Driving to Dubrovnik From Montenegro

Herceg Novi to Dubrovnik is about 50 kilometres — an hour’s drive plus the border; from Budva it is two and a half hours. The road runs along the sea, there is one border, and formally nothing about it is complicated. The complications are the car paperwork and parking at the other end.

The one thing to sort out in advance is the rental company’s written permission to take the car abroad, together with a Green Card: without them the trip ends at the border. Here it is step by step.

The Green Card: you will not be let out without it

A car hired in Montenegro cannot cross the border without a Green Card — the international insurance certificate — and without the rental company’s written permission to leave the country.

• The rental company arranges it, in advance, at booking or at handover.
• Most companies charge €25–50 per rental.
• You cannot buy one en route or at the border.
• Without it you are turned back, and your cover would not apply in Croatia anyway.
• Crossing without the company’s permission means a €300–500 fine and the loss of your insurance cover.

This is one of the most common reasons the trip falls apart. Tell the company you plan to cross when you book — details in insurance and deposit.

Documents

• Passport, plus a Schengen visa if your nationality needs one: Croatia is in the Schengen area
• Driving licence, plus an International Driving Permit if yours is not in Latin script
• Car documents, the Green Card and the rental company’s written permission to cross
• Travel insurance

Driving back from Dubrovnik counts as a new entry into Montenegro. British, EU and US passport holders need no visa for it. Citizens of Russia, Belarus, Turkey, China and Saudi Arabia will need one from 1 November 2026; as a general rule a valid Schengen visa also gets you in, for up to 30 days and no longer than the visa itself runs — check before you travel. Details in Montenegro entry requirements.

The border

The main crossing is Debeli Brijeg, between Herceg Novi and Croatia, 9 kilometres and 15 minutes from Herceg Novi.

In summer the queue runs from half an hour to two or three hours, longer at weekends. You pass two checks back to back: Montenegrin exit and Croatian entry.

Since 10 April 2026 the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) has been fully in force at the Croatian border. It applies to British, American and other non-EU travellers: on your first entry into the EU under the system you are photographed and four fingerprints are taken, and passports are no longer stamped. Children under 12 are not fingerprinted. The first crossing takes longer than usual, so allow time for it. EU citizens are not affected.

To shorten the wait: go early, before eight, or after seven in the evening. The middle of the day is when the excursion coaches are there.

Leave the pršut and cheese behind. Crossing into Croatia means entering the EU, and meat and dairy products from Montenegro are confiscated at the border even if they are vacuum-packed. Buy them after the trip, not before; more in what to bring home from Montenegro.

Dubrovnik: parking is the problem

You cannot drive into the old town: it is entirely pedestrian and walled.

Car parks around it are paid and expensive by local standards — €10–20 an hour in summer right by the walls, cheaper further out with a bus into the centre. In summer the close ones fill early.

The sensible move is a park-and-ride and a couple of euros for the bus.

What to see

The city walls — two kilometres around the perimeter, €40 to enter from 1 March to 30 November and €20 in winter, which makes them the single biggest line of the day. The views from them are the reason people come.

Stradun — the main street, polished marble, cafés, and the Franciscan monastery with one of Europe’s oldest pharmacies (1317).

The cable car up Mount Srđ — €30 return, for the panorama over the city and the islands. It is closed from December to March.

A full day covers everything without rushing.

What a day costs

For two people, from Budva:

• Fuel both ways: €30–40
• Green Card: €25–50
• Parking: €20–40, if you do not park right by the walls
• The walls: €80
• Lunch: €40–60

That is €195–270 plus the hire itself. A coach excursion usually works out cheaper for two and dearer for four.

If you would rather skip the border admin

Group excursions to Dubrovnik run from the coast: the coach collects you at your hotel and the operator takes care of the vehicle paperwork, leaving you only your passport and a visa if you need one. The price depends on where you set off: from €43 per person from Herceg Novi, from €53 from Budva and Tivat, from €63 from Kotor and from €68 from Bar. The trip runs in season and is not held from October to May, and the company behind it works only with Russian-speaking guides. Formats and prices are under things to do.

There is also a scheduled bus from Herceg Novi to Dubrovnik: six a day, with tickets at €24–30 and a journey of 1–2 hours; the timetable is on busticket4.me.

Note that the documents remain yours either way, and Croatian entry rules depend on your nationality — check them beforehand.

If you are driving

Take the insurance seriously for this one: another country, other rules, and the excess is still yours. Options are on the car rental page and contract details in rental car pitfalls.

The closest base to the border is Herceg Novi, an hour from Dubrovnik: Herceg Novi.

Prices checked in September 2026. Check Croatian visa rules for your nationality.