Driving in Montenegro

Bring a valid national driving licence for the appropriate vehicle category. An international driving permit accompanies your national licence, and whether you need one depends on the issuing country. Serbia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that a valid Serbian licence does not require an international permit. For a UK-issued licence, UK Government guidance requires an international permit under the Vienna Convention. For a licence issued elsewhere, check the relevant consular guidance before departure.

Check hire conditions separately: tell the company the issuing country and the script used on your licence in advance. SIXT, for example, also requires an international permit for a licence written in a non-Latin script. In the same offer, confirm the required driving experience, accepted payment card and registration of every additional driver.

Alongside personal identification, prepare the vehicle registration document and insurance details. For a hire car, keep the agreement and the number of the service to which you must report a problem. If you are using someone else’s car, check the required owner’s authorisation and insurance coverage for the planned route before travelling.

At collection, inspect the tyres, glass and existing damage, then record the findings on the handover report and take photographs. Locate the reflective vest, warning triangle and first-aid kit. Arrange seasonal equipment before arrival.

Drive on the right. For an ordinary passenger car, the general limits are 50 km/h in built-up areas, 80 km/h on other roads outside built-up areas, 100 km/h on expressways and 130 km/h on motorways. Obey any lower limit shown on a sign for the section you are using. A narrow carriageway, a blind bend or rain may require a speed well below the permitted maximum.

Young drivers who have not reached their 24th birthday and novices with less than 12 months of driving experience have a maximum of 70 km/h, or 100 km/h on motorways. The lower of the driver-specific and road-specific limits applies to them. This also means 50 km/h in a built-up area unless signs establish a different permitted limit.

Drivers under 21 are also prohibited from driving between 00:00 and 05:00. If you are under 21, you may drive a category B car above 80 kW only under the supervision of someone in the vehicle who has held a valid category B licence for at least five years. That exception concerns vehicle power and does not remove the night-driving ban. A young driver should therefore check the offered car’s power and the planned collection time before hiring.

Use daytime running lights or dipped headlights during the day, do not hold a phone while driving, and ensure the driver and passengers wear seat belts. If you drive, do not drink alcohol. Any amount is prohibited for young and novice drivers.

A child under five must travel in a properly secured child seat. Children under 12 may not use the front seat, with a narrow exception: a child under three may travel in a secured rear-facing seat or infant carrier if there is no airbag in front of that seat or it is switched off. When booking a child seat, give the child’s age and size, then check that the child is properly strapped in before departure.

Use the Smokovac-Matesevo motorway as a main link for part of the journey from Podgorica towards Kolasin. In the Bay of Kotor and around Budva, summer traffic affects journey time more than the short distances between towns. To visit an old town, choose a car park outside it in advance and complete the approach on foot.

The scenic Zabljak-Sedlo-Trsa-Pluzine route makes different demands: it is asphalted, but meeting another vehicle on a narrow stretch may require reversing to a passing place. Plan to drive through in daylight and allow for slow progress. Snow can close the high pass, and asphalt shown on a map does not confirm that the road is passable today. If your aim is simply to reach your accommodation, choose a main route confirmed as open instead of this scenic approach.

From 15 November to 1 April, when snow is falling or there is snow, ice or black ice on the carriageway, passenger cars must have winter tyres on all wheels. The minimum tread depth during that period is 4 mm. On sections covered by the current order, winter tyres may also be compulsory when the road is dry. Confirm equipment for your route with the hire company, and before each longer drive check roadworks, closures and road conditions with AMSCG on 19807. Use chains as conditions and signs require. They do not replace compulsory winter tyres.

Monteput charges a standard category II passenger car €3.50 for one Smokovac-Matesevo passage and €2.50 for one passage through Sozina. Returning over the same section incurs another charge: €7 for both motorway passages or €5 for both Sozina passages. Fuel, parking and any ferry journey are separate costs.

Category II covers a two-axle vehicle that meets the operator’s height criteria: up to 1.3 m at the first axle, or up to 1.9 m in overall height with a maximum authorised mass of up to 3,500 kg. For a van, campervan or car with a trailer, check the category before calculating the cost. The motorway exit also matters: the Matesevo price does not apply to every shorter journey.

Read the parking sign for the zone, charging hours and maximum stay before leaving to explore. When paying by SMS, wait for confirmation showing the correct registration and zone. For customers without a Montenegrin phone number, the Herceg Novi parking service lists a digital or day ticket, or a payment station at designated car parks. In other towns, use a method listed at the particular parking location.

Before booking, compare the full hire price including every mandatory surcharge. Check how much fuel the car will have at collection and how much must remain at return, the mileage allowance, and the return location and time in the offer. Ask for the deposit amount, how it is released and the excess you would pay for damage. The deposit is security that the company holds or blocks. The excess is your share of the damage cost under the agreed protection.

Motor third-party liability insurance covers damage caused to third parties. A Green Card is evidence of that insurance for international driving, but does not confirm coverage for damage to the hire car. For damage to the car itself, check the agreed protection, excess and exclusions, especially for tyres, glass, the underbody and driving on roads that are not permitted. Read roadside-assistance conditions and reporting procedures separately.

Before collecting the car, list every destination and transit country for the company and request written permission to leave Montenegro. SIXT, for example, explicitly requires it for cross-border use of its vehicles rented in Montenegro. Then check with the insurer or hire company which proof of insurance applies to the vehicle’s country of registration and every country on your route. Passengers’ documents and entry requirements for another country remain a separate check.

If anyone is injured or there is immediate danger, call 112. The police can be reached on 122. State where you are, your direction of travel and whether anyone is injured. The road name, last exit, tunnel or coordinates help the service locate you. Follow the instructions you receive and do not expose yourself to traffic to take photographs.

For breakdowns and road information, AMSCG is available on 19807. Before arranging a tow, check what your roadside assistance covers and who must authorise the intervention. Do not assume a free service simply because you called the national motoring association: its published free towing coverage applies to vehicles registered in Montenegro. With a hire car, first contact the service named in the agreement when the situation allows such a call.

When it is safe, keep photographs of vehicle positions and damage, along with the other party’s details and insurance information. Notify the hire company and insurer and ask how to report the incident. Moving a vehicle, obtaining a police report and continuing to drive depend on the actual accident and the authorities’ instructions. Do not apply advice for minor property damage to an incident involving injuries.