Collection is at the airport, with the exact meeting point confirmed by your supplier. Most cars confirm instantly, and on-request cars are answered by email within a few minutes.
Collect on arrival, drive straight to the coast
Pick up a rental car at Tivat Airport when you land and drive straight to the coast: Kotor is about 15 minutes away, Budva about 40 in summer traffic, and Herceg Novi around 1 hour 15 minutes round the bay. The fleet runs from small hatchbacks such as the Yaris and Polo up to family SUVs, and the rate is fixed when you book.
Popular rental cars at Tivat Airport
Picking up your rental car at Tivat Airport
Tivat Airport (TIV) is Montenegro's coastal airport and the natural place to start a trip around the Bay of Kotor or the Budva Riviera. The terminal sits just outside Tivat town, and the road from the car park joins the main coast road almost straight away, so there is no need to go into town first. If you plan to rent a car in Kotor, Tivat is the closer airport: the old town is only 7 km away, about 15 minutes by car. For Budva, head south along the coast and allow around 40 minutes in summer. Most flights arrive between May and September, with a much thinner schedule for the rest of the year.
Where you meet the supplier depends on who you book with, and the exact meeting point is confirmed with your booking. The handover takes about ten minutes: a walk round the car to note its condition, the contract, and the keys. Leaving the airport, turn north for Kotor and the inner bay, or south for Budva and the Riviera.
Without a car, reaching your coastal town means a transfer or a taxi, and buses between the coastal towns are limited. With a car, the Bay of Kotor loop, the Lovćen mountain road and the coast south to Petrovac all become easy day trips. The country is small enough that a single rental from Tivat covers a typical week, from Herceg Novi near the Croatian border to Bar on the southern coast.
The airport itself
Tivat is a small, single-terminal airport on the flat shoreline of the Tivat bay, with the Vrmac ridge rising behind it. Arrivals, baggage reclaim, customs and the car park are all a short walk apart, so the time from landing to driving away is short. Inside there is a café, a business lounge and a small duty-free shop airside, and the taxi rank and short-stay car park are right outside the doors. It is busiest in July and August, when seasonal flights from across Europe arrive through the day.
Seasonal flights dominate from May to September, and the year-round schedule is thin, with Air Serbia to Belgrade the main winter route. Outside the summer, Podgorica Airport (TGD) is often the better way in, with more year-round flights at the cost of a longer drive to the coast. If your dates suit those routes, compare car rental at Podgorica Airport before you book. For a coast-only trip in summer, Tivat is almost always the quicker choice.
Weighing your options? See which airport is best for Montenegro, with Tivat, Podgorica, and Dubrovnik compared side by side.
What airlines fly to Tivat Airport?
In summer the UK is the biggest market: British Airways flies from Heathrow, easyJet from Gatwick, Luton, Bristol and Manchester, and Jet2 from Birmingham, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Stansted. From Germany there are Lufthansa flights from Frankfurt and Munich and Eurowings from Berlin, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart, and LOT flies from Warsaw. Scandinavia is served by SAS and Norwegian from Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, with further seasonal routes from Paris, Vienna, Zurich, Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid, Barcelona, Istanbul and Tel Aviv. Most run from late April to October, and July and August flights fill early.
Out of season the choice narrows to a handful of routes, led by Air Serbia and Air Montenegro to Belgrade, so check the schedule for your dates before you book anything else. Airline schedules change from year to year, so confirm your route with the airline.
| Tivat | Podgorica | |
|---|---|---|
| Closest to coast | Yes, 7 km from Kotor | No, inland near Podgorica |
| Drive to Kotor | 15 min | 1 h 30 min |
| Drive to Budva | 40 min | 1 h |
| Drive to Podgorica | 1 h 45 min | 15 min |
| Flight schedule | Charter-heavy, May to Sep | Year-round, broader EU coverage |
| Best for | Coast and bay trips | Inland and mountain trips |
How pickup and booking work at Tivat Airport
The handover works the same way whichever supplier you book. A representative meets you, takes you to the car and checks its condition with you, then you sign the contract and drive away. On the lower insurance tiers the supplier holds a refundable deposit, typically around €100; the Full Coverage Plus tier removes the deposit for an extra daily cost set per car.
Most cars confirm instantly. Cars marked on request are checked automatically, and you hear back by email within a few minutes. Pricing is transparent with no hidden fees: the rental price includes third-party liability, the safety equipment kit and VAT, and the total at checkout already includes the insurance tier and any border permit you choose. If the supplier cannot provide the car you booked, for example after a breakdown, they must give you one of the same or a higher class on the same terms and at the same price. You pay an advance of 15 to 20% when you book and the rest to the rental agent at pickup. Cars with free cancellation refund the advance in full if you cancel more than 24 hours before pickup, and many cars need no credit card, which you can filter for when you search.
Every step, from search to handover, is set out in our booking guide.
Live prices for Tivat Airport collection.
Free cancellation 24h before pickup
What insurance comes with a Tivat Airport car rental?
Every rental from Tivat Airport includes the free Minimum tier, which is third-party liability cover. Three paid upgrades are priced per car: Basic adds limited collision cover, Full Coverage adds limited driver liability so a payout after an accident goes further, and Full Coverage Plus, the top tier, gives full damage cover with no deposit.
On the lower tiers a refundable deposit of around €100 is held when you collect. The daily price of each upgrade depends on the car and your dates and is shown on each listing, together with exactly what each tier includes, so you can compare them before you book.
Tivat Airport collection feeds straight into the coastal road, so a compact handles Kotor and Budva comfortably. For onward trips to the mountains, a compact SUV gives more confidence on the inland legs.
Automatic or manual?
If you are used to driving an automatic, you do not need to worry about finding one at Tivat Airport. More than four out of five cars listed in Montenegro are automatics, and you can filter for them when you search. Manual cars are still available and are often among the cheapest options.
An automatic makes the most sense on the roads you are likely to drive from the airport: the stop-start traffic through Kotor and Budva in summer, the hairpin bends of the Lovćen road above the bay, and the narrow lanes out on the Luštica peninsula, where you spend a lot of time in first and second gear.
Drivers, extras and mileage
Age limits are set per car rather than across the board. A typical car takes drivers aged 21 to 70, while some accept drivers from 18 with at least a year of experience, and you can enter your age and driving experience in the search filters to see only the cars that fit. A second driver can be added to the rental agreement, as long as they meet the same age and experience terms and bring their own licence and passport.
Child seats, from baby seats upwards, are available as paid extras and are chosen on the car you book. Most cars come with unlimited mileage, which matters here: a week from Tivat can easily take in the bay loop, the Riviera, Lovćen and a day in the mountains. If mileage is limited on a particular car, the listing says so before you book.
Where you can drive your rental car from the terminal
Every major coastal destination is within about an hour of the airport. Kotor is 7 km away, about 15 minutes. Budva is 20 km south along the coast road, about 40 minutes with summer traffic, and Sveti Stefan is around 10 minutes further on. Herceg Novi is about 50 km round the bay through Kotor and Risan, around 1 hour 15 minutes.
For a longer first-day drive, Podgorica is about 1 hour 45 minutes away. Heading north, Žabljak is 3 to 4 hours through the Morača canyon, and more comfortable with a break in Kolasin. Bar on the southern coast is about 1 hour 20 minutes, following the coast road through Budva and Petrovac.
Common routes from Tivat Airport
Bay of Kotor loop (full day)
A full drive around the Bay of Kotor starting from the airport: north through Prčanj and Dobrota to Kotor old town, then continuing to Perast and Risan along the inner shore. Return the same way along the shore, or through the Vrmac tunnel from Kotor for the quickest run back to the airport.
Budva Riviera (half day)
South along the coast road to Budva (about 40 minutes in summer), then on to Sveti Stefan and Petrovac. Around 60 km round trip, half a day with stops.
Lovćen and Cetinje (full day)
Drive up Mount Lovćen to the Njegoš mausoleum at Jezerski Vrh (1660 m), then descend to Cetinje, the old royal capital. Around 100 km round trip with mountain switchbacks, 6 hours including stops.
Žabljak and Tara canyon (overnight)
Long drive north through the Morača canyon, 3 to 4 hours, more comfortable with a stop in Kolašin. Best as a two-day trip with a night in Žabljak to see Durmitor National Park and the Tara River canyon.
Get your maps ready before you land
It takes only a few minutes to get from the plane to the car at Tivat, so set up your navigation before you fly. Download the offline map of Montenegro in Google Maps, because mobile signal is patchy on the Luštica peninsula and on the mountain roads inland. Montenegro is outside the EU, so check your roaming charges with your network before you travel.
Can I drive across the border from Tivat Airport?
From Tivat Airport you can drive into Croatia through the Debeli Brijeg crossing north of Herceg Novi, and on into Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia. Each country needs a paid permit chosen when you book, and there are three permit levels covering different sets of countries.
The Tier 1 neighbouring-countries permit clears Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia, and needs no Green Card; it covers most trips from Tivat. Tier 2 extends the reach to Albania and Kosovo and bundles the Green Card in. Tier 3 is the widest, adding Macedonia, the full EU and Switzerland on top of the Tier 2 countries, again with the Green Card supplied.
Choose the permit at checkout, because a country usually cannot be added once you have the keys. The supplier readies the documents before handover at Tivat Airport, so they are in the glovebox for any border officer who asks. One local quirk: the Debeli Brijeg crossing into Croatia can queue 30 to 60 minutes or more on peak-season Saturday mornings, so time your run accordingly.
Tivat town and Porto Montenegro
Tivat town is a few minutes from the airport on the bay shore, built around Porto Montenegro, a former naval base that is now a yacht marina with a waterfront promenade of bars and restaurants. It is a quieter base than Kotor or Budva, and the closest to the airport. From Tivat town, the whole bay and the Luštica peninsula are within an easy day's drive.
The Luštica Peninsula south of the airport
South of the airport, the Luštica peninsula runs out into the open Adriatic, with small villages along its bay-side shore such as Krasici, Radovici, and Rose at its tip. No public transport runs the length of the peninsula, so a car is the practical way to explore its beaches and villages.
Returning your car at Tivat Airport
Returning is the pickup in reverse. Drive back to the airport and meet the supplier at the point given in your booking, where the car is checked over with you and any deposit held on the lower insurance tiers is released. Leave plenty of time for the drive back, because the coast road from Budva is at its slowest on summer afternoons.
Collect at the airport, or start from another base
A car from Tivat Airport puts the central coast within easy reach: Kotor and the bay loop, Budva and the Riviera as far as Petrovac, the Lovćen and Cetinje circuit, and Herceg Novi round the bay. If you would rather collect later, you can also pick up in Kotor or Budva, and one rental covers a week or two of coastal driving without changing supplier as you move between towns. Most travellers book before they fly, and same-day pickup is possible when cars are available.
Tivat Airport car rental: frequently asked questions
Common questions from travellers collecting a car at Tivat Airport: pickup, insurance, deposits and driving around the Bay of Kotor. If your question is not here, get in touch through the contact page.
Where do I meet the rental supplier at Tivat Airport?
The exact meeting point depends on the supplier you book, and it is confirmed in your booking. Most meet you in or just outside the arrivals hall and walk you to the car in the car park next to the terminal, so there is no shuttle bus to catch.
What if my flight is delayed or lands late at night?
Add your flight number when you book, so the supplier knows when to expect you. If your flight is delayed, contact the supplier using the details in your booking confirmation as soon as you know. Late-evening arrivals are common in summer, but check that your pickup time matches your landing time before you fly.
Do I need a credit card to rent a car?
Not always. Many cars can be rented without a credit card, and you can filter for them when you search. Where a car does need one for the deposit, it must be a physical card in the main driver's name.
How far are Kotor and Budva from the airport?
Kotor is about 7 km away, around 15 minutes through the Vrmac tunnel. Budva is about 20 km south along the coast road, around 40 minutes with summer traffic and less outside the season.
Can I drive the car to Dubrovnik?
Yes, as long as you add a cross-border permit that covers Croatia when you book. The permit for Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia needs no Green Card. Allow extra time at the Debeli Brijeg border, where queues can run to an hour on summer Saturdays.
How early should I return the car before my flight home?
Allow around 15 minutes for the return itself, when the car is checked over with you, on top of the time you need for check-in. Leave extra time on the drive back in summer, because the coast road from Budva is slowest on afternoons in July and August.
Can I pick up at Tivat Airport and drop the car somewhere else?
Yes. Many travellers fly into Tivat and home from a different airport. Common moves: return at Podgorica Airport when flying home from TGD, return at Kotor or Budva when the trip ends on the coast, or return at Bar before continuing south to Ulcinj. Cross-border drop-offs are not supported, so if you are flying out of Dubrovnik return the car at Tivat Airport or Herceg Novi and use a transfer across the border.
A quick handover at the terminal and you are straight on the road to Kotor or Budva.
No card to reserve most cars