A village and its jetties on the shore of the Bay of Kotor seen from above, below a grey mountainside
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Montenegro by campervan

Montenegro bans camping outside a registered camp, and in summer it also bans campervans outright from two of its most famous mountain roads. Everything else you need before you cross the border: the euro that is not eurozone membership, what things cost, and when to go where.

Published 18 September 2026Last checked 19 September 2026

Basics

Basics

Montenegro uses the euro without being in the eurozone. The central bank's own account is blunt about it: the Deutsche Mark became legal tender on 2 November 1999, the sole legal tender in January 2001, and the euro has been the official means of payment since March 2002. All of it was unilateral. There is nothing to change and nothing to convert, but the country has no seat at the European Central Bank and none of the eurozone machinery behind the notes in your wallet.

A small red-roofed church on a walled promontory jutting into the Bay of Kotor below wooded slopes
One street villages all the way round the bay, and nowhere at all to park a van

The Montenegrin day

  • Shops run roughly 09:00 to 21:00, and grocery shops 07:00 to 22:00, according to the national tourism organisation.
  • Most grocery shops do not open on Sunday at all. This is the single most useful shopping fact in the country. Stock the van on Saturday.

Power, water and getting online

  • 230V, 50Hz, type F sockets. The same round two-pin plug as Croatia, Italy and most of the continent. UK and Irish plugs need an adapter.
  • Three mobile operators: T-Mobile, M:tel and Telenor, all with shops in the larger towns. The country code is 382.

The Law on State and Other Holidays gives Montenegro only four holidays, but each one is celebrated over two days and both are non-working. If the first day falls on a Sunday, the next two days are non-working instead. The national tourism organisation adds that the main religious holidays are non-working as well, and those move, so a closed town in January is usually Orthodox Christmas rather than a mistake.

Common questions about Montenegro by campervan

Can you sleep in a campervan in Montenegro?

Sleeping inside a legally parked campervan is a parking matter and is allowed wherever the vehicle may park, subject to signs and height barriers. Camping is a separate thing and is banned outside a registered camp by the Law on Tourism and Hospitality. The moment chairs, a table, an awning or stabiliser legs come out, the stay stops being parking and becomes camping.

Is wild camping legal in Montenegro?

No. The Law on Tourism and Hospitality prohibits camping outside land designated for camping in the spatial plan, and fines an individual 200 to 2,000 euros for doing it. There is no regional exception. Enforcement is heaviest on the coast in July and August and lightest in the northern mountains out of season.

Do you need a green card to drive in Montenegro?

No. Montenegro joined the multilateral guarantee agreement between national insurers bureaux, and EU member states stopped checking insurance on Montenegrin vehicles on 2 August 2021. The arrangement works both ways, so an EU registration plate is treated as proof of cover. Check your own policy still lists Montenegro as a covered territory, because that is a separate question from the border check.

Can you drive a campervan on the Kotor serpentine road?

Not in season. A Police Directorate order published on 12 June 2026 bans buses and motorhomes 24 hours a day from 15 June to 15 October 2026 on the R-1 between Krstac and Kotor in the downhill direction, and on the road from the Lovcen car park to the mausoleum. These orders are reissued every spring with different dates and different roads, so check the current one before routing through.