Poles driving to southern Europe for holidays face higher fuel prices and major congestion caused by roadworks, especially in the Czech Republic and Austria. The situation is expected to worsen as more travelers hit the road this weekend, heading to popular destinations like Croatia and Italy.
Before setting off, drivers must purchase electronic vignettes online to use motorways in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Slovenia. Buying directly from official government transport portals can save several dozen złoty per transaction. In the Czech Republic, four types of electronic vignettes are available for vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes. Austria’s ASFiNAG system covers around 2,200 km of expressways and motorways, with additional tolls for certain tunnels and bridges. Slovenia offers particularly expensive vignettes for category 2A vehicles. Fines for driving without a valid vignette are steep.
Vignettes, speed limits and traffic jams
Speed limits differ across countries, and exceeding them can result in costly fines sent home. Roadworks are a major headache: on the Czech D1 motorway between Ostrava and Brno near Olomouc, and at the large Brno interchange toward Bratislava and Vienna, police patrols and temporary radar traps are set up with zero tolerance for speeding. Drivers heading from Vienna to Graz on the A9 motorway toward Spielfeld-Šentilj or through Klagenfurt and Villach to Tarvisio in Italy should expect delays of up to two hours.
For those returning home, a critical detail: on Saturdays before 3:00 PM, trucks must leave Austrian motorways or park until Sunday 10:00 PM. At the main border crossings from Austria to the Czech Republic, queues of over a thousand trucks plus hundreds of returning cars form around 2:00 PM, adding another two hours to the journey.
Fuel prices and where to refuel
Fuel prices are a growing burden. Less expensive stations are located away from motorways. For example, Turmoel stations (part of the Orlen Group) currently sell petrol for €1.70–1.75 per liter and diesel for €1.80–1.85. The Jet network, owned by Stonepeak and Energy Equity Partners, offers similar prices. By contrast, motorway stations charge just over €2.00 for petrol and €2.10 for diesel. Prices are rising due to global crude oil increases.
A practical tip: fill up at the last two stations before the Gorzyczki border crossing in Poland, where petrol is much cheaper than at stations directly on the motorway. Just before the Czech-Austrian border, diesel costs around 36.00 CZK (€1.45–1.50) and petrol 95 costs 41.80 CZK. In Hungary and Slovakia, prices range from €1.55–1.65 per liter for both petrol and diesel. Slovenia is cheaper than Croatia, and it is better to refuel in Austria than in Italy.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Aliaksandr Antanovich / Shutterstock
