Hiring a car in Montenegro without nasty surprises

If you plan to see Montenegro beyond the coast, a hire car is, to my mind, the best decision of the trip. The country is small, but public transport barely reaches the mountains. Here’s where to collect one, what to sort out on paper and what to check in the contract, using what the airport, gov.uk and the motorway company publish.

Paperwork for British drivers

For licences and other paperwork, the Foreign Office refers you to the RAC’s country guide, plus its advice on UK stickers for anyone bringing their own car. The thing to get used to first is driving on the right, with the gear stick on the other side. Keep photo ID on you at all times, a photocard licence or passport, because the police can fine you otherwise. The rules, fines and speed checks are in driving in Montenegro.

Collecting at Podgorica airport

This is the airport with the best-documented choice. Its website lists nine firms, five international chains (Sixt, Avis, Europcar, Budget and Renault) and four local ones (Rokšped, Ideal, Meridian and Kompas), with their phone numbers. From there Cetinje is 40 km away and Bar 46 km, by the airport’s own figures. More in Podgorica airport.

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Tivat, Kotor or Budva

Tivat airport’s website doesn’t publish a list of rental firms, so I can’t give you sourced names there, though Kotor is only 8 km from that terminal. What I would say is that around the Bay of Kotor a car is more burden than help for the first few days, because parking near the old towns is awkward. If your trip starts on the coast and then heads inland, I’d pick the car up on the day I leave for the mountains. For somewhere to stay with parking, see where to stay in Montenegro.

Questions to ask before signing

Three things. First, if you can cross borders, because Croatia, Bosnia and Albania are right there and each firm decides. Second, what the insurance covers and the excess, as Spain’s foreign ministry describes secondary roads as poor and local driving as aggressive. Third, what to do after an accident. A police report for a small prang is €50, or the two drivers can agree a European accident report instead, says the Foreign Office. The border crossings are listed in Montenegro’s border crossings.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Kotor and pick one that fits your day.

Tolls, the ferry and parking

Fixed costs are few, but worth knowing before you set off. Monteput’s tolls come to €3.50 for the Smokovac-Mateševo motorway and €2.50 for the Sozina tunnel in a car. The Kamenari to Lepetane ferry is €5 a car. If you leave a car at Podgorica airport, it’s €1.50 an hour or €8 a day. The stages for a full loop are in a Montenegro road trip.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Kotor on Booking.com and filter by area before price.