# Dubrovnik to Kotor with a driver: passports, the border and a day in the Bay of Kotor

> Dubrovnik to Kotor with a driver in 2026: passports and the Entry/Exit System, both border crossings, waits by season, the ferry, a timed day plan and the price.

Source: https://dubrovnikcarrent.com/blog/kotor-day-trip-with-driver/

Border & documents

NP

By [Nikša Perović](https://dubrovnikcarrent.com/authors/niksa-perovic/)

Owner and director, TECHNIC ONE d.o.o. Nikša Perović directs the company that runs Dubrovnik Car Rent and reads every page here before it is published.

Published October 2026 · Updated October 2026

*Image: The Bay of Kotor and its mountains seen from the road at Lepetane, with a small chapel on the shore — The Bay of Kotor from the road at Lepetane · [Photo: Gzzz, CC BY-SA 4.0](https://dubrovnikcarrent.com/image-credits/#img-kotor-bay-road)*

In short

- Kotor is about 92 km round the bay, 2–2¼ hours before any border queue; a car with a driver costs €255.
- Everyone needs a passport; EU citizens may use a national identity card for up to 30 days.
- In July and August, cross before 08:00: guides estimate peak-day waits of 2 to 5 hours at Karasovići.
- Meat and dairy products bought in Montenegro may not be brought back into the EU.

Montenegro starts about 38 km from the Old Town, and the Bay of Kotor is one of the best days out from Dubrovnik. With a driver, the car and its papers are not your concern; two things still are: the passports in the car and the timing of the border. This guide covers both, then the road round the bay.

## Passports and the rules of entry

**Passports and identity cards.** Montenegro is an EU candidate country, outside both the EU and Schengen. The [Government of Montenegro](https://www.gov.me/en/article/visas) lets EU citizens enter with a national identity card for up to 30 days or a passport for up to 90 days; British, American, Canadian and Australian visitors need a passport and may stay up to 90 days without a visa. The passport must have been issued within the last ten years and be valid for at least three months after you leave.

**Registration.** All visitors must be registered with the local tourist office or police within 24 hours of arrival, according to [UK travel advice for Montenegro](https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/montenegro/entry-requirements); hotels do it automatically, and on a day trip it does not arise. Days in Montenegro do not count towards the 90-day Schengen limit, and Schengen days do not count in Montenegro.

**Money.** Both sides of the border use the euro: Croatia since 2023, Montenegro as its sole currency since 2002 without being a eurozone member, as [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montenegro_and_the_euro) explains.

## The EU Entry/Exit System at the border

Leaving Croatia for Montenegro means leaving the Schengen area, and coming back means re-entering it, so there are four checks on a day trip: out of Croatia, into Montenegro, out of Montenegro and back into Croatia. Since 10 April 2026 the [EU Entry/Exit System](https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen/smart-borders/entry-exit-system_en) has recorded non-EU visitors’ movements with a facial image and fingerprints instead of passport stamps; EU citizens are exempt.

If you flew into Dubrovnik from outside Schengen, you already have an EES file from the airport, and the road border needs only a quicker face check. The [Croatian Interior Ministry](https://mup.gov.hr/pristup-informacijama-16/najcesca-pitanja-219/entry-exit-sustav-ees/294405) expects longer checks at road crossings when non-EU passengers must get out of the car to be registered, and at Croatian crossings the lanes marked “EU, EGP, CH” are for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, while everyone else uses the “Sve putovnice” (all passports) lanes. Our [guide to EES at the Croatian borders](https://dubrovnikcarrent.com/blog/ees-croatia-border-guide/) covers who registers and what a first registration involves.

## Which crossing?

- **Karasovići – Debeli Brijeg** is the main crossing, on the D8 Adriatic Highway in Konavle, open to all traffic around the clock. It is about 38 km from Pile Gate and about 17.5 km from the airport, and the Croatian and Montenegrin posts are about 2.5 km apart.
- **Vitaljina – Kobila** is the second crossing, reached by turning off the D8 about 4 km before Karasovići and following the 14.4 km D516. The [Croatian Automobile Club](https://m.hak.hr/stanje.asp?id=2) says it is open only to passengers and passenger cars, so coaches and lorries must use Karasovići. The route to Herceg Novi is about 8 km longer, but in summer it is usually the quieter of the two.

## Timing: border waits by season

There are no official statistics for waiting times, only guide estimates and single-day reports, so treat these figures, from a [guide that tracks the crossings](https://montenegrodigitalnomad.com/montenegro-blog/montenegro-border-webcams/), as a guide:

| Period | Karasovići – Debeli Brijeg | Vitaljina – Kobila |
| --- | --- | --- |
| November to April | 15–30 minutes | 10–15 minutes |
| May, June, September, October | 30–60 minutes | 15–30 minutes |
| Peak days in July and August | 2–5 hours | 45–90 minutes |

The worst window in summer is roughly 10:00 to 14:00, especially on Fridays leaving Croatia and Sundays coming back. Guides advise crossing before 08:00 or after about 21:00. Extreme days happen: on Sunday 2 August 2026 the queue for Karasovići stretched about 15 km back towards Čilipi and some travellers waited up to ten hours, [one travel site reported](https://croatiaunscripted.com/montenegro-border-delays/). HAK publishes live cameras for both crossings and relays the police’s waiting-time notices, which change often; check them before you set off.

## The road to Kotor

From the border the road runs down to Herceg Novi, about 49 km from the Old Town, at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor beneath Mount Orjen. Founded in 1382 by the Bosnian king Tvrtko I, it is the first town after the border.

At the narrow Verige strait you choose between the ferry and the road round the inner bay:

- **The Kamenari–Lepetane ferry.** Run by the Montenegrin state enterprise [JP Morsko dobro](https://trajekt.me/red-voznje/), it crosses a strait only 340 m wide in about five minutes. In the 2026 summer timetable, from 4 May to 11 October, ferries leave every 15 to 20 minutes around the clock; in winter, every 20 minutes from 06:00 to midnight and about hourly overnight. A car crossing costs €5 and a passenger van €7.50 on the 2026 price list.
- **The bay road.** About 12 km longer to Kotor, it passes Risan and Perast. The ferry saves about 20 minutes to Kotor, but summer queues of 30 to 45 minutes at the ramp can cancel the saving.

By the bay road Perast is about 78 km from the Old Town and Kotor about 92 km, 2–2¼ hours of driving; with the ferry Kotor is about 80 km. Budva is about 92 km with the ferry or about 114 km round the bay.

## What to see on the way

**Perast** is a small town on the bay, about 14 km before Kotor. In the summer season visitors’ cars must stay in the car parks at either end of the village, so the driver drops you at the edge. Offshore stands Our Lady of the Rocks, an artificial islet built up over centuries from rocks and scuttled ships, where sailors found an icon of the Madonna on 22 July 1452; the stone-throwing ritual, the fašinada, is still held every 22 July.

**Kotor** is the heart of a [UNESCO World Heritage site](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/125/) inscribed in 1979, the “Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor”. The old town is closed to cars and entered through three gates, the Sea Gate, the River Gate and the Gurdić Gate, so the driver sets you down outside the walls. The walls run for about 4.5 km and climb to the fortress of St John, some 260 to 280 m above the town: about 1,350 steps, 45 to 60 minutes for most people. The ticket for the walls and the fortress costs €15 per person.

**Above Kotor**, the old road to Cetinje, the R-1, climbs Mount Lovćen in 25 hairpin bends and passes Njeguši, home of Njeguški pršut, the smoked ham, about 22 km from Kotor. Entry to Lovćen National Park costs €3 per person per day on the park authority’s price list.

**Budva**, beyond Kotor, has a walled old town on a small rocky peninsula, pedestrian-only and rebuilt by 1987 after the earthquake of 15 April 1979.

## Coming back into Croatia

Re-entering Croatia means re-entering the EU, with its customs rules. Meat and dairy products bought in Montenegro may not be brought in at all, according to the EU’s [Your Europe](https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/carry/meat-dairy-animal/index_en.htm) guidance, so the Njeguši ham stays behind. Each traveller arriving by land may bring 40 cigarettes, 1 litre of spirits, 4 litres of still wine, 16 litres of beer and €300 of other goods.

## A day plan with a driver

A Dubrovnik–Kotor–Dubrovnik day is normally a 10 to 12 hour day: the return drive alone is about four hours round the bay, with four passport checks. In July and August:

1. Leave the city by 06:30, so the car reaches the border before 08:00.
2. Take the ferry if the ramp queue is short, or the bay road with a stop in Perast; the driver decides on the day.
3. Get out at Kotor’s walls, climb to the fortress in the morning and have lunch in the old town while the driver waits.
4. Start back by mid-afternoon, or after about 21:00 on the busiest days; the driver watches HAK’s cameras before choosing the crossing.

Outside summer the same day is relaxed enough to add Budva or the Lovćen road. A route to Kotor costs €255 by car one way, per vehicle; for a day with several stops, a car and driver by the hour usually fits better. The [Montenegro section](https://dubrovnikcarrent.com/#kotor-montenegro) of the homepage has every route and price, and the [guide to day trips](https://dubrovnikcarrent.com/blog/day-trips-from-dubrovnik-by-car/) covers the days that stay in Croatia.

## Want a driver for this one?

One price for the vehicle and its driver, agreed in writing. We reply within an hour during office hours (08:00 to 20:00, Dubrovnik time), or early the next morning.

[See the Montenegro routes and prices](https://dubrovnikcarrent.com/#kotor-montenegro) [+385 91 600 1201](tel:+385916001201)

## Quick answers

### How long does it take to get from Dubrovnik to Kotor?

About 92 km round the bay, 2–2¼ hours of driving, plus the border wait; with the Kamenari–Lepetane ferry the distance is about 80 km.

### What documents do we need for Montenegro?

A passport for everyone, or a national identity card for EU citizens staying up to 30 days. British, American, Canadian and Australian visitors need no visa for stays of up to 90 days.

### How long is the border queue in summer?

Guides estimate 2 to 5 hours at Karasovići on peak days in July and August, against 15 to 30 minutes from November to April. Crossing before 08:00 or after about 21:00 helps.

### How much is a car with a driver to Kotor?

€255 by car for up to four passengers, or €335 by minivan for up to eight, one way and per vehicle. Herceg Novi costs €180 and Budva €275 by car.

### Can we bring Njeguši ham back to Croatia?

No. Meat and dairy products bought outside the EU may not be brought into Croatia at all, so eat the ham in Montenegro.

Related guides

- [Day Trips from Dubrovnik by Car with a Driver — 10 Ideas](https://dubrovnikcarrent.com/blog/day-trips-from-dubrovnik-by-car/)
- [Dubrovnik to Mostar Day Trip with a Driver — 2026 Guide](https://dubrovnikcarrent.com/blog/mostar-day-trip-with-driver/)
- [Dubrovnik Airport to Old Town — Shuttle, Taxi or a Driver](https://dubrovnikcarrent.com/blog/dubrovnik-airport-arrival-guide/)

## About this article

- **Published**: 2026-10-13
- **Last reviewed**: 2026-10-13
- **Reviewed by**: [Nikša Perović](https://dubrovnikcarrent.com/authors/niksa-perovic/), Owner and director, TECHNIC ONE d.o.o.

Based on the Government of Montenegro, UK travel advice, the Croatian Interior Ministry, the Croatian Automobile Club, the ferry operator JP Morsko dobro, UNESCO, the EU's Your Europe guidance and OpenStreetMap routing, checked between 1 and 7 October 2026. Border waits are guide estimates, not official figures.

Prices, the Old Town traffic zone and the border rules change from one season to the next. Spotted something out of date? Write to [info@dubrovnikcarrent.com](mailto:info@dubrovnikcarrent.com) and we put it right.

Ready to plan the ride?

- [Montenegro](https://dubrovnikcarrent.com/#kotor-montenegro)
- [Day trips by car](https://dubrovnikcarrent.com/blog/day-trips-from-dubrovnik-by-car/)
- [Prices per vehicle for every route](https://dubrovnikcarrent.com/#prices)

## Let someone else do the driving

Send the trip and the date once, and receive one price for the vehicle and its driver, agreed in writing.

[See the Montenegro routes and prices](https://dubrovnikcarrent.com/#kotor-montenegro) [WhatsApp +385 91 600 1201](https://wa.me/385916001201?text=Hello%2C%20I%20would%20like%20a%20price%20for%20a%20car%20with%20a%20driver.)