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Car hire at Pula Airport

Car rental at Pula Airport from local companies, with the full price, the deposit and the cover shown on each car before you pay.

Cheap car rental at Pula Airport

Totals for seven days, handed over and returned at the airport. Under each car you see the deposit and whether a credit card is needed.

Which car fits Istria’s towns and coast?

Tiles show the cheapest car in each class for the same week as the deals; a typical car here costs about €44 a day, for cars collected at the airport with no handover charge. Not quoted means no car of that class was offered.

The cheapest deals need a credit card; most cars here need none and cost more a day. Vans and seven-seat cars are listed, and some cars are automatic.

How do you meet the rental company at Pula Airport?

Through your voucher, which names the local company, where it meets you and the number to call.

Voucher first

Keep the voucher on your phone and as a printout. Read the meeting instructions before you land, not in the arrivals hall.

Phone switched on

From the day before pickup until the return, the company must be able to reach you on the number you booked with.

Check the car

Look at the car with the company before you go. Note any damage, the fuel level and the extras you ordered.

The voucher, not the airport’s list of rental brands, tells you where to go.

Every car shown here is handed over at the airport with no extra charge at midday.

Pula Airport guide: parking, services and roads out

The two airport car parks and their prices, what the terminal offers, and the roads out across Istria.

Collecting and returning your car

  1. Disability badge? With an EU badge, Parking A or B is free for 10 minutes.
  2. Flight delayed? Ring the company with the new time.
  3. Leaving Istria return the car where the voucher says.
Quiet days Some November days have no flights at all. Check your flight runs before you fix the pickup date.

Driving away from Pula Airport

  1. The Istrian Y is the road towards Rijeka and Trieste.
  2. Lights by day are required from 1 November to 31 March.
  3. Tunnels need dipped headlights on, every time.
Winter roads Winter equipment is compulsory on designated winter roads from 15 November to 15 April. Ask the company what the car carries.

Services in the terminal

  • Business Lounge for business class passengers of some airlines.
  • Information desk in the main terminal; parking can be paid there by card.
  • Reduced mobility help under EU passenger rules, with a guide online.
  • Café bar with a menu of food and drinks at the airport.

Parking and drop-off

  • ALong term
  • BShort term

Parking A is long term and open to anyone who pays; access to Parking B is only on set conditions.

From 1 November to 31 March, Parking A costs €0.50 per started hour, or €3 a day beyond 24 hours.

  • First 10 minutes in Parking A are free.
  • From 1 April the first four hours cost €3 each, then €0.50 an hour.
  • Pay at machines outside the building, by cash or card.

Do you need a credit card for car rental at Pula Airport?

It depends on the car. Some ask for a credit card, others take a debit card, and some hold no deposit at all.

When a credit card is required, it has to be the physical, embossed card of the main driver. Debit cards count only where the booking and voucher allow them. Plenty of cars in Croatia that need no credit card take a debit card instead.

Car hire in Croatia with no deposit can still carry an excess on Basic.

Drive times from Pula Airport

Pula’s Roman arena is about a quarter of an hour away, and Rovinj and Poreč under an hour. The cards add the longer drives across Croatia.

Closer drives in Istria and the Kvarner: Rovinj, about 45 min; Poreč, about 55 min; Rijeka, about 1 h 30 min.

The Pula time ends at the arena, close to the old town. Rovinj and Poreč lie up the west coast, and Rijeka is on the far side of the peninsula.

Plitvice is timed to Entrance 1 and Split to the Riva. These are long drives, so plan breaks.

Rules for driving in Istria

Traffic runs on the right, and road signs override the national limits.

Speeds

In towns the cap is 50 km/h; elsewhere it is 90 km/h, rising to 110 km/h on expressways and 130 km/h on motorways. Signs can set other limits.

Drink-driving limit

The limit is 0.5 g/kg for car drivers, and zero for under-24s with a Croatian licence. Not drinking at all is the safe choice.

Seat belts

Every person in the car must wear a belt. A rear-facing child seat must not go in front of an active airbag.

Accidents

Ring 112 in an emergency. Any damage must be reported to the company straight after, along with a police report, or the cover can fall away.

Stick to paved roads

Under the rental conditions, every car from the airport may be driven on paved public roads only, wherever you go.

Rough lanes to Istrian coves and vineyards are off limits, however short.

Slovenia and other borders

To leave Croatia, the car needs a cross-border option and you need permission from the help desk.

Cars may offer an option for EU neighbours such as Slovenia and another for non-EU neighbours, each priced on the car. The car must come back to Croatia; one-way hire abroad is not offered.

Can you return a Pula Airport car at Zagreb Airport?

Yes, on cars that offer it, and Split Airport is possible too. The drop-off charge is already in the price.

Choose the airport

When you search, set the other airport as the return place so the total includes the drop-off charge.

Ask about the handback

Find out where the company meets you at the other airport, and allow time for the check before your flight.

Agree changes

If the return place or time changes, the company must agree first. The car cannot be left anywhere else.

Zagreb Airport is the return for a trip that ends inland. Split is about six hours south, mostly on the A1 motorway.

Pula Airport prices by month

Monthly bars show the lowest day rate on a week-long Pula Airport rental from the middle of that month.

N/A: no airport cars were on offer yet for that month.

Cars for next summer are not listed yet, so June to October show no price. Check again as your dates get closer.

Each rental day is 24 hours, and extra hours are charged as a full day. Ask the company before the end of your booking if you need more time.

Travelling with children, pets or a group

Add drivers and seats to the booking early; the handover is quicker that way.

Sharing the driving

Ask the company before anyone else drives, as no deal car above lists a second-driver extra.

Children’s seats

A child below 150 cm needs a child seat or booster. Book them as extras on the car for every child.

Groups of seven

Seven-seat cars and vans are offered at the airport. Check luggage space with all seats up.

Pets

Only small pets may travel, in a closed travel carrier for the whole trip.

How cover, deposit and excess work on Pula cars

The deal cars start on one of two cover levels. Check which level applies before you compare prices.

Minimum coverageIncluded as standard
  • Damage to other vehicles (TPL) (included)
  • Damage to your hire car (not included)
Basic coverage
  • Limited collision cover (CDW) (included)
  • Damage to other vehicles (TPL) (included)
  • Glass and tyre damage (not included)
Full Coverage
  • Limited driver liability (Super CDW) (included)
  • Damage to other vehicles (TPL) (included)
Full Coverage Plus
  • Full damage cover (included)
  • No driver liability for accident damage (included)

Two kinds of starting cover. Some cars begin on Basic (CDW) with a deposit and an excess; others come with Full Coverage Plus already in the price.

Paying more lowers, not removes. On the Basic cars, paid Full Coverage reduces the deposit and the excess, but both stay above zero.

Nothing held. The cars that start on Full Coverage Plus take no deposit and leave no excess.

Basic protection never pays for wheels, the underside, the windscreen or the cabin, and neglect or vandalism cancels it altogether. Then what the excess covers stops protecting you.

Licence and driver checks for Pula

Only the real licence will do: Latin script, and still valid on your return day. Scans and digital licences are turned away.

International Driving Permit

Carry an IDP if your licence is only valid where it was issued. Show it with the licence; it does not replace it.

Age and years licensed

Each car states its own minimum age and driving experience, and these vary between similar cars. Check them for every driver.

With a UK photocard licence you can drive in Croatia for up to a year. A paper UK licence may need updating, or a permit carried with it.

Giving the car back at Pula Airport

Plan the fuel stop and the inspection into your journey to the airport.

Tank level

  • Fill up to the level shown at collection. Fuel short on return is billed by the company, and anything over is not credited.

Dirt and inspection

  • A car too dirty for inspection is washed and the cost passed to you.

Fuel, parking, fines and tolls fall to you. Some firms hold the deposit for 30 to 45 days after the return, in case a fine or toll bill arrives late.

When you need to cancel

To change anything, cancel the booking and make a new one.

Deadlines

Give a week’s warning, or a month for luxury cars and convertibles. The short-notice option cuts that to a day. Past those points the advance is forfeit.

Your refund

Ask support to cancel and include the voucher. The advance reaches you within a fortnight, with 6% held back for payment costs.

Pula Airport car rental questions

Can I hire a car at Pula Airport with no deposit?

Yes, some cars take no deposit and also leave no excess. Others hold a deposit on a credit card, so read the line under each car.

Is luxury car hire available at Pula Airport?

No premium or convertible cars were on offer at the airport when we last checked. Search your own dates, as the choice changes.

When is car hire cheapest at Pula Airport?

Of the months priced so far, late autumn and early winter give the lowest day rates; the chart above shows each month. Summer prices are not out yet.

Can I land at Pula Airport at night and collect a car?

On some cars, yes. Some charge an out-of-hours fee for a handover or return in the night; it appears once you enter the real times.

Is there an automatic car at Pula Airport?

Yes, automatics are offered next to manual cars. Check the gearbox listed for the car you choose.

More Croatian airports and rental tips

Compare car hire at Pula Airport

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