Is Montenegro safe? Crime, roads, sea, wildfires and who to call

For a visitor, the risks to plan for in Montenegro are the ordinary ones: the roads, where 6,831 traffic accidents and 67 deaths were recorded in 2025; wildfires in the hot months; the sea; earthquakes, mostly on the coast; and an eye on your bag in crowded places. Register your stay, carry your passport or ID card, and in any emergency call 112; calls are free.

Register your stay

A foreigner must register with the police within 24 hours of arriving at each place of stay, at the police station or through the local tourist organisation; a hotel or other registered accommodation provider does it for you within 12 hours. Not registering costs the foreigner EUR 60 to 600 (Law on Foreigners, Art. 96, 97 and 214). How to register is on the registration and tourist tax page.

Crime and petty theft

In crowded tourist spots, on beaches, at airports and on buses, keep bags closed and in sight, and never leave them unattended. Carry an identity document at all times; a foreigner must have a travel document or ID card on them and show it to an authorised official on request (Law on Foreigners, Art. 145).

On the road

The 2025 transport statistics, compiled by MONSTAT from Police Administration data, count 6,831 road accidents (2.7% more than in 2024), 67 people killed (75 in 2024) and 3,179 injured, 685 of them seriously.

A valid foreign licence is all you need; an international permit may accompany it but is not required. Dipped headlights stay on all day, the blood alcohol limit is 0.3 g/kg (zero for drivers up to 24 or in their first year), and from 15 November to 1 April winter tyres are compulsory whenever conditions are wintry. Drivers under 21 may not drive between midnight and 05:00, nor a car over 80 kW unless someone who has held a category B licence for at least five years is in the car. Fines rose with the law amendments in force since 7 August 2026: EUR 150 to 400 for a phone without hands-free, EUR 150 to 300 for no seat belt, and EUR 500 to 1,000 or up to 60 days in prison for driving without winter tyres in winter conditions. Speed limits, all fines and parking are on the driving page, and today's closures on road conditions.

Sea and beaches: lifeguards and flags

Managed bathing areas must have at least one lifeguard per 50 m of shore in July and August and per 100 m in the other months of the season. A green flag means swimming is safe, yellow means caution, and red means no swimming or no lifeguard on duty. Follow the flags and the lifeguards' instructions. Help at sea is on 129.

Summer wildfires

Wildfires are a real risk in the hot, dry months. In 2025 there were 3,136 forest and open-land fires in Montenegro, 870 of them between 15 June and 15 September, the worst around Podgorica and Danilovgrad, in Bijelo Polje and Pljevlja and on the coast. The law forbids lighting a fire or leaving anything burning where a fire can start and spread, such as parks, road verges and dry grass (Law on Protection and Rescue, Art. 104). Report a fire on 112 or 123.

Before any fire or barbecue outdoors, ask your host or the municipality whether a ban is in force: open-fire bans are announced locally in the fire season.

Mountains: marked trails and mountain rescue

Stay on marked trails and call 112 for any incident in the mountains; the 112 centre coordinates the rescue services, mountain rescue among them. Routes are on the hiking pages and the forecast on weather.

Earthquakes

Montenegro lies in a zone of high seismic hazard, and the coastal belt is far more active than the interior. The strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake of the 20th century in the southern Dinarides struck on 15 April 1979 at 07:19, with a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale and intensity IX on the Mercalli scale along the whole coast and in northern Albania. The Institute of Hydrometeorology and Seismology (ZHMS) publishes a list of the latest earthquakes.

Taxis, cards and common scams

Use licensed taxis. A licensed taxi has TX registration plates, a TAXI roof sign with its licence number, the licence number and the licensing municipality on its sides, the driver's taxi ID on display, a sealed taximeter and a certified price list in the car. The fare is what the meter shows at the end, and you may ask for a receipt with the date, kilometres and price (Law on Road Transport, Art. 8 and 87). A taxi may pick up passengers only in the municipality that licensed it (Art. 86), so not every company can collect you at Podgorica Airport; ask when you book. Withdraw cash at ATMs inside banks where you can; banks and ATMs are on the ATMs page.

LGBTQ+ travellers: the legal facts

Same-sex life partnership is recognised in law: the Law on Life Partnership of Persons of the Same Sex (Sl. list CG 67/2020) is in force, and the Health Insurance Fund counts a partner in a same-sex life partnership among the family members it insures.

Who to call

• 112: any emergency; calls are free.
• 122 police · 123 fire and rescue · 124 ambulance, in every municipality · 129 help at sea.
• 19807: roadside help from the motoring association AMSCG.

The emergency medical unit in each municipality is listed on the emergency page.