Kotor's Old Town is car-free, and the car park by its Sea Gate, Riva, charged €4.80 an hour in summer 2025. Benovo, run by the same municipal company, charged €1.90. Three summer hours cost €14.40 at Riva and €5.70 at Benovo.
I'd skip the Riva queue and go straight to Benovo, with cash in my pocket. On a day with several cruise ships in the bay, I'd arrive before the buses do or not drive in at all.
Parking in Kotor: Riva at €4.80, Benovo at €1.90, and one road in
1. Sort the papers before the border
Montenegro isn't in the EU, but it's inside the Green Card bloc's Multilateral Agreement: an EU decision of 2021 lists its insurance bureau. A Bar car-service summary says German, French and Croatian plates count as proof of insurance. Drivers from countries like Albania or Turkey need a paper Green Card or border insurance, from €15 for 15 days.
2. Don't look for an eco-tax sticker
Montenegro used to charge foreign cars an eco tax at the border, €10 for a car. Two guides say it was abolished on 1 January 2012; I found no official page saying it's back. I found no vignette either: one guide lists only the Sozina tunnel and the ferry as road charges.
3. Get the hire company's yes in writing
If you're bringing a hire car from Croatia, the cross-border rules are the rental company's, not the state's. I'd ask for written permission and the insurance papers at the desk; the fee varies and I can't quote one.
4. Choose Benovo over Riva
The utility company Komunalno Kotor announced the prices in August 2025. Riva, right by the Old Town, was €4.80 an hour in summer, €2.40 in winter. Benovo was €1.90 in summer, €1.10 in winter. A blogger counted 96 spaces at Riva and 155 at Benovo. Neither has a published day cap, so eight summer hours at Benovo are €15.20 and at Riva €38.40.
5. Carry cash and pay at the barrier
Two guides say you pay per started hour at the booth on the way out, and that cash is expected. Kotor has no underground car park. White bays are paid, yellow ones aren't for you.
Older guides still quote €0.80 an hour for Kotor. The municipal company's 2025 list wins; the season dates for the summer price aren't published.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Riva (Komunalno Kotor)On the waterfront by the Sea Gate, right outside the Old Town; 96 spaces according to a 2025 blog. Hours not published | 2025 prices announced by Komunalno Kotor: €4.80 an hour in summer, €2.40 in winter. Kotor residents get 50% off the first hour. No day cap or season dates published. Height not published. | Not published. |
| Benovo (Komunalno Kotor)Municipal car park; 155 spaces according to a 2025 blog. Hours not published | 2025 prices announced by Komunalno Kotor: €1.90 an hour in summer, €1.10 in winter. First 15 minutes free 07:00–08:00 on weekdays. No day cap published. Height not published. | Not published. |
| Kamelija shopping centre (private)Shopping Centre Kamelija, just outside the Old Town walls; 120 spaces according to a 2025 blog. Hours not published | Two guides: €2 an hour, free with a receipt of €5 or more shown at the exit. One guide gives €2.50 in the tourist season, another €30 a day. The operator publishes nothing I could find. | Not published. |
| Autoboka (municipal, coaches)Next to the hospital; about 200 spaces, also for coaches, according to a 2025 blog. Parking Puk next door takes about 20 coaches | Car price not published. One guide gives €10 an hour or €60 a day for a coach. | Not published. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Benovo (Komunalno Kotor) | €3.80 | Summer rate; €1.10 in winter |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Kamelija shopping centre (private) | €4 | Guides' figure; free with a €5 receipt |
| A full day (10 h) | Benovo (Komunalno Kotor) | €19 | Summer rate; €1.10 in winter |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Kamelija shopping centre (private) | €20 | Guides' figure; free with a €5 receipt |
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Towed in Kotor: Kotor publishes no tow price, so don't test it
1. Assume the "pauk" is out
Both guides I read say a car outside a marked bay risks a fine or the tow truck, called pauk (spider) locally. Kotor doesn't publish who tows, where the pound is or what it costs.
2. Budget €15 to €150 for a fine
Two guides give Montenegro's parking fines as €15 to €150, depending on the offence and the town. Tow and storage come on top, amounts unpublished.
3. Pay at the post office
If the ticket states an amount, you pay it at a post office. If it doesn't, you collect it from the police station in that town first. A hire company can do it for you, plus its own fees.
Kotor publishes no towing line. If the car has gone, ring the police on 122 (112 for any emergency), according to the Australian government's travel advice.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- Not published. Guides say a car outside a marked bay risks a fine or the tow truck ("pauk"); Kotor publishes no operator, pound or fee
- Phone
- Police (Montenegro), to ask whether the car was towed; Kotor publishes no towing line: 122
All emergencies: 112 - Collect it at
- No car pound address is published. If the car has gone, ask at the car park booth or the police station, and ring your hire company.
- Hours
- Not published.
- What it costs
- Not published for Kotor. Two guides give Montenegro's parking fines as €15 to €150, depending on the offence and the town, with tow and storage on top. Pay at a post office; if the ticket has no amount, collect it from the police station first.
- Bring
- Nothing is listed for visitors. I would bring my driving licence, passport, registration document and, for a hire car, the rental agreement, plus cash.
EV charging in Kotor: Kotor's chargers are unpublished, so arrive full
1. Charge before the bay
Neither the municipality nor Komunalno Kotor publishes a charger list or a tariff for its car parks. I'd charge in Croatia or at the hotel before the last stretch.
2. Ask the hotel before you book
None of the guides I read names a public charger in Kotor. If you need one overnight, get the hotel to confirm it in writing.
I wouldn't plan a Kotor day around a public plug I can't find on paper.
Where to charge
- No published public chargers — Neither the municipality nor Komunalno Kotor publishes a charger list or tariff for its car parks. Arrive charged, or get the hotel to confirm a charger in writing before you book
Free parking in Kotor: A shopping receipt, a quarter-hour and a €5 ferry
1. Shop €5 at Kamelija
Shopping Centre Kamelija is private. Two guides put it at €2 an hour and say it's free if you show a receipt of €5 or more at the exit. Neither gives a time limit, so I'd treat it as a short-stop trick.
2. Use Benovo's free 15 minutes
Komunalno Kotor gives the first 15 minutes free between 07:00 and 08:00 on weekdays at Benovo. It's for a quick drop-off, not a visit.
3. Don't expect park and ride
I found no official park and ride for Kotor. Autoboka, by the hospital, is mainly for coaches; a guide gives €10 an hour for a coach and no car price.
4. Take the Kamenari ferry from Croatia
From Herceg Novi, the Kamenari–Lepetane crossing saves the drive round the inner bay. A car is €5 each way, according to May 2026 reporting. Summer sailings ran every 15 to 20 minutes, day and night, until 14 October.
5. Don't count on hotel parking
I couldn't confirm a Kotor hotel whose own site says parking is free. Ask before you book.
Every price on this page was checked on 2 November 2026.
Free or nearly-free spots
Kamelija with a €5 receipt
Two guides say the shopping centre's car park is free if you show a receipt of €5 or more at the exit. Neither gives a time limit.
Benovo's free quarter-hour
Komunalno Kotor gives the first 15 minutes free between 07:00 and 08:00 on weekdays. Enough for a drop-off.
Free motorbike bay by the Sea Gate
Two guides mention free motorbike parking by the Sea Gate; one says it fills quickly from June to September. Not for cars.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Montenegro is outside the EU but inside the Green Card Multilateral Agreement (EU decision 2021/1145), so EU and UK plates count as proof of insurance. Drivers from countries such as Albania, North Macedonia or Turkey need a paper Green Card or border insurance, from €15 for 15 days.
- The old border eco tax (€10 for a car) was abolished on 1 January 2012, according to two guides. I found no official notice reintroducing it, and no vignette.
- A hire car from Croatia needs the rental company's written permission to cross; the fee is the company's and is not published here.
- Cruise days: in 2023 up to five large ships called on one day and a June day brought nearly 11,000 passengers, with one main road along the bay. I found no published 2026–27 schedule.
- Older guides quote €0.80 an hour for Kotor. Komunalno Kotor's 2025 prices (€4.80 Riva, €1.90 Benovo, summer) are newer; the season dates are not published.
- Two guides say payment is per started hour at the exit booth and that cash is expected. Kotor has no underground car park.
Take these places with you
Every place on this page as a file you can keep — car parks with their prices, the free and park-and-ride spots, the chargers and the pound.