If you travel abroad by car during the Pentecost holidays, you can usually save money at the gas station. This is especially true when it comes to the south or east, as a look at the current fuel price data from the EU Commission shows. Converted to a tank filling of 50 liters, you can save more than 15 euros in Germany’s neighboring countries. But it is not always financially wise to fill up after the border.
Cheapest petrol in Poland
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.
Towards the south, Austria is the cheaper choice: petrol is 22 cents cheaper here, diesel around 5. Although the EU Commission does not report any figures for Switzerland, data from the Touring Club Switzerland as of May 2nd show that petrol is around 2 cents cheaper there up to 3 cents more expensive, diesel around 31 cents.
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
Heading west, however, it becomes significantly more expensive for German drivers. In France, petrol is 5 cents more expensive, diesel 7, in the Netherlands it is 19 and 10 cents 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: petrol is 26 cents cheaper here than in Germany, diesel 18 cents.
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. However, if you travel further to Sweden, you can save money there. Since a tax cut at the turn of the year, diesel is also cheaper there than in Germany. Gasoline is currently 24 cents cheaper there and diesel is 11 cents cheaper.
The price differences mentioned are based – with the exception of Switzerland – on data from the EU Commission as of May 6th. As a rule, they change much more slowly than the prices themselves, as influencing factors such as rising or falling oil prices have an impact in all countries. The most important reason for the price differences are taxes and duties. In addition, prices sometimes vary significantly from gas station to gas station, depending on the region and time. In some countries, prices on motorways are significantly higher than on country roads.