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Car rental in Podgorica is the most logical entry into Montenegro for anyone heading for the mountains, Lake Skadar or onwards into Albania. Podgorica airport (TGD) sits 11 km from the centre, and rates here run roughly 10–20% below Tivat — the tourist load is lighter, and suppliers price accordingly.
A guest from Manchester picked up an Octavia at TGD at 11pm, drove to Kolašin by half past midnight. The Tivat alternative would have meant an extra 1.5 hours on the Sozina road in the dark.
The city itself is a working capital, not a resort: wide boulevards, parks, an Orthodox cathedral and a calm rush hour. Most travellers treat it as a starting point for the rest of Montenegro, and for that it works.
Price, mountains, and the A1
Montenegro's mainland airport
TGD handles flights from European hubs and Turkey. The drive to the centre is 11 km, about 15 minutes, no tolls, no hairpins. Most suppliers meet you by flight number and hand the car over at the airport itself.
Podgorica suppliers undercut Tivat for one plain reason: less tourist load, less seasonal pressure, 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 sit 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. Toll is €4.50 per car. It saves close to an hour and skips most of the hairpin descent towards Kolašin and Žabljak.
A1 limit is 100 km/h and there are speed cameras. In winter, ice on the higher sections is real — drive in daylight.
BMW 3-series Cabrio in Montenegro
Everything was great; I liked everything )
Audi A3 Sedan in Montenegro
Everything went great, thank you so much!
Toyota Yaris in Montenegro
Everything was good. Toyota wasn't available but I got a decent car instead & was happy with it. Say hi to Philip. I will come back as your customer again & recommend you to my friends. Thanks again.
Peugeot 508 in Montenegro
Everything went well. The car is not new but has been driven everywhere. The price is lower than others.
Renault Megane in Montenegro
Sorry, but the car was ok but very old. I cannot have a comment on it
Peugeot 208 in Montenegro
Automatic car offered as they didn't have a manual working air-conditioning. We felt safer operating the manual but didn't have air conditioning. They arranged to replace our car the following day but it happened two days later. USB ports and phone holders would have been useful in all vehicles. Staff were friendly and the price was competitive.
Opel Astra Sports Tourer in Montenegro
It was ok
Volkswagen Touran in Montenegro
Awesome! Very friendly staff, a good car for a good price. I'll definitely use this service again. Hvala puno!
Skoda Fabia Combi in Montenegro
Everything went well. The car was in good condition, the owner of the car brought it on time and there were no problems with the delivery of the car
Peugeot 208 in Montenegro
Whole Process went super smooth and pragmatic via WhatsApp. Car delivery worked fine as well as pick up again. Would definetly rent a car from them again!
Renault Fluence in Montenegro
Renault Grand Scenic (6+1) arrived instead of the ordered car. The car was in good condition and I generally liked everything.
Skoda Rapid in Montenegro
I liked everything, thanks. The cost for minor damage to the bumper seemed a little expensive. But this is a trifle. Otherwise, everything is in accordance with the promises.
Volkswagen Polo in Montenegro
Hey, we liked it, everything was good. It was cheaper than international companies as we needed also a second driver, full insurance and the possibility to cross the border. Oh, I just remembered that we have a wonderful picture of the car on the way to the Durdzevica Tara river bridge.
How to reach Podgorica and pick up the car
Podgorica airport (TGD) is the country's mainland hub. The drive to the centre is 11 km and around 15 minutes on a straight road, no tolls. Most suppliers run a meet-and-greet by flight number right at the airport — straight pick-up, no chasing a town-centre office.
A family of four landed at TGD on a delayed Wizz Air flight at 1am. Supplier waited inside arrivals with the keys; they were in their Kolašin guesthouse by half three.
In the city itself there are few permanent rental offices, but free delivery is standard for most central hotels. On TakeCars the pickup point and time appear in the listing, so there are no day-of WhatsApp calls or address-swap surprises.
Tivat sits further out — about 90 km and 1.5 hours via the Sozina tunnel (€2.50). If the trip is mostly coast and the Bay of Kotor, fly into Tivat instead. A neat alternative: take the car at TGD on arrival and drop it on the coast as a one-way (supplement €30–60 depending on 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 runs colour-coded zones: red (centre) at around €1/h with a time limit; yellow and green are cheaper and without a hard cap. Pay at the meter by card or coins, or grab a paper ticket from a duvan kiosk. Pay-by-SMS only works on a Montenegrin SIM (+382), so most visitors stick to the meter or the kiosk.
A couple parked on Bulevar Svetog Petra Cetinjskog at 11am, paid by card at the meter, 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 run to Kolašin, Žabljak and Durmitor. In winter, keep your receipt and check the supplier has fitted winter tyres before you sign — the A1 isn't somewhere to head out on summer rubber.
Rush hour
The city slows from 7:30–9am and 4:30–6pm, mainly on the approaches from Tuzi and Nikšić. Typical city density, 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.