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Car rental in Podgorica is the most logical entry point into Montenegro for anyone heading to the mountains, Lake Skadar or onwards into Albania. Podgorica Airport (TGD) lies 11 km from the city centre, and rates here are typically 10–20% lower than at Tivat — the tourist volume is lighter, so suppliers price accordingly.
A guest from Manchester picked up an Octavia at TGD at 11pm and reached Kolašin by half past midnight. The Tivat option would have added an extra 1.5 hours on the Sozina road in the dark.
The city itself is a working capital rather than a resort: wide boulevards, parks, an Orthodox cathedral and a calm rush hour. Most travellers use it as a convenient starting point for the rest of Montenegro, and it serves that purpose well.
Price, mountains, and the A1
Montenegro's mainland airport
TGD handles flights from major European hubs and Turkey. The drive to the city centre is 11 km and takes about 15 minutes, with no tolls or hairpin bends. Most suppliers meet you by flight number and hand over the car right at the airport.
Podgorica suppliers undercut Tivat for one simple reason: lower tourist volume, less seasonal pressure, and no August scarcity.
The best base for the mountains and Skadar
This is where the easy road north begins: through Kolašin and the Tara Canyon to Durmitor, Žabljak and the Đurđevića Tara Bridge (the highest road bridge in Europe at 166 m). Lake Skadar and the wine village of Godinje are about an hour away via Virpazar.
The new A1 motorway
Since 2022, the first stretch of the A1 has been open from Podgorica to Mateševo — roughly 40 km of tunnels and viaducts. The toll is €4.50 per car. It saves nearly an hour and avoids most of the hairpin descent towards Kolašin and Žabljak.
The speed limit on the A1 is 100 km/h and there are speed cameras. In winter, ice on the higher sections is a real risk — drive in daylight.
Skoda Fabia in Montenegro
Everything went perfectly ! Easy pick up and drop off. Good car.
Nissan Qashqai in Montenegro
Everything was ok 👌
Skoda Octavia Combi in Montenegro
Everything perfect and clearly , fast car transfer at the airport. All good like always, thanks
Citroen C3 in Montenegro
I’ve rented Citroen C3 but received Skoda Rapid. After all, It was good, communication was okay and I’m satisfied with your service :)
Fiat 500 in Montenegro
Everything was great! Punctual and reliable. Thank you!
Volkswagen Golf Variant in Montenegro
Thank you for your professionalism in providing car rental services! Everything was a pleasure!
Fiat 500 in Montenegro
it was great. I would like to come back next time
Skoda Octavia Combi in Montenegro
Everything went well. We got a car that's in the same range as Skoda Octavia, VW, and the car was fine. The person from whom we took the car explained everything clearly. The only thing was that the baby car seat was for older kids than we asked for, but never mind, we managed. All in all every recommendation.
Opel Astra Sports Tourer in Montenegro
The pickup from the airport car park was informal compared to going to an office or being picked up and driven to an office but was much easier and worked well. The staff were clear, easy to understand and helpful. The vehicle was a little old with a few scratches already on it but in many ways I prefer that to getting something brand new and spotless. As the slightest 2mm mark on the bumper of a brand new vehicle leads to a claim. Overall everything was fine.
Renault Clio 4 in Montenegro
I was happy, everything was done quickly and without any problems! Very satisfied Thank you ☺️
Citroen C4 Cactus in Montenegro
Rented this car in October 2022. The provided car was in good technical condition, no complaints. Salon Auto was clean, comfortable, without foreign odors. Built-in GPS-navigator justified the money spent. Ideal value for money. I would like to mention the landlord Nikola, who provided impeccable support 24/7. Registration of the necessary documents (including for traveling abroad), transfer and acceptance of the car took the minimum time. I recommend the car park of the lessor Nikola to everyone. Next time I will use only his car rental services.
Renault Megane in Montenegro
Good car to drive. Economical. Spacious. It is so easy to communicate with Goran: Send him a message and he replies shortly after. Return of the car was easier than ever: Just leave the key on the tire and have a good flight. Highest recommondation for the car and for Goran. He is a great guy and there are no problems with renting a car from him.
Chevrolet Camaro Cabrio in Montenegro
Everything is fine 👍 was pleased but gave a mustang. It will work too. But I was warned earlier that there will be a mustang.
How to reach Podgorica and pick up the car
Podgorica Airport (TGD) is Montenegro's mainland hub. The drive to the city centre is 11 km and takes around 15 minutes on a straight road with no tolls. Most suppliers offer a meet-and-greet by flight number right at the airport — straightforward pick-up with no need to head into town.
A family of four landed at TGD on a delayed Wizz Air flight at 1am. The supplier waited inside arrivals with the keys; they were in their Kolašin guesthouse by half past three.
In the city itself there are few permanent rental offices, but free delivery to central hotels is standard. On TakeCars the pick-up point and time are shown in the listing, so there are no last-minute WhatsApp calls or address changes to worry about.
Tivat is further away — about 90 km and 1.5 hours via the Sozina tunnel (€2.50). If your trip is mainly along the coast and around the Bay of Kotor, fly into Tivat instead. A good alternative is to pick up the car at TGD on arrival and drop it off on the coast as a one-way rental (supplement €30–60 depending on the supplier).
Rates in Podgorica vary throughout the year depending on the season and the rental length.
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How expensive is renting a car in Podgorica: average daily rates for a one-week car rental, across all car classes.
Why travellers choose TakeCars in Podgorica
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Immediate pick-up at TGD
The car meets you in arrivals by flight number; you skip the run to a town-centre office.
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No-deposit options visible in the listing
Selected cars in Podgorica carry zero excess on the body, so no card freeze.
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Reviews on the specific car
Feedback from guests who hired the very same Octavia or Yaris in Podgorica, not a generic supplier rating.
Parking, the A1 and rush hour
Parking in the centre
Podgorica uses colour-coded zones: red (centre) at around €1/h with a time limit; yellow and green are cheaper and have no strict cap. Pay at the meter by card or coins, or pick up a paper ticket from a duvan kiosk. Pay-by-SMS works only with a Montenegrin SIM (+382), so most visitors use the meter or the kiosk.
A couple parked on Bulevar Svetog Petra Cetinjskog at 11am, paid by card at the meter, and walked to lunch. Spaces were free even on a Saturday — this isn't Budva or Kotor.
A1 — the shortcut to the mountains
The Podgorica–Mateševo paid stretch (€4.50) cuts about an hour off the drive to Kolašin, Žabljak and Durmitor. In winter, keep your receipt and check the supplier has fitted winter tyres before you sign — the A1 is not the place to head out on summer tyres.
Rush hour
The city gets busy from 7:30–9am and 4:30–6pm, mainly on the approaches from Tuzi and Nikšić. It's typical city traffic, easy enough to adapt to. The one thing to plan around is an early-morning airport run.
Frequent Questions
Podgorica is typically 10–20% cheaper than Tivat and is the better fit for routes into the mountains (Durmitor, Kolašin, Žabljak), Lake Skadar and Albania. Tivat works better if the bulk of the trip is coast and the Bay of Kotor. The TGD–Budva run takes about an hour via the Sozina tunnel (€2.50).
By licensed-taxi meter, €10–15; through Bolt, €7–10. The drive is 11 km and around 15 minutes. If you're hiring for more than two days, picking up the car at the airport is the better value — most suppliers offer a meet-and-greet by flight number with immediate pick-up.
Budva sits 65 km away, around an hour via the Sozina tunnel (€2.50). Kotor is 90 km and 1.5 hours along the same road plus the bay stretch. In summer add 30 minutes for the coastal-road queues. If the coast is the focus of your trip, flying into Tivat usually works out better.
Take the A1 motorway to Mateševo (€4.50, around 40 km), then on through Kolašin and Mojkovac — about 2.5 hours total to Žabljak. In winter, winter tyres and chains are essential. Allow at least two days for a serious Durmitor visit; turning round in one isn't worth the effort.
The Đurđevića Tara Bridge is the highest road bridge in Europe at 166 m above the canyon. From Podgorica it's two hours via Kolašin on the road towards Žabljak. Free parking at the bridge, with a viewing platform, café and a zip-line across the canyon. Naturally combines with a Durmitor day.
For a longer stay it's a workable strategy: rooms in Podgorica run 30–50% cheaper than Budva and Tivat, and so do groceries and dinner. The coast is an hour each way via the A1 and the Sozina tunnel. The downside is losing an hour each direction daily — worth it from two weeks upwards as a base for radial trips.
Take the A1 to Mateševo and continue on the regional road — about an hour to Kolašin in total. Biogradska Gora National Park sits next to Kolašin, with another 15 minutes on a forest road to the lake. Park-entrance parking is €3 per car. Up to 7 °C cooler in summer than the coast.
Hani i Hotit, the Tirana-bound crossing, is around an hour out (50 km). Sukobin via Bar runs about an hour and twenty. That's closer than from Tivat or Kotor. A day trip to Shkodër or Tirana from Podgorica is realistic — leave at 8am, back for dinner.
The city is divided into colour-coded zones: red (centre) at about €1 per hour with a time limit, yellow and green cheaper and without a hard cap. Pay at the meter by card or coins, or use a duvan-kiosk ticket. Major shopping centres (Delta City, Mall of Montenegro) offer 2–3 hours of free parking for guests.
A day, perhaps. The Stara Varoš old quarter, the Millennium Bridge, the Cathedral of Christ's Resurrection, lunch on Bulevar Svetog Petra Cetinjskog, a walk along the Morača river. Podgorica isn't tourist-coded in the classic sense, but as a contrast point between the sea and the mountains it's interesting.
Enter from the regular road on either the Podgorica or Mateševo side and pay at the exit — €4.50 per car, by card or cash. Speed limit 100 km/h with cameras. Many tunnels — automatic dipped headlights handle them. Short closures happen in winter due to weather; check the forecast.
Yes — most suppliers offer one-way: pick up at TGD, drop off in Tivat, Budva or Kotor. Supplement €30–60 depending on supplier and distance. Useful if your route is "mountains → coast": you don't lose a day on the return and you drive only downhill.
Via the old serpentine road — about an hour to Cetinje. From there it's another 30 minutes on a mountain road with hairpins to Lovćen National Park. A neat loop: Podgorica → Cetinje → Lovćen → Kotor → back via the Sozina tunnel. A full day, but you don't double back to any single point.
Virpazar is 35 minutes via the Sozina tunnel (€2.50) — the closest base for boat tours on the lake (€20–30 per person) and for the Crmnica wineries. Godinje village with its winery cellars is another hour, taking the serpentine along the western shore.
Yes, and it's the most convenient scenario. Most suppliers run a meet-and-greet by flight number with immediate pick-up in the arrivals area. Documents are signed at the supplier's desk or in the meet-and-greet zone, with the keys handed over against an inspection sheet. A 30–60 minute waiting buffer for delays is standard.