Registering your stay and paying the tourist tax

It’s the formality that surprises first-time visitors to Montenegro most, but it’s easily sorted. Everyone must register within 24 hours, and with registration comes a small tourist tax set by each municipality. Here’s how it works, who does it depending on where you sleep, and what you pay, using figures from the local tourist boards themselves.

Who registers you

gov.uk puts it simply. Everyone has a day from arrival to get registered with the police or the local tourist office. Hotels and some holiday lets are legally bound to do it for you; staying privately, it’s your job, and gov.uk says failing to register can lead to a fine, detention or court. The rest of the paperwork is in Montenegro entry requirements.

Moving between towns

Tivat’s tourist board adds a useful point for anyone touring. If you stay in more than one municipality, you must register in each one where you stop, within 12 hours. So on a road trip with nights in Kotor, Budva and Žabljak, each place has to register you afresh. In hotels you won’t notice, because they do it. Madrid tells Spanish travellers the same thing, that every move means registering again, so it’s not just a Tivat rule.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Tivat before prices climb.

The tourist tax, town by town

Each municipality sets the tax, and your accommodation collects it with the bill. Three tourist boards publish the rate, and they agree. All three charge adults a euro a night, teenagers half that and under-12s nothing. Ulcinj’s board adds that foreign visitors pay on the same terms, that the tax must be itemised on the invoice, and that if the host fails to collect it they must pay it themselves. In Tivat, property owners and their close family are exempt. How it fits a budget is in prices in Montenegro.

Paying isn’t registering

Budva’s tourist board lets you pay the tax online, but with a clear warning, that paying doesn’t register the guest’s stay, and it points you to the nearest tourist information office. Tivat, meanwhile, has launched an app called Lotos Turist so hosts can register guests digitally, without paperwork or queues at an office. If you’re unsure, its central information office answers on +382 32 671 324, and it’s worth a call before you book a private flat in the town. For more on the town, see Budva.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Tivat and choose by the reviews.

My advice for private lets

If you book a flat through a private host, ask beforehand who handles registration and the tax, and ask for the tax to appear on the invoice. It’s the calmest way to avoid trouble at a police check. And carry photo ID at all times, because the police can ask for it.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Tivat before prices climb.