Istanbul to Sarajevo by car
1,241 km, about 15 hours of driving, 4 countries. Estimated total €169 (one way).
What this estimate assumes
Diesel, 6.5 l/100 km, 2 people, one way, passenger car (class 1), a 14-day trip. Starting from the European side of İstanbul — the Bosphorus charge depends on which bank you set off from.
Calculate for your own car →Total estimated cost
€169
- Fuel
- €141
- Tolls
- €28
- Per person
- €85
- Per km (fuel only)
- €0.11
- Per km (tolls included)
- €0.14
- Distance
- 1,241 km
- Duration
- 14 h 52 min
All amounts are estimates and do not replace official tariffs. · Data as of: 2026-08-17
Return trip
€339
Exactly twice the one-way figure. No vignette on this route lasts long enough to cover a 14-day return, so each direction buys its own.
What each country charges
- Turkey: a closed motorway system, €3.42 by entry and exit gate.
- Bulgaria: motorways are paid by vignette, which comes to €5.30 for this trip.
- Serbia: charged by the kilometre; €19 over 472 km.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: charged by the kilometre; €0 over 159 km.
Country breakdown
| Country | Distance | Fuel | Tolls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | 257 km | €2416.7 L × €1.42 | €3.42
|
| Kapıkule – Kapitan Andreevo | |||
| BulgariaThe vignette is required on most first-class national roads, not just motorways. Prices include the increase of 1 August 2026. The weekend vignette is valid only from Friday 12:00 to Sunday 23:59. | 351 km | €4022.8 L × €1.77 | €5.30
|
| Kalotina – Gradina | |||
| Serbia | 472 km | €6030.7 L × €1.95 | €19
|
| Trbušnica – Šepak | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 159 km | €1810.3 L × €1.70 | €0
|
Lines naming a toll plaza are the published price of a plaza the route actually drives through. Lines reading "tolled road" have their distance measured from the route but charge a national average rate; lines reading "motorway (assumed)" assume the distance too, because plaza-level data does not exist yet for that country. Bridge, tunnel, vignette and published transit prices are actual prices.
About this route
The route that leaves the corridor and turns into the Balkans: after Bulgaria and Serbia it drops south into Bosnia and Herzegovina instead of carrying on north. Bosnia charges by the kilometre and its motorway network is relatively short, so its share of the crossings comes out under Serbia's — in the measurement the heaviest single crossing is still the Serbian transit fare. What this page shows is that two journeys sharing the first half of one corridor enter completely different charging regimes the moment they part, and that the difference in the total owes more to the regime than to the distance.
What this figure leaves out
Accommodation, food, waiting at borders, tyres and wear, green card insurance, parking. Only fuel and the charges on the road itself are counted.
Other routes
Route geometry measured on 2026-08-26. Prices are recalculated from current data on every deployment. · estimate