Croatia border wait times: live checks, EES and holiday peaks

On Saturday 20 December 2025 more than 39,000 passengers crossed the border at Bajakovo, the A3 motorway crossing into Serbia, police in Vukovar-Srijem County counted. The days before Christmas, New Year and Easter bring the longest queues of the year on Croatia's borders with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro. Live waiting times come from HAK, the Croatian Auto Club, and from BIHAMK on the Bosnian side. Since 10 April 2026 the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) registers every non-EU traveller with fingerprints and a photo. From 24 October 2026 nine more crossings to Bosnia and Herzegovina serve international passenger traffic.

Live waiting times: where to check

HAK updates its border section during the day. On 23 October 2026 at 15:59 it reported a 3-kilometre queue of lorries on the A3 before Bajakovo, in the direction of Lipovac. The same section carries closures and lane limits on the Bosnian and Serbian borders. The Dubrovnik-Neretva police tell travellers to check HAK shortly before departure: the site has updated information and camera views of the crossings. BIHAMK publishes its own report for the roads and crossings in Bosnia and Herzegovina and answers questions on its info line 1325 every day from 6:00 to 20:00.

Main crossings by direction

The old bridge between Stara Gradiška and Gradiška is closed in both directions after damage, HAK reports. Since 19 May 2026 traffic uses the new crossing Gornji Varoš on the new Sava bridge. On the bridge between Gunja and Brčko lorries and buses are banned; HAK sends them via Županja and Orašje. Dvor and Vitaljina take only passengers and passenger cars. On the Erdut II bridge toward Bogojevo vehicles over 7.5 tonnes are banned until 31 December 2026.

Drivers from Austria and Germany find vignettes, tolls and the cost of the trip in our guide Driving to Croatia: vignettes, tolls and the cost. Rental cars need the company's permission for Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro: Renting a car in Croatia: deposit, insurance, ferries and borders.

Slovenia and Hungary: open Schengen borders

Croatia has applied the full Schengen rules since 1 January 2023, when checks on persons at its internal land and sea borders ended under Council Decision (EU) 2022/2451. Slovenia reintroduced checks at its borders with Croatia and Hungary on 21 October 2023 and extended them in six-month steps. On 11 June 2026 the Slovenian government ended these checks. Interior Minister Franci Matoz said police would work with random checks based on risk analysis, mainly on the busiest transit routes. The EU list of notifications dated 16 October 2026 shows no current entry for Slovenia or Hungary.

Further north the picture changes for drivers from Austria and Germany. Austria checks at its land borders with Slovenia and Hungary from 16 September 2026 to 15 March 2027. Germany checks at its land borders, including the one with Austria, for the same period. Italy checks at its land border with Slovenia until 18 December 2026. All three dates come from the EU list of 16 October 2026.

EES: fingerprints and a photo at the first crossing

The EU Entry/Exit System started on 12 October 2025 and has been fully operational since 10 April 2026, the European Commission says. It replaces passport stamps for non-EU citizens on a short stay. The system records name, travel document, fingerprints, facial image and the date and place of entry and exit. In Croatia it runs at all international crossings and at the local border crossings to Bosnia and Herzegovina that are open to international traffic, HAK reports.

• At the first entry the border police take four fingerprints of the right hand and a facial image and open a personal EES file, the Croatian police say.
• Children under 12 give no fingerprints; the photo is taken at any age.
• On later crossings a live image of the face is compared with the stored file, also on exit.
• EU citizens give no biometric data, wherever they live. Croatian citizens living in Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia cross with a passport or identity card, HAK says.
• The police EES page links to the EU calculator for the remaining days of a stay of up to 90 days in any 180 days. Time spent in the Schengen area before 10 April 2026 is left out of that count.
• Croatia runs a national facilitation programme for frequent travellers from third countries, for reasons such as family, property, school, medical treatment or work. Applications go in at a border crossing or a police station. Status is granted for up to one year and can be extended up to five years.

EES adds time at the booth. The Croatian government wrote on 14 October 2026 that opening an EES file means entering personal and biometric data at the border. This has lengthened waits for everyone queuing for the lane, the government says, including travellers who are outside EES.

ETIAS, the travel authorisation for visa-free visitors, has no start date yet. The European Commission says the system is currently out of operation and collects no applications; the EU will announce the date several months before launch. The fee is set at 20 euros.

New categories for the crossings to Bosnia and Herzegovina

Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina signed a new agreement on border crossings in Sarajevo on 8 June 2026; Borjana Krišto and Andrej Plenković signed it, Radio Free Europe reported. It sets 52 crossings on the common border, three of them new: Svilaj, Gornji Varoš and Osojnik. The Croatian government adopted the matching amendment to the Decree on Border Crossings on 14 October 2026. It appeared in Narodne novine 118/2026 on 16 October and takes effect on the eighth day after publication, 24 October 2026. The government's reason: EES and systematic checks have lengthened waits, so more crossings serve international passenger traffic and fewer serve local border traffic only.

• Nine crossings move from local border traffic to permanent crossings for international passenger traffic: Hrvatska Dubica, Bogovolja, Bili Brig, Aržano Pazar, Dvorine, Slivno, Gabela Polje, Imotica and Slano.
• Sixteen crossings serve passengers and goods, among them Svilaj, Gornji Varoš, Slavonski Brod, Maljevac and Ličko Petrovo Selo. Eighteen serve passengers, among them Metković, Hrvatska Kostajnica and Dvor.
• Svilaj, Gornji Varoš, Ličko Petrovo Selo and Kamensko become crossings with inspection services once those services start work there.
• Stara Gradiška drops to a passenger crossing when inspection starts at Gornji Varoš. Dvor moves up to passengers and goods once it meets the conditions.
• Eleven crossings stay reserved for local border traffic with a border pass. The old Svilaj crossing, out of use for years, leaves the list.

Customs on entry from Bosnia, Serbia or Montenegro

The Croatian customs leaflet for travellers lists what passes duty-free in personal luggage from a third country. Goods above these limits are declared orally to customs.

• Goods worth up to 300 euros by road and rail, 430 euros by air and sea, 150 euros for children under 15.
• Tobacco by road: 40 cigarettes, 20 cigarillos, 10 cigars, 50 grams of smoking tobacco.
• Alcohol: 1 litre above 22 percent or 2 litres up to 22 percent, plus 4 litres of still wine and 16 litres of beer.
• The tobacco and alcohol allowances apply from age 17. Ten litres of fuel in a portable can are also duty-free.
• Cash of 10,000 euros or more is declared to customs on entry to and exit from the EU, on a form from carina.gov.hr.
• Medicines, meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, plants, pets and weapons must be declared.

Peak days: what police and HAK reported

• Sunday 8 January 2023, the weekend after Orthodox Christmas: the Vukovar-Srijem police put the average wait to enter Croatia at Bajakovo at about six hours (Hina).
• Saturday 23 December 2023: HAK reported about 12 hours to leave Croatia at Bajakovo, 3 hours for cars at Ilok, 4 hours for cars leaving at Stara Gradiška, 2 hours at Jasenovac and 1 hour at Slavonski Brod (Novi list).
• Saturday 20 December 2025: police counted more than 9,000 vehicles and more than 39,000 passengers at Bajakovo, and more than 77,000 passengers at all crossings of the county (HRT).
• Sunday 21 December 2025, evening: HAK reported one to two hours for cars at Stara Gradiška and Jasenovac, about two hours at Bajakovo, Tovarnik and Erdut, and two to six hours for lorries (HRT).
• Sunday 3 May 2026, after the 1 May weekend and three weeks into full EES: HAK reported waits to enter Croatia of 5 hours at Bogovolja and Hrvatska Kostajnica, 4 hours at Maljevac, Dvor and Svilaj, 3 hours at Stara Gradiška, Ličko Petrovo Selo and Hrvatska Dubica, and 1 hour at Slavonski Brod and Županja (Klix).

For Easter 2025 the Dubrovnik-Neretva police expected the heaviest traffic from the afternoon of Good Friday, 18 April, to the evening of Saturday 19 April, and again all of Easter Monday, 21 April. For summer weekends HAK posts the waits on the day in its border section.

Night hours and alternative crossings

Before Christmas 2025 the Dubrovnik-Neretva police expected the heaviest traffic from the afternoon of 19 December to the evening of 24 December, especially on exit from Croatia at Karasovići. The police recommended travelling at night and named alternative crossings. On busy days it plans the maximum number of officers and exit lanes.

• Karasovići (Montenegro): Vitaljina, which HAK lists as open to passengers and cars only.
• Gornji Brgat (Bosnia and Herzegovina): Čepikuće.
• Metković and Gabela Polje: Nova Sela, Prud or Mali Prolog.

Day trips to Montenegro from Dubrovnik use the same crossing at Karasovići: From Dubrovnik to Kotor by bus, tour or car.

Christmas and New Year 2026/27

On 23 October 2026 neither the police nor HAK has published a holiday notice for 2026/27. Both usually do so shortly before the holidays: in 2025 the Dubrovnik-Neretva police issued theirs on 18 December, and for Easter 2025 on 17 April, the day before Good Friday. Christmas Day 2026 falls on a Friday, so the last weekend before it is 19 and 20 December 2026. Orthodox Christmas falls on Thursday 7 January 2027.

The previous year shows the pattern. In 2025 the queues peaked on the weekend of 20 and 21 December, with more than 39,000 passengers at Bajakovo on the Saturday. This winter is the first with full EES at Christmas and the first with the new categories for the Bosnian crossings. The old Stara Gradiška bridge stays closed, and traffic toward Gradiška uses Gornji Varoš.