Travelers who go on their Pentecost holidays by car can save money with a well-planned fuel stop at the border. However, there are clear regional differences.
Anyone traveling abroad by car during the Whitsun holidays can often save a lot of money by stopping to refuel at the border. As current data from the EU Commission shows, you can save up to 15 euros on a 50 liter tank. This is especially true when going to the south or east.
The cheapest gasoline among Germany’s neighboring countries is in Poland. Around 32 cents less are due per liter of Super E5. The Czech Republic follows behind with 27 cents. Both countries are also among the cheapest when it comes to diesel: in Poland the fuel is around 11 cents cheaper, in the Czech Republic around 13 cents. Anyone traveling east to Hungary or Slovakia can also refuel much cheaper there. For petrol it is 27 and 22 cents respectively, for diesel it is 9 and 13 cents.
Cheap refueling in the south
Towards the south, Austria is the cheaper choice: petrol is 22 cents cheaper here, diesel is around 5 cents cheaper. If you drive further towards Italy, you should fill the tank in Austria. In Italy, gasoline is 3 cents more expensive than in Germany, and diesel is around 11 cents more expensive.
If, on the other hand, you continue to Slovenia or Croatia, the refueling stop in Austria is not worth it. Gasoline is 30 cents cheaper in Slovenia and 26 cents cheaper per liter in Croatia than in Germany, thus undercutting Austrian prices. This also applies to diesel with a price advantage of 11 or 7 cents compared to Germany.
Higher prices in the west and north
Towards the west, however, it becomes more expensive for German drivers: in France, petrol is 5 cents more expensive, diesel costs 7 cents more, and in the Netherlands it is 19 and 10 cents more respectively. In Belgium there is a mixed picture: petrol is 13 cents cheaper there, diesel is 8 cents more expensive. The big exception in the west is small Luxembourg: gasoline is 26 cents cheaper here than in Germany, diesel 18 cents cheaper.
Prices are also rather high in the north: in Denmark, a liter of petrol is 18 cents more expensive than in Germany, and a liter of diesel is around 4 cents more expensive. However, if you drive further to Sweden, you can save there: petrol is 24 cents cheaper there, diesel is 11 cents cheaper.