Is it better to pay taxis in Montenegro with cash, or do drivers accept cards or payment apps?
I was pleasantly surprised in Tivat where a licensed airport taxi let me pay by card, but that was the exception. Once I got to Kotor and Perast, it was back to cash all the way. Even pre-booked transfers asked for cash at the end. If you do plan to use taxis a lot, just withdraw some euros from a bank ATM (like CKB or NLB) and keep it handy. Also good to ask the driver before you get in if they take card, because most don’t.
Just finished a solo trip through Bar and Herceg Novi and taxis were super cheap, but also super old-school. All the rides were cash-based. One guy had a contactless reader but said it only worked with local Montenegrin cards. I relied mostly on Bolt for getting around in bigger areas and always kept around 10-20 euros in coins and small notes for taxis. No luck with Apple Pay or Google Pay either they just don’t use it much here yet.
In Budva I used a few local taxis and none of them took cards. I tried asking about paying with Revolut or Wise, and they just laughed and said “no app, only euro.” Even Bolt (the ride app) worked great for booking and seeing prices, but once the ride ends, it’s cash to the driver. Some Bolt drivers said the app payments haven’t fully rolled out everywhere in Montenegro yet. So yeah, definitely plan to pay in cash, especially outside major tourist towns.
I took a few taxis around Podgorica and Kotor this June and every single one of them asked for cash. Even when I saw a card machine in the cab, the driver said it wasn’t working. Some will quote you a price and then mention “cash only” at the end. I paid around 7 euros for a short ride in Podgorica and had to dig through my coins. Would definitely recommend having small change on you -don’t expect to use cards or apps like you can in western Europe.