Motion (our car wasn't ready on time because another tourist didn't return it on time), we negotiated to pay the rental car company for just two additional countries. They simply added the additional countries to the rental agreement when we picked up the car, and we were off!
Just before border crossings, we did see small kiosks offering to sell "green cards", but they looked closed and we never stopped to check them out. Also, our rental car company said that if we wanted to add another country after we left their office, they could just do it by email (and we'd reprint the rental agreement to show at the border).
Driving in the Balkans
The Balkans are a mountainous region, and most roads are two lanes (one in each direction with a center line...sometimes), winding up and down mountain passes and generally hugging the terrain. Sometimes we would encounter "interstate highways" near large cities, with two lanes each way, but this was the exception, not the rule. We always find it funny in Europe that they don't post the speed limits but instead post signs that tell you whether or not you are in a town (and therefore the driver needs to deduce how fast she should go depending on the road and weather conditions). Across the Balkans, we found the following rule of thumb for speed limits:
Towns and cities generally 40 or 50 km/hr limits
Two lane highways were 80 or 90 km/hr F
Fast four lane highways were 110 or 130 km/hr
Overall, we had a fantastic time during our two months in the Balkans. The freedom and flexibility of renting a car for a month and checking out 6 countries was absolutely worth the extra price versus taking smoky bus trips between capital cities. We explored several beaches, beautiful coastal towns, abandoned hotels and several out-of-the way restaurants that we would have never encountered if we stuck to city centers. Also - we booked a few Airbnbs in the Bay of Kotor with incredible views - at prices much cheaper than in the super touristy city centers such as Kotor or Dubrovnik.
Other Observations
Even a cow joined the border line between North Macedonia and Kosovo.
We also noticed that some countries (like Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania) had lots of status cars - BMWs, Mercedes and Audis. These drivers tended to be extremely aggressive, bearing down on you quickly and either passing or getting annoyed if you somehow didn't get out of their way. But keep your calm and do your thing, in our experience, they may have a little bark, but they didn't bite 🙂
In many parts of the Balkans, the two-lane roads are fairly tiny, and one car often has to pull out of traffic for another car to pass. This was most pronounced on the Kotor Serpentine, which was the switchback road coming from the mountains into the gorgeous Bay of Kotor. For some reason they still allow large tour buses to go up and down the Serpentine...yet the road is clearly not big enough for a bus and a car to pass. In several spots, we had to back up a few blocks into a pull-out to let the stubborn bus drivers pass along. Not to worry however, we made it through without a scratch, and the views high above the Bay of Kotor are breathtaking!
Be aware that Serbia still doesn’t officially recognize Kosovo. As we wanted to check out “the underdog”, we decided to go to Kosovo after North Macedonia. However, we read several reports that having a passport stamp from Kosovo would mean some challenges entering Serbia (though not a problem if you drive from Serbia to Kosovo). In the end, we just skipped Serbia altogether this time around.
