Kotor Old Town by taxi
The walled town at the head of the bay is the most visited place in Montenegro and the one where a taxi can least take you to the door. Every car stops at a gate, and which gate is the whole game. This page explains the three entrances, what cruise days do to the waterfront, how to handle luggage, and how to leave.
6 min readUpdated
- Licensed local drivers
- Drop-off at the gate nearest your address
- Cruise-day routing by drivers who know it
Can a taxi drive into Kotor Old Town?
No. The walled town is pedestrian only, so every taxi stops at one of three gates: the Sea Gate on the waterfront by the port, the River Gate on the north side by the market, or the Gurdić Gate at the southern tip. Book a MonteGO ride with the gate nearest your accommodation as the destination, and the driver comes in from the quieter side on cruise days. Rides out start at the same gates or the bus station.
- Sea Gate: main square, cathedral, most Old Town apartments
- River Gate: northern half, the market, quieter on ship days
- Gurdić Gate: south side, fortress path, the Škaljari road
- Rides out from any gate or the bus station
How to book this ride
Find your gate
Ask your host which gate is closest, or check the map: Sea Gate for the centre, River Gate for the north, Gurdić for the south.
Book with the gate as destination
Type 'Kotor Sea Gate', 'River Gate' or 'Gurdić Gate' in MonteGO. The driver sees it and, on a busy day, chooses the approach that avoids the waterfront knot.
Walk in, and book the way out from the same spot
Roll the luggage through the lanes, and when it is time to leave, request the ride from the gate or the bus station. Pay the driver directly.
Route pages for Kotor
Every ride that starts or ends in Kotor, written from real trips.
The three gates and who each one is for
Kotor's walls have three entrances and each serves a different part of the town. Based on MonteGO rides, these are the drop-offs travellers actually use:
Sea Gate (Main Gate)
The front door, facing the port and the cruise pier, steps from the main square and the cathedral. Closest to most Old Town apartments, and the busiest spot in the country when a ship is in; expect a short walk from where the car can safely stop.
River Gate (North Gate)
By the Ĺ kurda stream and the green market, at the quiet end. Best for addresses in the northern half of the walls and for anyone arriving when the waterfront is jammed. Drivers reach it without touching the port road.
Gurdić Gate (South Gate)
At the southern tip by the small bridge, near the start of the fortress climb and the road to Ĺ kaljari. Right for the guesthouses on the south side and for the first stretch of the walk up to San Giovanni.
The bus station
Just outside the walls along the main road, a frequent pickup for people leaving Kotor by coach and a sensible fallback meeting point when the gates are crowded.
What changes on cruise days
When one or more ships are in port, the road from the Vrmac tunnel down to the walls and along the waterfront slows to a crawl from late morning until the afternoon, and the Sea Gate becomes a river of people. It changes nothing about booking a taxi, but it changes where you should be dropped: ask for the River Gate or your street in Dobrota, and the driver comes in from the quieter side. If you are heading straight through Kotor to Perast or up the bay, say so and the driver bypasses the town centre altogether.
Leaving on a ship day, book the ride from the River Gate or the bus station rather than the port side, and give yourself margin if you have an airport to reach; the last stretch out to the tunnel is the slow part.
Luggage, cobbles and the last hundred metres
Every arrival in the Old Town ends with a walk over stone. It is short if you chose the right gate and long if you did not, and it is the reason the gate matters more than anything else on this page. Two large suitcases fit a standard MonteGO car; ask for the larger vehicle if you have more, and write the apartment name in the ride note so the driver can suggest the gate if you are unsure. Hosts in Kotor are used to meeting guests at a gate; a quick message with your arrival time usually produces someone to walk you in.
The fortress climb and the ladder of Kotor
The walk up to the San Giovanni fortress starts inside the walls near the River Gate and the Gurdić side, and the alternative Ladder of Kotor trail starts outside the walls to the north. Neither needs a car, but many people take a taxi back down from Kotor to their hotel afterwards, tired and hot; the River Gate is the natural pickup for both routes. Go early in summer, before the ship crowds and the heat.
Leaving Kotor: airport, Budva and the bay
Rides out of the Old Town are booked the same way as rides in: choose a gate or the bus station as the pickup, step out to the road when the app shows the car close, and load up. For the airport, schedule the ride in the app the evening before, or up to ten days ahead, and add margin on ship days and summer Saturdays. For Budva, Perast, Tivat and the rest of the bay, every route has its own page below with the pickup points and drop-offs in detail.
Common questions
No. The walled town is pedestrian only. Taxis stop at the Sea Gate by the port, the River Gate by the market on the north side, or the Gurdić Gate at the southern tip. Put the gate nearest your accommodation as the destination.
Sea Gate for the main square, the cathedral and most central apartments; River Gate for the northern half and for cruise days; Gurdić Gate for the south side and the fortress path. If in doubt, ask your host which gate is closest.
Book in the MonteGO app with a gate or the bus station as the pickup. Step out to the road when the app shows the car close; drivers cannot wait long at the Sea Gate on busy days, so the River Gate or the bus station is easier.
Book a MonteGO taxi at the airport with the right gate as the destination. The road goes through the Vrmac tunnel straight into the bay. Schedule the pickup for your landing time if you want the driver waiting at arrivals.
The waterfront and the Sea Gate get very slow and very crowded from late morning. Ask for the River Gate or a street in Dobrota, and drivers come in from the quieter side. Leaving, book from the River Gate or the bus station and add margin.
There is no road to the fortress; it is a walk from inside the walls. Taxis drop you at the River Gate or Gurdić Gate for the start of the path, and collect you at the same gates afterwards.
Related pages
The right gate, first time
Install MonteGO, put the gate nearest your address as the destination, and let a driver who knows the cruise-day traffic bring you in from the right side.
Free to download. No booking fee. Pay the driver directly.