Taxi in Budva: prices, how to order and where to go (2026)

Uber, Bolt and Yandex Go do not operate in Montenegro. In Budva you get a taxi three ways, and the difference is when you learn the price.

The app. Budva Taxi App: enter pickup and destination, see the tariff estimate and publish the request to registered drivers nearby; whoever accepts appears with name, plate and a chat. You pay the driver in cash, with no passenger commission. It covers the whole Riviera from Jaz to Petrovac and both airports.

Phone and Viber. Budva has several taxi companies with short numbers (19…); dispatchers usually speak English and you can text the address on Viber/WhatsApp. A car comes in 5–15 minutes, longer on summer evenings. You learn the price from the driver.

The rank. Official cars wait at the Old Town main gate (Trg pjesnika), the bus station, Slovenska plaža by TQ Plaza and the Bečići promenade. In summer after midnight the queue at the Old Town is of passengers, not cars.

The tariff is set by Budva municipality: €1–1.50 flag-fall, €1 per kilometre, waiting €0.20–0.30 per minute, night (22:00–06:00) and holidays €1.20–1.30 per kilometre. The tariff card hangs on the rear door window; a meter on the dashboard is mandatory.

Within town that comes to €3–7: bus station to Old Town €3–4, Slovenska plaža to Bečići €5–7. Beyond town (Sveti Stefan, Kotor, the airports) a negotiated price per car applies — give the address and ask the figure before you get in. The price is always per car for up to 4 people; a minivan costs roughly one and a half times more.

Budva Old Town (Stari grad) is pedestrian; cars do not enter. Taxis drop you at the main gate on Trg pjesnika, by the Citadel on the sea side, or at Hotel Avala. Most apartments inside the walls are 2–6 minutes on foot over stone streets — worth remembering with a suitcase at night.

If you are staying inside the walls, ask the host which gate is closer: the north gate (bus-station side) or the main gate (marina side). Telling the driver “Stari grad, glavna kapija” is enough.

Mogren — 2 km from the centre, €3–5 or a 15-minute walk along the path from the Old Town. Jaz — 5 km towards Tivat, €6–9, Blue Line bus €1.50–2. Bečići and Rafailovići — 4–6 km along the coast, €5–9; in summer the promenade from Budva to Rafailovići is a 40-minute walk. Kamenovo — 6 km, €6–9, almost no bus.

Back from the beach in the evening: Jaz and Kamenovo have no rank — send a request through the app or call; at Bečići cars wait by the promenade.

Sveti Stefan — 10 km, 20–25 minutes, €15–20 per car; the viewpoint over the island is on the way. Kotor — 23 km via Tivat or over the pass, 35–45 minutes, €25–35; bus €3–4 every 30–60 minutes. Cetinje and Lovćen — 32–47 km into the mountains, €30–40 to Cetinje; for the Njegoš mausoleum on Lovćen agree separately (narrow road, €60–80 return with waiting). Perast — 41 km, 60 minutes, €40–50.

For long trips with waiting (Lovćen, Skadar Lake) a request through the app is easier: write “with waiting and return” in the note and the driver quotes for the whole trip.

Tivat Airport — 21–23 km, 35–45 minutes, €50–70 per car (up to €80 at night); the bus from the bus station is €3–4.50 but does not reach the terminal. Podgorica Airport — 60–67 km, 60–90 minutes through the Sozina tunnel, €50–95; no bus to the terminal at all.

For a morning flight, send the request the evening before with the departure time; drivers confirm and come to the hotel. Details in the Tivat Airport and Podgorica Airport guides.

In July and August after midnight taxis in Budva are scarce: the clubs on Slovenska plaža and Top Hill above town close at the same time and the Old Town rank has a queue. Waiting 20–40 minutes is normal; €8–12 to Bečići at night is common. A request through the app for a set time usually solves it.

Traffic: on Friday and Saturday evenings the approach from Tivat and the Adriatic Highway through Bečići jam; Bečići to Budva can take 30 minutes instead of 10.

Cash in euros directly to the driver; a handful of cars take cards. A receipt (račun) must be issued on request. Tipping is not expected — round up.

The main tricks are the meter on the night tariff out of town, a “per person” price, “no change” and touts away from the official rank. One rule covers almost all of it: out of town, a price per car before you get in; in town, the meter on and showing tariff 1 by day.