Herceg Novi Car Rental | Near Dubrovnik Airport (DBV)

Pickup in Herceg Novi suits the western bay and the Kamenari ferry crossing, and cross-border paperwork for Dubrovnik runs is arranged with at least 24 hours notice.

Renting a car in Herceg Novi and around the bay

A car picked up in Herceg Novi puts the whole western Bay of Kotor within easy reach, from the spa beaches of Igalo to the Kamenari ferry and the Croatian border a short drive north. Most cars need no credit card to collect and the deposit comes back when you return the car, and hotel delivery within the town is usually included so you can leave it parked until you actually want to drive out. If you are flying in, Tivat Airport across the bay is a direct pickup, while travellers landing at Dubrovnik for the cheaper northern-Europe flights collect the car here in Herceg Novi, a short hop south over the border.

Picking up in the city of stairs

Herceg Novi sits at the western entrance to the Bay of Kotor, the first Montenegrin town as you drive south across the Croatian border at Debeli Brijeg. The town climbs the hillside above the bay in a tight grid of stepped streets, with two surviving fortresses, Forte Mare at the sea edge and Kanli Kula above the centre, anchoring the old town. For drivers, Herceg Novi is the practical pickup if you are flying into Dubrovnik, about 30 km north across the border, or if you want to skip the slower inner-bay road. The Kamenari to Lepetane ferry crossing 10 km east of town cuts the drive to Tivat or Budva down sharply against the full inner-bay route.

Hire a car at our Herceg Novi pickup or collect at Tivat Airport, 35 km southeast via the cross-bay ferry, around 1 hour 15 minutes in total including the 10-minute ferry crossing. The fully inner-bay drive without the ferry is 60 km and roughly 1 hour 45 minutes through Risan and Kotor, so almost all travellers take the ferry. Dubrovnik Airport in Croatia is the nearest international arrival for travellers from northern Europe and is often the cheapest. The cars are Montenegro registered, so rather than a handover at the terminal you collect here in Herceg Novi, about 30 km south across the Debeli Brijeg border crossing, with the drive-over arranged in advance.

Herceg Novi itself is partly drivable and partly stepped-pedestrian. The bay-edge road serves the lower town and runs continuous through Igalo to the west. The upper old town has narrow stepped streets above the main road that are walking only, and the climb from Forte Mare past Kanli Kula to the Španjola fortress at the top is about 20 minutes on foot. With the car delivered to your accommodation you can leave it parked for stays in the centre and only drive when you want to head out of town.

Where you collect the car

Our Herceg Novi pickup is in the town centre, near the main square. For travellers arriving by car, parking is paid in the central blue zone at around €1 per hour on most blocks, and free on side streets a few minutes walk out from the centre. If you reach town overland or by ferry, we can bring the car to your accommodation inside the town limits, the usual arrangement when you collect on the day you want to start driving out.

Tivat Airport is the natural pickup if your flights work for it, with the Kamenari to Lepetane ferry route shorter and faster than the full inner-bay drive. Travellers landing at Dubrovnik for cheaper northern-Europe flights collect here in Herceg Novi instead, once over the Debeli Brijeg crossing. Our guide to crossing the border into Croatia by car covers the permit and the documents to keep in the car, and we arrange the paperwork in advance with any rental that needs it.

Driving in and out of town

The bay road through Herceg Novi is the only through-road on the western shore. It runs from the Debeli Brijeg border crossing in the west to Bijela in the east, where it joins the inner-bay road south. The Kamenari ferry pier sits 10 km east of central Herceg Novi at the narrowest point of the bay, and crossings to Lepetane on the Tivat side run every 15 minutes in season with the crossing itself taking 5 to 10 minutes. The ferry fee is around €5 for a small car each way and saves roughly an hour on the drive to Tivat or Budva against driving around the inner bay via Risan and Kotor.

The road west from Herceg Novi continues through Igalo, 3 km out, to the Debeli Brijeg border, with the Croatian side opening on the Dubrovnik approach. The road east through Bijela connects to the inner-bay loop without using the ferry, for travellers who want to drive the full circumference of the bay rather than crossing on water. Both road and ferry are well surfaced and not technically difficult. In July and August the ferry queue can run 30 to 45 minutes at peak hours, so a morning start is the practical choice for any cross-bay leg.

Where the Adriatic enters the bay

Herceg Novi was founded in 1382 by King Tvrtko I of Bosnia, with successive Ottoman, Venetian, French and Austro-Hungarian periods leaving distinct layers in the upper town. Kanli Kula, the Bloody Fortress, was the Ottoman strong point, built in 1483 and used as a prison through the 19th century, and its restored amphitheatre now hosts the Herceg Novi summer film festival. Forte Mare on the shoreline dates from the original Bosnian foundation. Španjola, the hilltop fortress about 170 m above sea level, dates from a brief Spanish occupation around 1538 and gives the widest view down the bay.

The town is known for its botanical gardens, planted in the 19th century by sea captains who returned with seeds from the Indian Ocean and South America. The subtropical climate, with warmer winters than Kotor thanks to the bay-mouth position, supports palm, mimosa, agave and bougainvillea throughout the town. Mimosa blooms in February and is celebrated with the annual Mimosa Festival, the largest winter event in the country. The bay-side promenade runs roughly 5 km from Igalo in the west to Bijela in the east and is the easiest way to see the town from sea level.

Igalo and the spa coast

Igalo, 3 km west of Herceg Novi, is a separate spa town built around the natural mineral mud baths at the bay edge. The Igalo Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, established 1949, treats around 30,000 patients annually for rheumatic and orthopaedic conditions using the local peloid mud and seawater. For non-medical visitors, the long pebble beach is open to the public, with a 2 km waterside path running east toward Herceg Novi. Igalo is also the practical base for the very westernmost coastal towns and the run up to the Croatian border.

The cross-border drive to Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik city is about 40 km north of Herceg Novi across the Debeli Brijeg border crossing, a road journey of roughly an hour at quiet times, with Dubrovnik Airport some 10 km closer on the same road. The route is paved two-lane the whole way, and the border crossing typically adds 10 to 20 minutes for document checks, longer in peak season. A cross-border permit is required for the rental car and is arranged in advance with our booking. From central Herceg Novi the route runs through Igalo, climbs slightly to the border, then descends into Croatia past Cavtat into Dubrovnik. The drive opens day trips to the walled old town of Dubrovnik and the Konavle valley for travellers based in Herceg Novi.

Day trips into the inner bay

The Bay of Kotor loop is the natural day trip from a Herceg Novi base. The shortest route uses the Kamenari ferry, crossing to Lepetane and driving through Tivat to Kotor in around 30 minutes, then north to Perast and Risan, returning to Kamenari on the inner-bay road for the ferry back. The full loop covers around 80 km of road plus the 10-minute ferry each way, so allow a half day with stops. Lovćen and Cetinje add another half day if combined with the bay loop.

Insurance and cross-border cover

Every Herceg Novi rental includes third-party liability as standard, and you choose how much of the excess and deposit to buy down from four cover tiers at checkout. Because this is the closest base to Dubrovnik Airport, a lot of rentals here cross a border at some point, most often into Croatia and sometimes into Bosnia for the Trebinje or Mostar runs. Crossing into Croatia, Bosnia or Serbia is a paid authorisation added to your contract at booking and needs no Green Card, while trips taking in Albania, Kosovo or the wider EU move to a higher tier that does include one. Either way the permit is arranged in advance and cannot be added later, so flag any border plans before you collect.

Standard cover still leaves glass, wheels and underbody on the steep climbs above the old town down to you, so compare the four tiers and add the permit at booking if Croatia is on your route.

The stepped old town rewards a small hatchback you can thread and park, while the longer hauls to Dubrovnik or Trebinje sit better in a roomier saloon.

When does Herceg Novi make sense as your base?

Herceg Novi works best as the simplest possible start to a Montenegro road trip, about 30 km from Dubrovnik Airport with the whole bay opening east from your doorstep. It suits travellers crossing from Croatia or wanting a green, garden-filled base, and the spa beaches of Igalo adjoin it to the west, and Budva sits under an hour south once you round the bay.

Herceg Novi rental car: common questions

If you are crossing from Dubrovnik, the permit and paperwork matter more than anything else about a Herceg Novi rental. Add a town built in steep terraces and staircases to the picture and you have what travellers ask about most.