Lovćen National Park by car, up the Kotor serpentine

What should you know about the hire car before the climb?

The hire terms allow the car on paved public roads only, and the park is reached by car from Kotor, up the serpentine, or from Cetinje. Kotor has its own entry in the booking form's pick-up list, so the car can start in town; a car booked from Tivat can also be collected at the airport. Renting a car in Montenegro through this site, you see each car's deposit, cancellation terms and mileage before you pay.

Mountain roads in Montenegro carry loose rock that falls onto the carriageway, and cattle graze beside the roads in the countryside. The standard insurance does not cover the wheels, the undercarriage or the windscreen, so read the car's cover line and the higher levels it offers before the climb. From 15 November to 1 April winter tyres with at least 4 mm of tread are compulsory, and most cars list a winter pack for those months.

How long does the Kotor serpentine take to drive?

Kotor to Njeguši is 23.2 km and about 33 minutes without traffic, climbing through about 25 hairpins. In summer, check the signs at Krstac before you drive down towards Kotor.

The Tivat Airport to Kotor leg at the start is 8.5 km and 12 minutes.

How do you drive to the Njegoš Mausoleum?

From Njeguši the road climbs 14.9 km to Jezerski vrh, about 19 minutes; Kotor to the mausoleum in one run is 31.7 km and about 40 minutes. The mausoleum stands at 1,660 m, and the last part is on foot: 461 steps, reached through a tunnel. Jezerski vrh itself is 1,657 m, and the park's highest peak, Štirovnik, is 1,749 m.

The mausoleum is open from 15 April to 15 November, 9:00 to 18:00 every day, and closed from 16 November to 14 April. A ticket is EUR 8 for an adult and EUR 4 for pupils and students, and it also covers Njegoš's birth house in Njeguši. The car must also run on winter tyres from 15 November to 1 April.

What does it cost to enter Lovćen National Park by car?

The park charges EUR 3 per person per day, not per car, and parking inside the park is billed separately by the hour: EUR 1 an hour for a passenger car. For two adults, entry is EUR 6 and two mausoleum tickets EUR 16.

Lovćen has been a national park since 1952 and covers 6,220 hectares. It is reached by car from Kotor, up the serpentine, or from the Cetinje side.

What is there to stop for in Njeguši?

Njeguši is at the top of the serpentine, 23.2 km from Kotor, and it is the home of Njeguški pršut, the dry-cured ham, and of Njeguški cheese. Njegoš's birth house is here too, on the same ticket as the mausoleum. From the village the mausoleum is 14.9 km and Cetinje 19 km.

Where can you drive on from Lovćen?

Down to Cetinje, 20.4 km and about 34 minutes from the mausoleum, and from Cetinje to Budva, 27 km and about 39 minutes, or to Podgorica, 35.1 km and 44 minutes. That makes the serpentine the first leg of a route from the coast to the mountains rather than an out-and-back from Kotor. Kotor to Cetinje direct, without the summit, is 49.5 km and about 1 hour 09.

Tolls, parking and fuel are the renter's under the hire terms, and the car goes back with the fuel it left with. Fill up on the coast before the climb: stations on the main roads often stay open all night in the season, but many close at 21:00 or 22:00 in the colder months.