Istanbul to Sarajevo by car
1,241 km, about 15 hours of driving without breaks or border waits, 4 countries. Estimated total €180 (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 →- Turkey257 km · 21%
- Bulgaria351 km · 28%
- Serbia472 km · 38%
- Bosnia and Herzegovina159 km · 13%
Total estimated cost
€180 estimate
- Per person
- €90
- Per km (fuel only)
- €0.12
- Per km (tolls included)
- €0.14
- Distance
- 1,241 km
- Driving time
- 14 h 52 min
All amounts are estimates and do not replace official tariffs. Driving time leaves out breaks and waiting at borders. · Data as of: 25 September 2026
Return trip
€360
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.
By fuel
The same road, the same two people. Only the fuel and what it burns change. The consumption figures are round starting values for a mid-size car, not yours.
| Diesel6.5 L/100 km · Fuel €154 | €180 |
| Petrol7.5 L/100 km · Fuel €156 | €182 |
| LPG9.5 L/100 km · Fuel €91 | €118 |
| Electric, DC fast charging18 kWh/100 km · Charging €125 | €151 |
Tolls are the same on every row, €26.
The oldest price on each row: Diesel 25 September 2026, Petrol 25 September 2026, LPG 25 September 2026, Electric 5 September 2026.
On the Electric row the price for Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina is estimated or missing. The calculator says why on that country's line.
Cost it with your own car's consumption →What each country charges
- Turkey: a closed motorway system, €3.05 by entry and exit gate.
- Bulgaria: motorways are paid by vignette, which comes to €5.30 for this trip.
- Serbia: charged by the kilometre; €18 over 472 km.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: charged by the kilometre; €0 over 159 km.
Country breakdown
| Country | Distance | Fuel | Tolls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | 257 km | €2916.7 L (6.5 L/100 km) × €1.75 | €3.05 |
| |||
| Kapıkule – Kapitan Andreevo | |||
| Bulgaria | 351 km | €4322.8 L (6.5 L/100 km) × €1.89 | €5.30 |
| |||
| Kalotina – Gradina | |||
| Serbia | 472 km | €6230.7 L (6.5 L/100 km) × €2.01 | €18 |
| |||
| Trbušnica – Šepak | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 159 km | €1910.3 L (6.5 L/100 km) × €1.89 | €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.
What we do not know
1 line(s) in this estimate rest on an assumption. The rest comes from a published tariff.
- SerbiaThe tolled part of this country's route was measured, but its tariff is not held plaza by plaza. The amount comes from the country's average rate per kilometre rather than from a published fare, so the real figure may differ.
Frequently asked questions
How far is Istanbul to Sarajevo by car, and how long does it take?
The route we measured is 1,241 km. Driving time without stops is about 14 h 52 min. Breaks, border queues and traffic are not included.
How much does it cost to drive from Istanbul to Sarajevo?
An estimated €180 one way: €154 fuel and €26 tolls. Costed for a diesel car using 6.5 L/100 km with 2 people, €90 each. The oldest fuel price in the sum was read on 25 September 2026.
Which countries on the way charge tolls or a vignette?
Tolls and vignettes paid on this trip: Turkey €3.05, Bulgaria €5.30, and Serbia €18.
How much is the round trip?
€360. 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.
How much is Istanbul to Sarajevo in a petrol, LPG or electric car?
An estimated one-way total of €182 on petrol, €118 on LPG, €151 for an electric car on DC fast chargers and €180 on diesel. The consumption figures are round values for a mid-size car. Tolls are the same for all of them.
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.
See the whole road, or one leg of it
This route is one piece of the corridor. Why each country charges differently, what changes at every border, and what all twelve routes come to side by side, on one page.
The whole road, country by country →Other routes
This route was measured on 26 August 2026. Prices are recalculated from current data on every deployment. · Every figure is an estimate, see where the data comes from