Almost all tourists know or guess about the benefits of owning their own car on vacation. Therefore, the popularity of independent road trips around Montenegro is growing every year. Moreover, in addition to locally, an increasing number of our compatriots go to this country on vacation using their own transport, without any fear of distances. But to get to Montenegro, they have to transit through more than one country.

However, there is nothing complicated in such a rally, just as there are no difficulties in traveling along Montenegrin roads themselves. The distances here are small, there are often settlements along the route, and there are not so many roads themselves - if you have a map or navigator, it is almost impossible to get lost. Traffic on the roads is quite free, traffic jams are usually small and occur only in large cities during rush hours, other drivers behave in a European manner, carefully, so even a driver with little experience can drive a car in Montenegro. The only possible difficulty is mountain roads, but here there is a good solution to the problem: plan your trips during daylight hours and do not break the speed limit, then the road along the mountain serpentine will bring only positive emotions from contemplating the stunning landscapes along the entire route.

Basic rules of the road

All-European traffic rules have been adopted in Montenegro. Therefore, for a Russian driver, the signs and road markings will be well understood. You just need to pay attention to some important aspects:

• It is prohibited to drive a car after drinking alcohol; the permissible blood alcohol content is 0 ppm.
• When driving a car, the low beam headlights should always be on.
• The driver and all passengers must always wear a seat belt.
• At a roundabout, drivers already driving in a circle have priority.
• Some traffic lights have an additional section that allows you to turn right when the main red light is on.
• Permitted speed: in the city - 60 km/h, outside the city - 90 km/h.

Basic fines for violating traffic rules:

• Driving while intoxicated: deprivation of license with a fine of up to 2,000 euros or arrest for several days.
• Driving without turning on low beam headlights: fine 30 euros.
• Using a mobile phone while driving: fine 20 euros.
• Driver and passengers driving without fastened seat belts: fine 15 euros.
• Overtaking after a prohibitory sign and crossing a solid line: fine from 50 to 150 euros.

A police officer in Montenegro, when stopping a driver for violating the rules, confiscates his driver’s license and registration document until a fine is paid; in some cases, the violator’s passport is also confiscated. To return the documents, you will need to appear in court at the appointed time, receive the exact amount of the fine from the judge and pay it along with legal costs through the bank, only after that your documents will be returned to you.

The traffic police usually monitor compliance with the rules in dangerous areas: in cities at intersections, on bridges, on the highway. The police usually do not catch violators on open, well-visited country highways. Drivers are stopped only for a specific violation or during special operations to catch criminals. In case of minor violation of the rules, there is a chance to get off with a warning if you convince the police of your repentance.

Parking rules

The problem of parking is especially relevant for densely populated cities, such as, and others, especially during the holiday season.

In coastal cities, special lifts - “spiders” - move along the roads, which collect and take away illegally parked cars around the clock. The fine for towing to a special parking lot is 85 euros, each day of storage - 5 euros. If the driver manages to remove the car before loading, he will only pay a fine for false removal of a tow truck - 20 euros. The fine must be paid within 8 days; if this deadline is violated, the case will be sent to court and the amount will increase by 150 euros.

The cost of paid parking varies depending on the city and can range from 20 to 80 euro cents per hour. The capital recently introduced a service for paying for parking using SMS - a message with the car number and parking zone is sent to a special number.

Roads, tunnels and main routes

The condition of roads in Montenegro is generally good. The absence of frost and heavy traffic flows has a beneficial effect on the safety of the road surface. The only problem can be the insufficient number of signs and information boards - it is better if you have a map with you in paper or electronic form.

There are no toll roads in Montenegro. The exception is travel through the Sozin tunnel, which goes through the mountain pass separating the central part of the country from the coast. Money - 2.5 euros - is collected from the road to Podgorica. This tunnel is the largest in the country, its length is almost 4200 m, it is equipped with forced ventilation and backup junctions, and traffic is allowed through it at a speed of 80 km/h.

By the way, speaking of tunnels, there are not just many of them in Montenegro, but a lot of them. The country primarily consists of a mountainous landscape, so highways are forced to pass through holes made in the rocks. Most of the tunnels are cut and have an irregular shape; you must carefully drive through such areas, as the space in these places sometimes narrows and can only allow a car to pass in one direction.

The most optimal route for an independent trip to Montenegro from Russia passes through the following cities - Moscow, Brest (Belarus), Prague (Czech Republic), Vienna (Austria) and Zagreb (Croatia). Along the way, we also pass through the countries of Poland, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. True, this route presupposes that you have a Schengen visa, since you will have to travel through the countries of the European Union.

In addition, while already in Montenegro, you can travel to neighboring states with simplified entry - these are Croatia, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In most cases, only a passport and a voucher (reservation) from the hotel are required.

Distances between Montenegrin cities:

	BR	B.P.	BD	HN	DG	ZB	KL	K.O.	N.K.	P.L.	PZ	PG	TV	U.C.	C.T.
Bar (BR)		214	38	103	93	234	146	59	126	284	174	76	61	26	67
Bijelo Polje (BP)	214		213	243	135	96	48	199	168	80	248	135	202	226	149
Budva (BD)	38	213		65	77	238	130	28	110	288	178	65	24	64	29
Herceg Novi (HN)	103	243	65		142	167	195	44	95	353	153	125	53	129	94
Danilovgrad (DG)	93	135	77	142		119	87	98	37	227	95	17	101	125	48
Zabljak (ZB)	234	96	238	167	119		88	167	72	171	96	178	157	266	189
Kolasin (KL)	146	48	130	195	87	88		151	120	120	203	70	154	178	101
Kotor (KO)	59	199	28	44	98	167	151		100	316	158	81	9	85	50
Niksic (NK)	126	168	110	95	37	72	120	100		265	58	55	95	158	81
Plav (PL)	284	80	288	353	227	171	120	316	265		318	210	312	310	243
Pluzine (PZ)	174	248	178	153	95	96	203	158	58	318		113	141	221	146
Podgorica (PG)	76	135	65	125	17	178	70	81	55	210	113		84	108	33
Tivat (TV)	61	202	24	53	101	157	154	9	95	312	141	84		87	54
Ulcinj (UC)	26	226	64	129	125	266	178	85	158	310	221	108	87		93
Cetinje (CT)	67	149	29	94	48	189	101	50	81	243	146	33	54	93

Useful phones

987 – roadside assistance
122 – police
123 – fire service
124 – ambulance
1300 – tourist information service

Current GPS map of Montenegro in vector format Navitel nm2. Works on all versions of the program – 3.2.6, 3.5, 5.0, 7.*, 8.*, 9.* New map, update date: 03/10/2018

Perfect for navigation in a car, as well as for cycling. The map of Montenegro shows both major roads and highways, as well as dirt paths and country roads. Thanks to the “routing” function, the map will help you get to the right place, taking into account turning restrictions and one-way streets.

The map displays many points of interest (POIs), for example: buildings, hotels, gas stations, airports, shops, museums, car services, cafes, banks and many others.

The photo shows a fragment of a map of Montenegro, which shows highways, names of large cities and useful objects.
The map is frequently updated to keep it up to date.

Basic card functions

Search by address

The navigation map of Montenegro for Navitel supports the address search function.
To find a building by address, first select the city, then the street name and house number.

Montanegro (Montenegro), Budva, Zmajeva…

Going by coordinates

On the map, you can go to an arbitrary GPS coordinate and show this location on the screen. If necessary, you can
get directions to this point.

Routing (routing)

One of the most useful functions of the Montenegro map for motorists and tourists is routing.
To build a more correct route, you can select the type of vehicle in the settings:
car, bicycle, pedestrian... Taking into account this setting, the optimal route will be laid out.

When planning a route, turning restrictions, speed on the road section, and one-way traffic are taken into account.
Complex junctions are displayed in 3D mode.

For ease of navigation around Montenegro, you can enable voice guidance. A pleasant voice
will warn about upcoming turns, U-turns and other maneuvers.

While navigating along a given route, the screen displays: current speed, distance
to the nearest turn, time remaining to finish, distance remaining and approximate time
arrival at the final point.

About the map

Montenegro is a state in southeastern Europe, on the Adriatic coast of the Balkan Peninsula.

It is washed by the Adriatic Sea and has land borders with Croatia in the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina in the northwest, Serbia in the northeast, the partially recognized Republic of Kosovo in the east, and Albania in the southeast.

The Russian and international (Montenegro) name of Montenegro comes from the toponym Crna Gora (black mountain).

Satellite navigation map of Montenegro for GPS and GLONASS receivers. Suitable for all models of car and conventional navigators with the Navitel program. The most popular: Explay, JJ-Connect, Prestigio, Prology, Ritmix, etc. - you can download a map of Montenegro on them.

Download map

The Montenegro map for Navitel is free. Works on all versions of the Navitel program - 3.2.6, 3.5, 5.0, 7.*, 8.*, 9.*, no keys are needed for the card itself. Updated on average every two days. Latest version March 2018!

Booked plane tickets from Boryspil to Tivat, Windrouse airline, 2 adults + teenage girl 14 years old (counts as an adult) = 814 euros. We also looked at offers from other companies selling air tickets, but this is where this flight turned out to be cheaper. I recommend looking at flight options on different websites, because... it always turns out differently. Sometimes the ticket price is cheaper on some sites, sometimes on others.

For the summer, there are usually many charter flights from Kyiv to Tivat for 200-210 euros round trip. All these air tickets can be purchased through travel agencies

2. Booking apartments in Montenegro

Having decided on the country of travel and the time, I began to find out what offers travel agencies have, as well as what options there are if you book everything yourself. (There are many different travel agencies; you can quickly see package offers for Montenegro for Russians at or, for Ukrainians at or Let's go with us) In our case, the proposals booking.com were more tempting than those from travel agencies. And it turned out even cheaper than on Booking.

But I liked on Booking that there are always a lot of reviews about hotels and apartments. Moreover, what should I VERY like, all reviews are REAL. (You can leave a review only if you actually booked a hotel or apartment through them, and only within a certain period of time after you checked out of the hotel).

It should be noted that when choosing apartments, we reviewed many different options on other sites. Quite a good site for choosing housing in Montenegro. There are many different options for apartments and villas with reviews, but the reviews seemed to me not entirely truthful. As I understand it, anyone can leave a review, even the owner of the apartment or another interested party. But if you are faced with the task of finding a cheaper option, then undoubtedly you should pay attention to this site. In general, I advise you to look at the options on both booking and airbnb. ( Register using my link on www.airbnb.ru and get 15-23€ for your first trip!)

You can also look for options for apartments and hotels on hotellook.ru — is a metasearch engine that collects the best offers from Booking and more than 60 hotel booking agencies.

We chose apartments through Booking Apartments Đurašević 2(Now it’s called Apartments Grand in Sveti Stefan (One-Bedroom Apartment (4 Adults)) with beautiful sea views and swimming pool on site:

Since we decided to rent a car for the entire duration of our stay and drive around the country, and were also planning to travel outside of Montenegro, to neighboring Albania, and possibly Bosnia, the remoteness of this hotel from the sea did not bother us at all. The apartment was charged in advance very quickly in the amount of 30% of the cost from a bank card. The total cost for 13 nights was 724 euros.

3. Car rental in Montenegro

Then, I started looking for a car to rent. You can read in detail about all the nuances of car rental in Montenegro in my article:

Renting a car in Montenegro is different from renting in the UAE, where we rented a car before. If in the Emirates it was more profitable to book a car in large international rental offices, then in Montenegro it was more profitable to book in small local rental offices. For leisurely trips along the sea, humanity has not yet come up with a better car than a convertible, so we decided to book just such a car.

I looked at a lot of sites, of which I liked two the most: renta-car.me And auto-travel.me

4. Preparing for the trip

When preparing for a trip to Montenegro, you need to decide the following main points:

- buy plane tickets,

- book an apartment,

- book a car.

— load maps into the navigator,

- pack your bags for the trip

5. Navigator, maps for navigator in Montenegro

6. Driver's license for a trip to Montenegro, car insurance

International driver's license for Montenegro it is not necessary, our ordinary rights are enough. But I already had an IDP, which I did before traveling to the UAE. In Montenegro, no one asked for an IDP; everywhere they showed the usual old-style laminated licenses, that was enough.

Insurance: CASCO or OSAGO. Insurance models are the same as in Russia/Ukraine. With CASCO you do not risk anything except the deductible, unless of course you were sober while driving. With compulsory motor liability insurance, you are responsible only if you are the culprit of the accident. I talked about this in more detail

7. Travel insurance for a trip to Montenegro

Do I need to take out travel insurance for a trip to Montenegro?

There is no such mandatory requirement. So it is left to your discretion.
In general, I would recommend taking out such insurance for all tourists coming to Montenegro on their own. And the question is not even about money. If something happens, either the insurance company operator or one of the local residents (the owner of your apartment, a neighbor or someone else) will be able to help you organize medical care. In this case, the first one will be obliged to do this, but the second one will have to do it if he is lucky.
By the way, the tourist will have to pay all expenses for medical care on the spot out of his own pocket. The insurance company will compensate for all these expenses upon return to Russia on the basis of checks and invoices.

And countries. Articles with up-to-date information have been prepared about most of these places.

Here are some useful features that will help you use the card better:

1 It will be more convenient to use the card if expand it to full screen.
There is a button for this in the upper right corner.

2 If drag the man from the lower right corner to any point on the map, it can be viewed in 3D. You can even virtually “walk” through most resorts.

3 By clicking on any marker, You can go to a separate article and find out detailed information about the attractions in this place.

4 If you switch the card to "Satellite", you can find houses and roads that are not yet marked on a regular map.

We are constantly updating the map, adding new places and removing those that are no longer relevant.

Where is Montenegro located?

Montenegro is located on the Balkan Peninsula. This is in Europe. It's clean here. Nearby are Italy, Croatia, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The country is small. Its area is 13,812 km², which is 3 times smaller than the Moscow region alone. It’s possible to see everything by traveling the length and breadth of Montenegro even in a week. Especially if you plan to travel on your own.

Montenegro is not part of the European Union; tourists do not need a visa. not here - they use Euro Approximate Euro exchange rate:
1 euro = 74 rubles
1 euro = 31 hryvnia
1 euro = 2.35 Belarusian rubles
1 euro = 1.17 dollars

All rates are approximate, but they help you quickly estimate prices.

Various online maps of Montenegro: our TOP 5

1 Google Maps. One of the most convenient and familiar cards with rich functionality. Decent detail in Montenegro, all main roads are marked.

The downside is that it doesn’t create walking routes without an Internet connection.

2 Yandex maps. Similar to previous cards. Subjectively, the detail of these maps is worse than that of Google Maps, but the main roads are shown correctly. The service is blocked in Ukraine.

3 Maps.me. Not bad cards that do not require an Internet connection. Good detail, viewing platforms and paths are shown. Hotels are advertised too actively, which is a bit of a nuisance.

4 Wikimapia. In some areas there is much more detail than the previous options, but the interface does not seem to us the most convenient.

5 Windy's interactive map allows you to view water temperature, waves and wind speed in real time. Also shows a very detailed weather forecast.

Car navigators: online and offline

Most often in Montenegro we use a regular one with pre-downloaded offline maps. The guidance is not always adequate, but there have never been any problems on the main tourist routes.

Even if you have mobile Internet (local SIM card or ), we recommend that you still save the maps offline - on some mountain roads the network speed is low. Here are the instructions:

Step-by-step instructions on how to download Google maps to your phone

Many travelers prefer. These maps also work fine as a navigator; we have no particular complaints about them.

Note!

In mountainous regions, navigators do not always build the route correctly. For example, he once suggested that we go to Bosnia and Herzegovina along a terribly broken dirt road. At first it was even more or less, but with every kilometer it worsened. I had to turn around.

If you see that the road is very bad and it is not marked with a bold line in the navigator, it is better to look for an alternative route.

Navigators for pedestrians

For hiking it is better to use. Here are the same features as other maps, but hiking paths and viewpoints with beautiful views are marked.

An added benefit is that these maps don't even require an internet connection to create walking directions. You won't have to pay extra for .

Maps of the main cities and resorts of Montenegro

We found major maps in popular mapping services.

Hotels and apartments of Montenegro on the map

Almost all hotels and apartments in the country are rented through Booking.com. There is a lot of housing here from owners or with just one intermediary (few people want to bother renting out a single apartment).

Montenegro is one of the most comfortable countries in the world for traveling in a rented car. Short distances and good roads, running among the most beautiful pristine nature, make driving an integral part of your vacation. At the same time, as in any other state, there are some nuances here, knowledge of which will help the driver quickly navigate local roads and choose the appropriate route.

1. The most interesting and beautiful places are in the north of the country.

Many travelers go to Montenegro for a beautiful Mediterranean tan and a relaxing holiday on clean (the best in Europe) beaches. But there are also those for whom true relaxation is unthinkable without discovering new places, sightseeing and getting to know a new culture.

The sea coast of Montenegro attracts with a scattering of ancient cities, which still retain the atmosphere of the Middle Ages. But the real beauty of the local nature and unique national flavor are revealed in the center of the country and in its northern part - these are the natural reserves of Lovcen, Durmitor, Biogradska Gora and Lake Skadar, the Sedlo mountain pass and the canyons of the Tara and Moraca rivers, the ancient capital of Cetinje and amazingly clear glacial lakes in the mountains.

2. The best time to travel along the serpentines of Durmitor is from May to October

With the onset of autumn, which comes to Montenegro in November, precipitation becomes more frequent, making movement along mountain serpentines difficult, and most mountain roads can be covered with snow until the beginning of May.

Perhaps the most comfortable time for traveling by car in Montenegro is from mid-May to mid-June and the first half of the calendar autumn, when there is no intense heat, a huge influx of tourists at the main attractions, and the roads become noticeably clearer.

3. Durmitor - the largest national park in Montenegro

The unique reserve spreads over an area of ​​390 square meters. km. Its territory is formed by the world's largest mountain range, consisting of 48 peaks, and a natural park of incredible beauty, the significance of which goes far beyond the borders of Montenegro.

The Durmitor conservation area is protected by UNESCO and is included in the list of World Heritage Sites. A huge space is occupied by relict forests, majestic mountains, canyons, clear lakes and many more amazing creations of nature.

Entrance to the reserve costs 3 euros per person, parking - 2 euros. Many visitors refuse a parking space and leave their cars at the edge under the trees. In addition, those who have already paid for entrance to one of the attractions of Durmitor (for example, Black Lake) do not need to buy a new ticket. As it turns out, most travelers don’t know this.

4. Don’t give up your navigator when traveling around Montenegro

Montenegro is a small state that amazingly accommodates 4 climatic zones, a huge number of natural, historical and architectural attractions and a lot of interesting routes with an intricacy of narrow mountain roads and serpentines. Therefore, having a GPS navigator in a rented car will be a significant advantage when traveling around the country.

As a rule, local rental companies provide this service for free - you just need to request it in advance when booking a car. Additionally, before your trip, download the Maps.me application with a map of Montenegro to your smartphone - then you will definitely be fully armed!

5. The GPS navigator can also make mistakes

Be sure to pay attention to road signs and maneuvers of other road users. Mountain roads are unpredictable, and some sections may break down from time to time.

GPS navigator and Maps.me will not report unexpected traffic jams. Often, a short path indicated by a navigator can turn out to be much longer and more difficult. Do not rush to unconditionally follow his commands.

6. Make sure your smartphone, photo and video equipment is fully charged before your trip and be sure to take a car charger with you

Traveling around Montenegro will give you a huge amount of impressions that you will definitely want to save in photographs or video files. Any trip around the country in reality can last longer than planned, and photographing many picturesque places during the day can drain even the most durable camera.

7. Go on every new trip in the morning

The ideal time is from 6:00 to 8:00. This way you can avoid traffic jams. In addition, all excursion buses leave for routes in the morning and return in the afternoon - this means that you do not have to pass oncoming traffic.

8. Plan routes objectively

Traffic on many sections of mountain roads is limited to 25-40 km/h, and each scenic walk and sightseeing takes from 30 minutes to 3 hours. Always include a reserve of time in the excursion program - in most cases this limit will definitely be used up.

9. Choose the best time to visit attractions

When planning your travel route, try to get comprehensive information about the objects you are going to visit - this way you can get to the right place at the best time. For example, the ideal time for a walk along the Black Lake is 7:00-8:00, when there are not yet many tourists, and leaving the top of Mount Lovcen in the evening, you will be able to contemplate a breathtaking panorama of the Bay of Kotor in the rays of the setting sun.

10. Advice for those who plan to visit as many beautiful places as possible

You can save a significant amount of time and money if you book several hotels along the route. This way you won't have to go back every time, which means you'll reduce fuel consumption and see a lot more attractions.

11. Peculiarities of mountain roads: plan stops in advance and try to stop in special “pockets”

Narrow mountain roads usually have one lane in each direction. They are tortuous, have limited visibility and require increased attention from the driver. Any sudden braking is fraught with an emergency situation, since a car may follow you and will not have time to complete the necessary maneuver.

Try to minimize unplanned stops by setting markers in your navigator in advance. Be sure to use your rearview mirrors and park in designated areas.

12. Travel during daylight hours

The roads of Montenegro are replete with mountain serpentines. Moving along them in the dark is difficult and dangerous. Plan your route so that you can turn back or reach your destination before dark.

13. Don’t try to overtake local drivers - unlike you, they have known these roads all their lives.

You should always exercise caution on unfamiliar roads. If these are mountain roads, the driver must always be careful.

14. Choose a compact car for rent

Small cars with good technical characteristics, nice design and low rental costs are the best choice for a rally in Montenegro. Thus, according to the rental company Sel and Poekhal, the most popular car among tourists in 2018 was the Toyota Yaris model.

For those who do not have sufficient experience driving along mountain serpentines, it is better to start with simpler coastal routes and only then go to the north of the country.

15. Follow traffic rules

In Montenegro, mountain roads predominate, so the fines for violating traffic rules are an order of magnitude higher than in Europe. At the same time, the basic road safety requirements comply with generally accepted standards, so adapting to them is quite simple.

What to pay attention to first:

On the narrow streets of small Montenegrin towns it is difficult to find a parking space, so most parking here is paid (about 1 euro per hour);

When driving on the roads of Montenegro, always turn on low beam headlights;

The permissible blood alcohol content is 0.3 ppm, which corresponds to drinking a glass of wine, a glass of brandy or a mug of beer;

While driving, you cannot use a mobile phone without a headset;

The driver and passengers must wear seat belts;

Children under 12 years old can only be transported in car seats installed in the rear seats;

The permissible speed within the city limits is no more than 50 km/h, outside the city - 80 km/h;

In cities, cameras monitor compliance with traffic rules, and in small settlements, traffic police officers with radars are often on duty.

16. Montenegro is one of the few countries in the world where you can easily and inexpensively rent a car.

This opportunity is available to foreigners over the age of 22 with at least 2 years of driving experience. - from 12 euros per day in low season. No collateral, no prepayment and no imposed services.