Frequently Asked Questions

We provide car insurance. You are responsible for the deductible , which will be anywhere from 1800 – 2600 Euros depending on the car. At the start of the tour you will be required to sign a contract and provide your credit card number for the deductible. We will not charge your credit card unless the car is damaged. For lowering the deductible, see our VIP & Super VIP Insurance page.

Catastrophic mechanical failures are rare. We regularly maintain our convertible cars so that they are mechanically sound before and during the tour. In the unlikely case of a car breakdown, we will make every attempt and use all resources at our disposal to get the car to a service professional. In the very unlikely event that we cannot fix it, we will provide a replacement car. 

We try to provide extra equipment to our convertible cars, for example, a wind deflector, if you require it. Please let us know of any special requests in advance if possible.

Once the vehicle is at speed with the top down it can get quite windy. To reduce the amount of wind turbulence, wind up the side windows. It will reduce both the wind and the noise — allowing you to hear the radio or talk easily.

Don't be afraid to use the heater even if you have the roof down. The majority of the vehicles are using their waste heat to power their cabin heaters, so it is not affecting the car's performance.

If it is a particularly warm day, don't forget to drink more water, always wear sunscreen and a hat . It is easy to forget that you are spending a lot of time in the sun while the roof is down.

You should feel comfortable doing several 250 km (150 mi) days in a row. All drivers need a valid driver's license.

We drive anywhere from 200 to 450 kilometers per day (125 to 280 miles), depending on the road. There is usually a scenic, extended route and a fast route choice for most days. Drivers can choose their route. If an especially long or challenging route is one of the two choices, the route will be described fully with maps, so tour participants can decide whether or not to take it. The guide will go with the wishes of the majority of the group. All routes, even the long ones, make time for breakfast, lunch, a few coffee breaks, and some sightseeing. We usually arrive at the hotel around 4:00 pm.

No, you can go at your own pace and you'll meet the guide at the checkpoints (coffee stop, interesting site, lunch, nice view ...). The route directions, sights, hotels, restaurants, and cafes - everything is uploaded in your GPS unit. 

Sometimes the best part of our tours has nothing to do with a car. There is always something interesting to see and do on every day of our tours. We make suggestions for museums, archeological sites, and activities that will enrich your travel experience.

Yes, usually every third or fourth day we have a rest day. You can drive, sightsee or relax on the rest days.

In order to provide our best personal service to each guest, we limit the size of our tours to 6 convertible cars.

A support vehicle accompanies the guided tour and guests can bring one large or two medium suitcases per person.

All dinners, except on rest days, are included in the guided tours. Our dinners are usually a la carte, in other words, you can order at your prefence off the menu. The dinners are typically served in local restaurants, where our guests can try local specialties.

Convertibles (cabriolets in Europe) can be easier to break into than a normal car — particularly if you leave the folding roof down and if it is a cloth roof. We suggest you to close the roof up when you stop for lunch. Don't leave your valuables or cash in plain sight. Lock them in the trunk (boot) . 

At the time of a booking you will receive Good to know document with useful information about the tour. Included are suggestions of what to bring on the tour, money, weather, regulations, starting hotel etc. Our tour information packet will be sent to you approximately one month before your tour departure and it will include extensive tour booklet and a full-size, highlighted route maps. Tour booklet contains country descriptions including essential travel facts, day-by-day road and route information, sights, hotel, and restaurant information. Our tour booklet has a lot of good information in it, but if you really want to delve into the histories and sights of the countries we visit, we highly recommend the following Lonely Planet guide books depending on the area of your tour: Balkans Europe, Mediterranean Europe, or Eastern Europe. Rick Steves' Balkan book is good too.

A deposit of 300 Euro per person is required at the time of a booking. This deposit secures a place on the tour. The balance is due 60 days before the tour starts. In case of a customer canceling his/her booking after confirmation and more than 60 days prior to departure, Adriatic Convertible Tours will refund 50% of tour deposit. For more information please read our General Terms & Conditions. 

We strongly recommend that you obtain trip cancellation insurance from an insurance company or opt for "Tour cancellation insurance" available from Adriatic Convertible Tours. This protection provides for payment of a refund in the event you are prevented from taking or completing the trip because of a qualifying circumstance. Additional information on this option is included on our web page: Trip cancellation insurance.

Yes. We appreciate our returnees and are happy to offer them a loyalty discount in amount of 50 Euros per person for each tour they have done with our company.

Yes. You would be entitled to a discount for doing two tours in the same year in amount of 100 Euros per person.

In Slovenia and Europe, tipping is customary in tourism service industry and is an important component of guides' compensation. The tip amount is at your discretion, but as a rough guideline, consider giving 50 €/person/tour. You are welcome to increase the tip, if the guide went above and beyond to give you a good experience.

Citizens of the EU, USA, Canada, Australia, UK, New Zealand, and Ireland do not need a visa to stay in any of the countries we tour for up to 90 days. If you're a resident of another country, please check with your embassy. Your credit card, required for the insurance deductible, driver's license, international driver's license, and passport may need to be presented on the first day of the tour and on subsequent days at border crossings.

By law an international driver's license is required for all non-EU citizens.

(It can be obtained at any AAA office in USA and Canada. It should cost around 20 USD; probably similar elsewhere).

Please see our "How to get here" page in the Useful Information section. 

Normally we don't book airline tickets as we find that many people prefer to use mileage programs or shop for competitive fares from various travel websites. For information on what airlines to consider, see our "How to get here" page in the Useful Information section.

We will pick you up and drop you off at the airport, if you are a part of a Guided or Self-Guided tour and are arriving up to 5 days prior to the tour start and departing on the last day of the tour or one day after the tour.

We schedule our guided tours during what we consider to be the best time of year to drive roof down in the countries included on that tour. Of course we can't always guarantee the weather. If you are considering a self-guided tour, see our Country Information page. There you will find information on the best time to visit. We also urge you to research climate conditions and histories at informative websites before making your date decisions. A good website is www.wunderground.com

Roads in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro are in very good condition. Similar can be said for Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia, whereas in Austria and northern Italy you will find some of the best roads in Europe.

In all the areas we overnight, we choose the best hotels in the area, mostly in quality of 4****. The hotels we choose on any tour which includes Eastern Europe are as good as if not better than many you will find in Western Europe.

English is widely and well-spoken in all the countries we tour. Our guides mostly speak all the Balkan languages fluently.

Definitely yes. Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary are all part of the European Union. Slovenia and Slovakia have adopted Euro but are together with the rest of the countries in the region still cheaper for travelers than Western Europe. Bosnia and Montenegro are not part of the EU (yet) and are generally even cheaper than then the EU countries. The lower costs of travelling in these countries are passed on to our customers through our tour prices. Roads and accommodation are in most cases just as good as in Western Europe.

The countries of Slovenia and Montenegro were not affected by the Balkan war. There has been 25 years since all the hostilities in Croatia and Bosnia have ended, and all of the countries are now perfectly safe for traveling. Croatia, with its large number of resorts on the Adriatic coastline, is a major tourist destination for Europeans. Bosnia is working hard to rebuild and is completely safe. You will however, see some war damage in Bosnia.

Over the years, we have designed many custom tours for our customers. We can custom design a guided tour for your group of friends or incentive group of almost any size if you would like.

It is important to layer your clothing for different climates, as our tours may go through cool high mountain passes on one day and warm valley lowlands on the next.  Rain in the mountains can occur unexpectedly. Information on what to pack will be sent to you in your tour information packet.

The alcohol tolerance in a lot of European countries is 0. If you are stopped with alcohol in your blood, the authorities will not allow you to continue the tour and your car could be confiscated. The policy of Adriatic Convertible Tours is not to allow alcohol consumption before or during driving.