Lovćen mausoleum by taxi
The mausoleum of Njegoš sits on a peak of Lovćen with the whole coast and the bay below it, and the road up from Kotor is the most famous drive in Montenegro: twenty-odd hairpins on a ledge above the water. This page is about doing that trip in a taxi with a driver who knows the road, with a stop in Cetinje if you want one, and back to the coast the same day.
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- Licensed local drivers
- Serpentine from Kotor or the road from Cetinje
- Driver waits or returns on schedule
How do I get to the Lovćen mausoleum without a car?
Book a MonteGO ride to Lovćen from Kotor, Budva, Tivat or Cetinje. From Kotor the driver takes the serpentine road up the mountain; from Budva and Cetinje the road comes through the national park. The car stops at the mausoleum car park, you climb the steps to the top, and the driver either waits or comes back at a scheduled time. Use the offer pricing for the whole trip so the return and the waiting are agreed before you set off.
- Serpentine road from Kotor, park road from Cetinje and Budva
- Car park at the foot of the steps to the mausoleum
- Agree the full round trip in the app before leaving
- Combine with Cetinje, the old royal capital, on the way
How to book this ride
Book the round trip as one offer
Set Lovćen as the destination and make an offer for the whole trip, waiting time included. Nearby drivers respond and you agree before setting off.
Ride the serpentine, stop for the view
Drivers know the lay-bys with the best view of the bay and will stop on request. The park entrance is at the top of the climb.
Climb the steps, come down to the car
The mausoleum is a walk up from the car park. The driver waits or returns at the agreed time; pay the driver directly at the end.
Two ways up: the serpentine and the park road
From Kotor the road leaves the bay behind the Old Town and climbs the mountain in a long series of hairpins, the serpentine that appears in every photograph of the bay from above. It is narrow, spectacular and demanding to drive, which is exactly why most visitors are happier in the passenger seat; MonteGO drivers who take this route regularly know where a coach can and cannot pass and where the lay-bys are for the view. Above the hairpins the road reaches the village of Njeguši and continues into the national park towards the mausoleum.
From Budva, Cetinje and Podgorica the approach is through Cetinje and the park road from the east, gentler and wooded, with the park entrance at Ivanova Korita. Many people go up one way and down the other: serpentine up from Kotor for the drama, park road down to Cetinje for the old capital and lunch, then back to the coast.
At the top: car park, steps and the view
The road ends at a car park below the peak. From there a tunnel and a long flight of steps lead to the mausoleum; it is a real climb, so allow time and take water in summer. At the top, the viewing platform behind the mausoleum looks over the bay, the coast, the lake and, on a clear day, a good slice of the country. The whole visit from car park to car park is usually an hour or a little more, which is what you agree with the driver as waiting time.
Waiting driver or scheduled return
There are no taxis based at the mausoleum, so the way back has to be part of the plan. The usual arrangement is a round trip agreed in the app: you make an offer for the whole excursion, with the stop at the top and, if you like, Cetinje on the way down, drivers respond, and the number is settled before you leave the coast. The driver waits at the car park while you climb. If you prefer to spend longer, a scheduled return to a fixed time works too; the driver goes back down and comes up again for you.
Winter and shoulder season deserve a note: the park road can be closed by snow and the serpentine is not a road to be on in ice. Drivers know the conditions on the day; if the top is closed, Njeguši and the viewpoints are still worth the climb.
Combining Lovćen with Cetinje and Njeguši
The natural full day from the coast is Kotor to Njeguši for the smoked ham and cheese the village is known for, up to the mausoleum, down to Cetinje for the monastery and the old royal capital, and back to Budva or Kotor in the late afternoon. It works from either base and from Tivat, and it is the excursion cruise passengers most often ask for from Kotor's port when they have a full-day stop. Agree the whole loop as one offer.
Other ways to reach Lovćen
Honest comparison. There is no public bus to the mausoleum; the nearest buses reach Cetinje, from where you still need a car for the park road. Organised minibus tours from Kotor and Budva do the loop on a fixed schedule and are cheaper per seat if you are travelling alone. Driving yourself is possible and beautiful, but the serpentine is narrow with coaches coming the other way, and the park road in winter is a real risk. For a group or a family, a taxi round trip with a driver who does the road weekly is the comfortable answer.
Common questions
Book a MonteGO ride to Lovćen as a round trip using the offer pricing. The driver takes the serpentine road up from Kotor, stops for the view, drops you at the mausoleum car park and waits while you climb the steps, then brings you back down, via Cetinje if you wish.
No. Buses reach Cetinje, but the park road to the mausoleum has no public transport. A taxi round trip or an organised tour are the practical options.
As long as you agree in the app. A typical visit from car park to car park is around an hour; make the offer for the full excursion including the wait, or schedule a return to a fixed time.
Yes, with a driver who knows it. The road is narrow with hairpins and coaches, which is why passengers prefer not to drive it themselves. In winter the road above can close for snow; drivers know the conditions on the day.
Yes, there is an entrance fee per person at the park gate and a ticket for the mausoleum, both paid separately from the ride. Bring cash.
Yes, that is the classic loop: up the serpentine from Kotor via Njeguši, the mausoleum, down to Cetinje for the monastery and lunch, and back to the coast. Agree the whole loop as one offer in the app.
Related pages
The hairpins from the passenger seat
Install MonteGO, make an offer for the Lovćen round trip and let a driver who knows the serpentine take you to the top and back.
Free to download. No booking fee. Pay the driver directly.