Vignette or Toll Box? How to Tell Which You Need

Europe has two main tolling styles, and which you need depends purely on the countries you drive through.

Vignette countries — time-based

Countries like the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria charge by time: you buy a digital vignette (for example a 10-day or annual) linked to your plate, and you can use the motorways for that period.

Toll-box countries — distance-based

Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Croatia mostly use barrier tolls charged by distance. Instead of buying a vignette, you use an EETS toll box that pays automatically at the gates.

Mixed trips

A single road trip can cross both kinds — say, a vignette for Slovenia and a toll box for Italy and Croatia. Work out your route, then get a vignette for each vignette country and one toll box for the southern leg.