A trip to the seaside is the highlight of a summer holiday for many. Travelling with an electric car adds a new dimension to the experience but requires more careful planning. Several Czechs have shared their experiences of a holiday with an electric car. We, too, embarked on a journey from Prague to Zadar, Croatia, covering over 900 km.
A holiday with an electric car begins with careful planning. The best approach is to use an app that helps you locate charging stations. The apps also provide detailed information about them. For our trip from Prague to Zadar, Croatia, we relied on A Better Routeplanner (ABRP) and PlugShare to map out the most efficient route.
We scheduled our stops about 250-300 kilometres apart. After driving that distance, it’s usually time to get out. You can stretch your legs, use the restroom, or grab a snack—perfect for a well-planned holiday with an electric vehicle.
We set off early in the morning with a fully charged battery in our Tesla Model 3 Long Range, rather than opting for a nighttime departure. With a claimed range of around 500 km. The first stop for charging was in Vienna at a 150 kW Tesla Supercharger. After 30 minutes, we went from 20% to 80% charge—more than enough for the next leg of the journey.
Our next stop was in Zagreb, where we used a 120 kW fast charger. Charging to 80% took 40 minutes, which we spent enjoying a meal at a nearby restaurant.
From Zagreb, we comfortably drove all the way to Zadar without needing to charge again, though we had to stop for a restroom break as the crew needed it.
In total, charging cost us just over a thousand. It is about half of what it would have cost in fuel for a conventional petrol car.
Some drivers have shared their experiences of going on holiday with an electric car. As their stories show, range anxiety isn’t something to worry about on long trips.
Charging stations are widely available today, and with a bit of advance planning, you can easily map out where to stop along your route.
„We’ve been driving our electric car to the seaside for five years no. So far, we haven’t had any issues at all. Most of the time, we travel from Prague to Zadar, and for the last two years, we’ve even made the trip with two Teslas at once. I simply enter the route into the navigation system and stop at the Superchargers along the way. It’s really straightforward—nothing complicated. “
„In this day and age of electric cars like the Tesla, Kona, and Scenic, driving to the seaside is no longer the same as driving a combustion engine.
This year, I took the new Kona on holiday from the Adriatic to the Baltic and back to Prague, just like I used to when I didn’t have an electric car. I stopped at the same places and for the same length of time. But instead of the car sitting idly in a parking lot, it was charging.
With modern EVs boasting WLTP ranges of over 400 km, the crew will always need to take a break before the car does.“
„We drove an electric Škoda Enyaq from Central Bohemia to just below Zadar. For charging, we planned to use Tesla Superchargers, so we downloaded the app and subscribed for lower prices. Charging costs were around 0.37-0.4 euros per kWh.
We typically took breaks of less than an hour, choosing spots near playgrounds and other facilities. Our average consumption was about 17 kWh per 100 km, and the round trip cost us around 3000 CZK, thanks to charging at home before and after the trip, where we use solar power (PV). “
So, what do you think—would you take an electric car to the sea? If so, be sure to read our article on how to find up-to-date and reliable information on charging stations, and discover the factors that can impact charging an electric car.
