Montenegro on a Chinese Licence — IDP, the Kotor Coast Road & Winter Tyres

Montenegro squeezes Adriatic bays, mountain passes and old Venetian towns into a tiny footprint, and self-driving is the only way to link them. For Chinese visitors the licence question is easy — what needs planning is the coast road and the season you travel in.

The verdict on paperwork

You drive on your Chinese licence, and an International Driving Permit is recommended as the certified translation rental desks and police look for. Carry the IDP, your Chinese licence and passport together; the licence covers stays of up to 12 months. Sort the IDP before you fly. Driving is on the right, the same as China, so there’s no side switch to relearn — one less thing to think about. The Driving Permit Checker confirms what your trip needs.

The Bay of Kotor road is the real challenge

The showpiece drive — the Bay of Kotor loop and the cliff-cut Adriatic corniche — is narrow, tunnelled and full of blind bends shared with tour buses. In peak summer it crawls, and the hairpin climb from Kotor toward Lovćen is genuinely demanding. Drive it slowly, sound the horn before blind corners, and avoid tight timetables on the coast in July and August. The new Bar-Boljare motorway is the single fast, modern stretch, capped at 130 km/h.

Winter tyres and the fine

From roughly November to March, winter tyres are mandatory in wintry conditions. A rental booked for that window should be fitted, but check at the desk. Town limit is 50, rural 80 and motorway 130 km/h; a 10 km/h overspeed costs EUR 30-80, paid on the spot, so carry a card or cash — estimate yours with the Speeding Fine Calculator. The 0.03 BAC alcohol limit is just below China’s 0.02 in effect, so don’t drink before driving.

Carry a warning triangle, reflective vest, first-aid kit and spare bulbs; petrol is around $1.52/litre and 112 is the emergency number. Full rules sit on our Montenegro driving guide.