We used Croatia as a home base to explore Croatia and surrounding countries, staying October 2017-January 2018. We did allot of research on how to obtain a car, as it was a must for us. There was no leasing options available. Buying and registereing a car is impossible, as a visitor. We did not know how long we were going to stay, thinking possibly a year. I did read that Audi has lease options in France?? You would have to do your homework on that one??.
We rented a 4 door hatchback Fiat for 3 months with Economy Car Rentals at the Pula Airport. Their policy is that 3 months is the max amount of time allowed per rental. They were very helpful and assured us that we could extend our rental after 3 months. And that they would allow the extension to be done over the phone, if need be. We were there during the off season. The extension may not be available during peak tourist season? The cost was approximately $1500.00 (US dollars) for 3 months, unlimited miles and insurance. They were VERY helpful, even contacting us in November to bring the car in for winter tires.
We arrived in split (our last destination) and soon realized we did not need a car. Parking is a nightmare there; tight and hard to come by. They allowed us to drop the car off at the Split Airport instead of the Pula Airport (they call it a one way drop off) for no additional fee at the end of our 3 months. We ended up not staying the year, and the long term rental worked perfect for us.
FYI- We drove to Slovenia, Italy, and France. When. traveling by car to other country’s outside of Croatia you will need a special sticker. The cost is only $7.00 (approximately), Economy Car was able to answer all our questions and give us guidance about traveling outside of Croatia.
Good luck
Wendy Hall