driving to Montenegro from Dubrovnik

Old May 15th, 2007, 10:57 AM
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driving to Montenegro from Dubrovnik

We're planning to do a day trip to Montenegro (Bay of Kotor) while in Dubrovnik in July. We have six people in total and are debating between hiring a private driver (280 euro) or driving there on our own. We'll be picking up a rental car at the end of our stay in Dubrovnik for our drive up the coast. Wonder if it will make more sense just to pick up our car one day earlier for 100 euro more to do the day trip to Montenegro ourselves. However, it seems that most people who have there on this forum went with a group. Has anyone driven there on your own before? Is it an easy drive? How about the border crossing?Any advice would be appreciated.

Winnie
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Old May 15th, 2007, 01:09 PM
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I haven't done this but will be visiting Kotor from Dubrovnik next week. I am not renting a car, instead I will stay in Kotor a few days.
I do know that you must make sure your rental contract allows you to drive to Montenegro.
I am a nervous driver, so I would not want to do that drive. If you don't feel that way, you should be fine. Check out the maps and directions at viamichelin.
I would worry more about missing the scenery by having to watch the road more than anything else, but I have heard drivers there can be aggressive.
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Old May 15th, 2007, 03:54 PM
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I was in Dubrovnik in September and took a day tour to the Bay of Kotor as I was apprehensive about driving on my own. The Bay & coast of Montenegro are stunning. I can't wait to go back. When I do, I will not hesitate renting & driving myself. There is nothing to be apprehensive about. Still, it's nice to have a knowlegeable guide. I learned a great deal about the history & area. Enjoy. The area is fabulous.
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Old May 17th, 2007, 08:45 AM
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Thanks for all the response. Looks like what we have to decide is if we want to do the long drive ourselves and if we want to pay someone for his/her local knowledge.
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Old May 17th, 2007, 09:42 AM
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I did a day trip out of Dubrovnik by rental car last fall. It's not all that far and it's pretty easy driving. At the border crossing, I had to pay 15 euro or so for some kind of federal highway insurance. I had taken all the coverage AutoEurope and Sixt provided, but they said this wasn't covered. It sounded like a scam, but of course, I paid. You might check with the rental car company about this. When I got back and called AutoEurope, they didn't seem to know anything about it--and of course never reimbursed me. Make sure you have some euros just in case.
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Old May 17th, 2007, 10:03 AM
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My friend and I were in Dubrovnik last September and rented a car for the day to drive to Montenegro and it worked out great and it ended up costing less then what the bus tours with Atlas Travel were charging.

The drive was easy and I think Jeff above must have been scammed because we did not have to pay anything at the border crossing.

At the Croatian check point they just waved us through both coming and going. At the Montenegro check point they checked our passports and our rental car agreement.

At first I didn't understand the officer wanted to see the rental car agreement (he didn't speak English and I didn't speak Montenegrian), but after a few minutes of hand gestering I figured out what he wanted to see. After he looked at the papers he stamped our passports, gave them back and we were on our way.

As I mentioned above, coming back at the end of the day was a breeze.

On another note...we drove around the Bay of Kotor (BEAUTIFUL!) and then to Budva and then to Sveti Stefan. On the way back from Sveti Stefan to Dubrovnik we took the ferry short-cut across the bay instead of driving around it and it took off probably about an hour.

Enjoy your trip!
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Old May 17th, 2007, 10:05 AM
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We drove from Dubrovnik and all around the Bay of Kotor, it was easy as could be, although the road was narrow at times at the bay and we had no problems.

The only reason I would hire the driver is to have someone to tell you about the area, which I think would be fun and interesting.

We did not do much Montenegro research before we went, so we did not know much of the background and we still thought it was fascinating.

We rented through Auto Europe (I cannot remember if we got EuropCar or Sixt)and we did tell them we would drive to Montenegro when we picked up the car - so they changed the keys they were handing to us to give us a more "low profile" vehicle. We declined all insurances as we were covered thru our credit card.

We had a few minute wait at the border on the way in, but there was no question of federal highway insurance there. Perhaps we had it and did not know it, or may Jeff was scammed. Curious.
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Old May 17th, 2007, 10:46 AM
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Great. I feel more encouraged to drive there now. For the return, do any of your remember how long does it take? I assume it does make a very long day tough, right? Thanks again.

Winnie
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Old May 17th, 2007, 01:14 PM
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We just returned from our trip to Croatia and did a day trip via a rental car from Dubrovnik. It was a very easy drive. We had to show our passports and car information going across the border. They did not charge any extra fees. We enjoyed our day and were very happy that we made this decision. We visited Kotor and hiked up the hill to St Ivans Fortress, and even put the car on the ferry for the return trip.
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Old May 19th, 2007, 04:10 PM
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We'll be driving from Dubrovnik to Kotor this September. Does anyone have a hotel recommendation? Would 2 nights be a good amount of time?
Thanks so much!
Lisa
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Old May 21st, 2007, 11:09 AM
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Taking the car back to Dubrovnik from Bay of Kotor on a ferry - do you remember what did it cost?
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Old May 21st, 2007, 01:20 PM
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I think 2 days is adequate. Here is my photo gallery---the Bay of Kotor was my favorite.
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3882
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Old May 21st, 2007, 01:24 PM
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kenav, I think the ferry the previous poster was referring to was the one across the Bay of Kotor. There is no Dubrovnik-Kotor ferry that I know of.

2 nights would be a decent amount of time to visit Kotor and surrounding towns on the bay.
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Old May 21st, 2007, 02:01 PM
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ttt
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Old May 21st, 2007, 02:49 PM
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It's the Lepetani-Kamenari car ferry just north of the town of Tivat It just takes a few minutes and pretty inexpensive-say a couple euro.
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Old May 21st, 2007, 03:04 PM
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This may explain the "insurance" I paid at the border:

"If you are coming to Montenegro by car you are obligated to pay short term insurance for your vehicle at the border crossing. However, if your country has a special agreement with Montenegro (Green Card), you are not obligated to pay for insurance. The Green Card can be easily obtained at border crossings."
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Old May 22nd, 2007, 06:35 PM
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I just got back from Croatia last week. DO NOT DRIVE FROM DUBROVNIK TO SPLIT!!!!! The ONLY road is under construction and it took us almost 9 hours!! It is currently only a one lane road, so only one way goes at a time. There are ferries, so if you can plan the trip around the ferry schedule, DO IT!! I will never again complain about traffic in NYC after what we experienced in Croatia. The ferry company is Jadroljina (check the spelling).
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Old May 23rd, 2007, 02:27 AM
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We just returned from driving through the Balkans (16 days, including Albania). The drive from DBV to Kotor isn't bad, but road signs in Montenegro aren't great. There was road construction, but you'll get that whether you drive yourselves or hire a car. The border crossing went fine, but we had to get an insurance certificate for our car by actually walking to a house at the border and filling out paperwork. I don't know if that was just us, or if everyone has to do it. We went with the idea that this was going to be an adventure and that helped with the little "hiccups" in eastern Europe that you don't tend to encounter in western Europe. It's a pretty drive and Kotor is in a beautiful spot. Enjoy!
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Old Jun 7th, 2007, 08:01 AM
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I want to retract my initial reply--the drive between Dubrovnik and Kotor isn't bad at all. I had assumed you traveled down the moutnain to get into the bay but in fact you drive around the bay on a relatively flat road.
The other drivers were not overly aggressive--but be deliberate when passing. The bay road is windy and you'll see lots of workers near the road.
You will wish you had more than one day. I suggest stopping in Herceg Novi to see the old town, then in Risan and Perast on your way to Kotor. There is parking just outside the old town. The views around the bay are stunning.

I would be a little apprehensive about driving to Budva because you do drive on mountains then, but not a big concern, mostly the bay is just so much nicer.

It will be at least 2 hours, just time your stops to break it all up. Maybe you can stop in Konalve (Croatia) for a nice dinner.
Enjoy!
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Old Jun 7th, 2007, 12:15 PM
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Posting for 2 reasons...

1... bookmarking this thread to save advice already posted

2... to ask you to post back on your return to let those of us planning to do this same trip later in the year - OK, that's me - how you find it.

Thanks in advance!
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