I originally wrote an article for travelers about public transport in Montenegro. But you can easily understand by the title of the article what types of public transport there are in this country. Railways and buses in Montenegro are all types of transport for tourists. Below I will tell you everything you need to know and what to expect.
Table of contents:
- Public transport in Montenegro: general points
- Railway trains in Montenegro
- All about buses in Montenegro
- Travel Tips
It will be difficult for you to plan your dream trip to Montenegro without these websites
Public transport in Montenegro: general points
Briefly about public transport:
- Public transport in Montenegro is represented by only two railway lines and a large bus network.
- There are two types of buses: intercity and suburban, which are more like minibuses.
- It’s impossible to say that public transport is expensive, but it’s also impossible to say that it’s free.
- The railroad is operated by a state-owned company. But there are dozens of bus carriers in the country. There can be 3-4 private carriers on the same route.
Important:
A relatively good bus network is only along the coast between the cities: Herceg Novi, Perast, Budva, Tivat, Petrovac, Bar, Ulcinj. There are many routes, buses run frequently. But there are few buses in other directions, they do not run often, and you need to make several transfers.
It is often said that you can travel around Montenegro by bus. Yes, you can, but it’s inconvenient. Most of the tourist attractions from the list of TOP 25 places in Montenegro cannot be reached without a car.
The car increases your mobility dozens of times. You can visit much more in 1 day by car than in 3 days by bus. Car rental in Montenegro is affordable, with cheap deposits, and the traffic on the roads is comfortable. Everything about car rental in Montenegro and pitfalls.
- The only reason you can refuse to rent a car is if you do not have a driver’s license. Everything else is excuses. Well, traveling by car is cheaper than traveling by bus. But I will talk about prices below.
Trains in Montenegro:
There are only two railway lines in the country. From Niksic via Podgorica to the border with Albania and from Bar via Podgorica to Bijelo Polje to the border with Serbia.
Here’s what you need to know about railway trains in Montenegro:
- All trains and electric trains are very old, they are 50 years old.
- There is no railroad along the coast
- Official website of the Montenegrin railway: www.zcg-prevoz.me
- Tickets cannot be bought online, only at the ticket office of the railway station.
- Page with train fares: www.zcg-prevoz.me/cijene-lokalni.html
- Trains run with large deviations on schedule. Being 20 minutes late is no surprise.
- Destinations that may be of interest to tourists:
- Bar in Podgorica. 6 trains per day. The ticket costs about 3 euros. Travel time is just over an hour. The train travels slowly, stopping at every station.
- Podgorica to Belgrade via Bielo Pole. Very beautiful route in the mountains. Read more about how to get from Serbia to Montenegro with prices and timetables here.
- Podgorica to Tirana (Albania). And here is the link in detail about how to get from Montenegro to Albania.
The line to Niksic is not interesting for tourists, as it is an industrial city and there is nothing to do there. By the way, there are no ticket offices at some stations, then you can buy a ticket on the train from the conductor.
If we summarize everything about the Montenegrin railway, then the level of its development, the age of the trains, punctuality – everything is stuck somewhere in the 70s of the last century. Below in the photo is the railway station near the country’s main international airport in Podgorica. From this station you can easily go both to Podgorica and to Bar on the sea.
- Everything about the international airports of Montenegro: how to get there, transfer, duty free and much more
All about buses in Montenegro
You also understood about buses in Montenegro. The bus network is well developed along the coast and between the cities of the Bay of Kotor. In the mountainous part of the country, there are few routes, you need to do a lot of transfers.
Therefore, traveling by bus is generally not bad for short distances. Almost all buses have air conditioning, buses run quickly if they are not in traffic jams and on schedule.
- For example, Budva – Kotor is one of the routes popular with tourists, more than 40 buses a day. Almost every 15 minutes.
Below are some interesting facts about buses in Montenegro:
- In the country, all carriers are private
- Several carriers can operate on the same route.
- Everyone has their own pricing too. For example, a bus ticket to Budva at 15:00 costs 3 euros, and at 15:15 it can cost 3.5 euros.
- If you bought a one-way ticket from one carrier for 5 euros, this does not mean that a return ticket from the same carrier will also cost 5 euros.
- If you buy a ticket at the bus station, then the bus station fee from 0.5 to 2 euros is added to the ticket price. The fee depends on the direction, season and so on.
- If you buy a ticket from the driver when boarding, then there is no fee.
Interesting to know:
If you get on the bus at the central bus station of your city, then you will not be able to buy a ticket from the driver. There are turnstiles and you can’t get on the platform without a ticket. But this is easy to do at stops along the route.
- All regional suburban buses running along the coast stop at all stops.
- But intercity buses, for example Podgorica – Zabljak, which goes through the whole country, does not stop anywhere, except for the bus stations of the cities that are on the route.
Prices, bus routes in Montenegro
It makes no sense to write routes and prices specifically, since this is a very dynamic market. Information changes monthly, new carriers come and go, routes and prices change. Below I will give two very useful sites where you can see up-to-date information on bus routes and ticket prices in Montenegro.
- https://busticket4.me/EN/ -is a global aggregator of bus carriers throughout the Balkans.
- http://blueline-mne.com/ – and this is a very large carrier in the Bay of Kotor. He goes often to all the cities of the bay.
And now briefly about the prices. The price of an economy class car rental in the high season is about 35 euros per day + gasoline. In the low season, prices start from 15 euros per day.
A little math:
A bus ticket from Kotor to Budva (there is only 30 km) costs 3-4 euros. Plus 1 euro for the purchase at the bus station. Total for two 10 euros one way and 10 the other way only for the bus. And if you want to go to Becici on the same day, which are 5 km from Budva, this is another 2 euros per ticket per person in each direction. In total, for such trips along the coast, it is easy to spend 30 euros a day for two for bus travel.
Below are the average prices for popular tourist routes for buses per person one way:
- Herceg Novi – Kotor = 3.5 euros
- Kotor – Budva = 4 euros
- Tivat – Kotor = 3.5 euros
- Budva – Bar = 5 euro
- Bar – Ulcinj = 3 euros
- Bus route across the entire coast of Montenegro from Herceg Novi to Ulcinj = 12 euros (3.5 hours on the way). By car you will pass this route in 2 hours.
Travel Tips
If you are not going far into the mountains, and you do not plan to travel along the coast, and you only need the beach and the sea. Then 2-3 trips to neighboring cities for a walk can be done by bus. And it is convenient to travel to the capital by train from Bar.
Public transport in Montenegro will be inconvenient for those who want to see more and do not like to stay in one place. It will be both expensive and difficult for such travelers to organize the entire trip.
If you do not have a driver’s license, but there is a desire to travel around the country, then do not forget about ready-made excursions. The choice is large, the prices are moderate, and most importantly, you are taken everywhere by bus, where there are no regular routes. Bus tours are not for everyone, but if there are no other options, then why not.
In conclusion: trains and buses in Montenegro are all public transport in the country. Nothing else is available to tourists. The bus network along the entire coast is well developed. In any case, even if it is not possible to rent a car, you will get to almost anywhere in the country by bus or train with transfers. The main thing is to plan the route in advance.
Resources to help you plan your dream trip to Montenegro
- Aviasales – Cheap Flights and best deals.
- Car rental in Montenegro:
- DiscoverCars – a large international platform.
- LocalRent – works with local rental companies. Leader in car rental in Montenegro.
- Hotels and apartments all over the country:
- Tours, excursions and activities (including extreme ones):
- GetYourGuide – more than 430 tours
- Viator – 780+ excursions and activities throughout the country
- Comprehensive travel insurance: EKTA
- Internet and Calls:
- Airalo eSIM in Montenegro
- Drimsim – universal sim card for frequent traveler
- Taxi and airport transfers: Intui.Travel