Cheap Car Rental Pula –
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You must have the following documents when picking up the car:

• Original Driver’s License held for at least 1–2 years, depending on the supplier
• Passport/National ID
• Valid Credit Card in the primary driver’s name for the security deposit
• International Driving Permit (IDP) if your domestic license uses a non-Latin script (Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, etc.) 
• Rental Confirmation Voucher

⚠️ Travellers from non-EU countries must also provide an IDP along with their original driving licenses at the car rental pickup counter.

The minimum age to rent a car in most categories is 18, although it can be 21 for some suppliers. Bookings for large-sized and premium vehicles may be restricted to older age groups. A young driver surcharge of €5–10/day applies to drivers under 25. Since the required driver’s age varies by supplier, you should always confirm it in the rental terms before booking.

It depends on the license. EU and EEA licenses are accepted everywhere without any additional documentation. Non-EU (eg, UK, US, Australian, Canadian) licenses printed in Latin script are generally accepted by most suppliers in Pula without an International Driving Permit, though a few may still ask for one. An IDP must be accompanied by any license not printed in Latin script.

Third Party Liability (TPL) insurance is mandatory under Croatian law and is included in every rental deal as standard. Suppliers often also provide a Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and Theft Protection (TP), which generally come with an excess. These may still leave you financially liable for a specific type of vehicle damage. You can buy a full protection upgrade at the time of booking to remove excess liability entirely and extend cover to excluded items.

Standard CDW policies do not cover damage to the undercarriage, tyres, wheels or glass. This exclusion is especially relevant to rental cars in Pula than in most Croatian cities. Cape Kamenjak and rural roads to some Istrian wineries and farms can be gravelled, which can damage the underside of the car. If you plan to explore attractions with unpaved roads, add full protection insurance for complete peace of mind.

⚠️ Standard insurance policies do not cover undercarriage damages and other exclusions. You will be fully responsible for the repair costs in case you don’t have a relevant insurance policy.

The excess is the amount you are liable for before insurance covers any remaining damage or theft costs. With a standard CDW policy, this varies by vehicle category:

ℹ️ Opt for a Super CDW or a Full Protection package to reduce or eliminate the excess. Buying at the counter is possible, but it usually costs more than booking it in advance online.

A compact or midsize car hire is a suitable option for an Istrian visit involving Rovinj, Poreč, Motovun, and Grožnjan. Roads to Motovun’s base car park and the streets around the pedestrian-only old town in Rovinj are tight. A smaller car makes driving easier and is cheaper to run on longer motorway stretches. The Volkswagen Golf, Škoda Octavia, and Renault Clio can handle the A9 motorway, the coastal DC1 road, and hill-town approaches with great ease. But a compact SUV (such as Dacia Duster, VW T-Roc or Renault Captur) offers useful ground clearance for driving on difficult roads like those in Kamenjak.

⚠️Check your protection package before driving on any unsealed track. Having ground clearance does not mean insurance coverage on unpaved surfaces.

Yes, automatic cars are available at both PUY Airport and city centre locations in Pula. The local rental fleets are largely manual, so automatics are in shorter supply and typically cost €15–20 more per day. They also sell out earlier in the summer. Booking well in advance is advisable if an automatic is essential to your trip.

Yes. Additional drivers are optional extras you can add to your rental for a fee of about €5–10/day. Sometimes, the first additional driver may be allowed at no extra cost, but charges apply for additional drivers. Any extra driver(s) must be present at the pickup desk and meet the same age and license requirements as the main driver.

✅ Sharing drive time with multiple drivers is a particularly useful and safer option for longer journeys around Istria. You can take turns driving for stretched day trips.

Yes, but getting a space immediately beside the Arena in peak season is rarely straightforward. And the closest streets fall under Zone 1 rules, meaning that you can only park for a maximum of 2 hours at a €1.50/hr rate. A better option is to park one zone out and walk the short distance in. Other available options near the arena include:

No. Pula, like the rest of Croatia, has no vignette system. The main A8 and A9 Istrian Y motorways from Pula use a ticket-based toll system, wherein you take a ticket at entry and pay at exit. The DC1 coastal road and all other secondary roads in Istria are toll-free.

⚠️ A Slovenian vignette is required for driving through Slovenia to reach Pula.

Pula’s location on the Istrian Peninsula makes it much closer to Slovenia and northeastern Italy than to other major Croatian cities like Zagreb and Split, allowing travellers to start their cross-border road trips with ease. For that reason, most suppliers allow cross-border travel with a rental car, as long as you have their in-advance authorisation and meet the additional requirements. You may need to obtain a Green Card (International Insurance Certificate) to present to the border officers.

ℹ️ A cross-border fee of about €20–75 usually applies, depending on the destination country and supplier. Confirm the exact permitted countries, car type, and necessary prerequisites with your supplier when booking, not at the counter.