Montenegro on a Japanese Licence — The Side Switch, IDP & Winter Tyres
Japan
Montenegro
Japanese drivers face the biggest single adjustment in Montenegro — switching from left- to right-hand traffic — and then the narrow, tunnelled Bay of Kotor coast road. An International Driving Permit is recommended, and winter tyres are mandatory in the cold months.
Montenegro is one of the Adriatic’s great driving countries — fjord-like bays, mountain passes and walled coastal towns packed into a small area. For Japanese visitors, one change dominates everything else, and it makes the famous coast road harder than it looks.
The biggest change: driving on the right
Japan drives on the left; Montenegro drives on the right. This is the single thing most likely to catch you out, and it compounds with the terrain — your first reflexes are tested not on a quiet grid but on a narrow, two-way coast road. The danger window is your first day: pulling out, joining a roundabout that now flows the other way, or glancing the wrong direction at a junction. Take your first hour somewhere quiet and flat, well away from the Bay of Kotor, until right-hand driving stops feeling backwards.
The verdict on paperwork
You can drive on your Japanese licence, and an International Driving Permit is recommended as the certified translation rental desks and police expect. Carry the IDP, your Japanese licence and passport together; the licence covers stays of up to 12 months. Sort the IDP at home — you cannot get one in Montenegro. The Driving Permit Checker confirms what your trip needs.
The coast road, winter tyres and the fine
The Bay of Kotor loop and the Adriatic corniche are narrow, tunnelled and cut into cliffs, sharing blind bends with tour buses; in summer they crawl. Drive slowly and don’t schedule tight timetables on the coast. The new Bar-Boljare motorway is the one fast stretch, capped at 130 km/h, with towns at 50 and rural roads 80. A 10 km/h overspeed costs EUR 30-80, paid on the spot — estimate yours with the Speeding Fine Calculator. From roughly November to March, winter tyres are mandatory in wintry conditions; confirm a cold-season rental is fitted.
The 0.03 BAC alcohol limit matches Japan’s, so the habit carries over — no drinking 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 are on our Montenegro driving guide.
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Winter tyres in Montenegro — 2026–27 season
Winter tyres are compulsory on fixed dates in Montenegro: 15 Nov - 1 Apr on roads listed in the Interior Ministry order (regardless of weather); other roads only in winter conditions.
- Legal winter tread minimum: 4 mm — not the 1.6 mm figure most guides quote, which is the year-round minimum.
- Accepted marking: M+S (min 4 mm tread)
- Studded tyres: banned
Checked against national legislation, 19 Jun 2026 · Full Montenegro tyre law · Compare all countries
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Your Japanese licence is accepted and an IDP is recommended as the official translation — carry it with your licence and passport. The licence covers stays of up to 12 months.
Montenegro drives on the right, the opposite of Japan. Your first hour is the danger window — pulling out, joining roundabouts the other way and looking the right way at junctions all need conscious effort, made harder by the narrow coast road.
Yes, winter tyres are mandatory in wintry conditions, roughly November to March. A rental for that period should arrive fitted — confirm at the desk. The alcohol limit is 0.03 BAC, the same as Japan's, so treat it as no drinking before driving.