Car hire in Kotor
The bay rewards a car. Most of what makes Montenegro worth the trip sits at the end of a mountain road, and a hire car turns a full-day excursion into an afternoon you plan yourself.
Worth knowing
Driving around the bay
The coastal road that rings the Bay of Kotor is beautiful and slow. It is a single lane in each direction for most of its length, it runs straight through the middle of every village on the water, and in July and August it backs up badly around Kotor and Budva. Plan for the drive taking longer than the distance suggests.
The road most people come for is the old Kotor serpentine, twenty five hairpins climbing the mountain wall behind the town toward Njegusi and Lovcen. It is genuinely narrow, with passing places rather than two full lanes in the tightest sections, and it is not the place to discover you dislike mountain driving. Go early, take it slowly, and stop at the viewpoints rather than trying to look sideways while you drive.
Between the two ends of the bay there is also the Verige ferry at Kamenari, which cuts a long way off the drive from Herceg Novi toward Tivat and Budva. It runs continuously and takes a matter of minutes, and in summer it is very often quicker than driving round.
Pickup
Where to collect a car
Most visitors fly into Tivat, which is about twenty five minutes from Kotor, or Podgorica, which is roughly ninety minutes away across the mountains. Both have desks, and both are set up for arrivals collecting a car on the spot. Dubrovnik is also a common arrival point, but taking a Croatian hire car into Montenegro is a cross-border rental and needs to be arranged as one.
You do not have to collect at an airport. Delivery into Kotor, Budva, Herceg Novi and the smaller coastal towns is widely available, and for a stay based in one place it is often easier than driving away from the terminal. Choose your pickup point in the search above and the availability updates to match.
Cover
Insurance, in plain terms
Every car includes third party liability as standard. Above that you choose how much of the damage risk you want to carry yourself. The basic tiers reduce your liability but hold a deposit and typically exclude glass, tyres and the underside of the car, which are exactly the things that get damaged on a mountain road.
The fullest tier removes the deposit and covers collision damage along with glass and wheels. If you are planning the serpentine, the Durmitor road or anything unsealed, it is the one worth having. Each tier and its current price is shown in the booking step, so you can compare them against the car you have chosen rather than in the abstract.
Questions
Before you book
Do I need an International Driving Permit in Montenegro?
A full licence from an EU or UK issuing authority is accepted on its own. If your licence was issued outside Europe, or is not in the Latin alphabet, carry an International Driving Permit alongside it. It is inexpensive and must be obtained before you travel, as it cannot be issued once you have arrived.
Can I take a hire car into Croatia, Bosnia or Albania?
Usually yes, but it has to be declared when you book so the supplier can issue a cross-border permit and a Green Card for the vehicle. Albania and Kosovo are treated separately from the other neighbours and are not always included. Crossing without the paperwork can invalidate your insurance, so add it at the time of booking rather than at the desk.
Where do I park in Kotor?
Kotor's walled old town is entirely pedestrianised, so no car goes inside the gates. There are paid car parks immediately outside the walls along the waterfront, and they fill early in summer and whenever a cruise ship is in. Many guesthouses inside the walls can arrange a nearby space, which is worth asking about before you arrive.
Is an automatic worth it on the coast road?
The Bay of Kotor road is narrow, busy and full of tight bends, and the climb to Lovcen is a sequence of hairpins. If you are not confident with a manual on steep gradients, an automatic makes the driving considerably less stressful. They are the larger share of the fleet here, but the good ones go first in high season.
What do I need at pickup?
Your driving licence, passport or ID, and a payment card in the main driver's name. Age and minimum driving experience requirements vary by car and are shown on each listing before you book. A second driver can normally be added, but they must meet the same requirements and be named on the rental agreement.
Rather be driven?
Every road on this page is one our guides drive for a living. If you would rather look out of the window than at the hairpins, take the guided version instead.