Portonovi is one of the transfers guests ask us for most. We’re Dubrovnik Limo, and we drive it as a private ride right through the season — almost everyone we take down there is going for the first time. The same questions come up on the way every time. How long is the drive? Is the border a problem? What is there once you arrive, and is it worth leaving the marina? This is what we tell them, written down.
The short version: Portonovi is close to Dubrovnik, the drive is easy, and the only real variable is the border. Everything else is just knowing what to expect. Here is the full picture from people who actually drive the road, on private bookings rather than a fixed line.
Portonovi at a glance
- From Dubrovnik Airport: ~35 km, about 40–45 min driving (plus border)
- From Dubrovnik old town: ~60 km, about 1 h 15–1 h 30 (plus border)
- Border crossings: Debeli Brijeg–Karasovići (main) or Vitaljina/Kobila–Konfin (smaller, passenger cars only)
- Documents: passport strongly recommended for everyone; Montenegro is outside the EU and Schengen, and entry rules depend on nationality
- Currency: euro on both sides
- Where it is: Kumbor, at the mouth of the Bay of Kotor, between Herceg Novi and Tivat
Best for
- Guests landing at Dubrovnik Airport and continuing to One&Only Portonovi.
- Travellers based in Portonovi who want private day trips around the Bay of Kotor.
- Families or groups with luggage who would rather not deal with the border and resort parking themselves.
Where Portonovi actually is
Portonovi sits in Kumbor, a small place on the western edge of the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. It is right at the mouth of the bay, between the town of Herceg Novi and Tivat.
It is not an old town or a village in the usual sense. Portonovi is a new marina development, built from the ground up. Inside you have the D-Marin Portonovi marina for large yachts, the five-star One&Only Portonovi hotel — which opened in 2021 — plus the Chenot Espace wellness centre, a private beach, restaurants, boutiques and residences. It is a closed, planned complex rather than a town you wander into.
A few useful reference points:
- Herceg Novi old town: about 6–7 km west, roughly 10–15 minutes by car.
- Tivat Airport: about 17 km.
- Kotor old town: about 24 km around the bay.
- Đenovići beach: 400 metres from the resort, walkable.
How far is Portonovi from Dubrovnik?
Closer than most people think. The confusion is that there are two starting points, and they are very different distances.
- From Dubrovnik Airport (Čilipi): about 35 km. The airport is south of Dubrovnik, close to the border, so the drive itself is only around 40–45 minutes without border time.
- From Dubrovnik old town or city centre: about 60 km, roughly 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30, again before adding the border.
One thing people ask: why not just fly into Tivat, which is only 17 km away? You can, and it is closer. But Dubrovnik usually has more flights and better connections, so plenty of guests land there and take the short hop down instead. We cover it door to door as a private transfer from Dubrovnik to Portonovi.
The border is the only real variable
The drive is simple. The border is where the time goes. Montenegro is outside the EU and the Schengen zone, so you cross a real frontier with checks on both sides. A passport is strongly recommended for every passenger, and entry rules depend on nationality, so it is worth checking the current rules before you travel. The good news for your wallet: the euro is used on both sides, so no currency swap.
Two crossings, and how we choose
There are two crossings we use on this route, and picking the right one on the day matters.
- Debeli Brijeg – Karasovići: the main crossing on the Adriatic highway. It handles cars and buses, and it is the busiest. In July and August, weekend queues here can run from one to three hours.
- Vitaljina/Kobila – Konfin: a smaller coastal crossing about 8 km south. It takes passenger cars only, no buses. It is usually quieter than the main crossing in peak season, though on a busy August afternoon nothing is guaranteed.
Our drivers check the live border situation before each run and pick the crossing that is moving better that day. That single decision is often the difference between a relaxed arrival and an hour lost in a line of cars. For the bigger picture of crossing into the country, our guide on getting from Dubrovnik to Montenegro covers the other coastal towns too.
Travelling at night helps
If your flight times allow it, an early-morning or late-evening crossing is almost always faster. The midday and early-afternoon window in summer is the worst, especially on weekends. A 7 a.m. or after-9 p.m. crossing can save you a long wait. We are happy to time the pickup around the quieter hours if that suits your schedule.
The driver-change option
There is one more trick worth knowing. If the main crossing is badly backed up, we can arrange a driver change at the border. You cross on foot — and pedestrians move through far quicker than cars — while one of our Montenegro partners waits on the other side to take you on to Portonovi.
It sounds odd the first time you hear it. But in peak season it often saves real time, and it can work out cheaper too. We do not offer it by default, so just ask about it when you request a quote and we will tell you if it makes sense for your date and time.
Getting there: your options
You have three realistic ways to make this trip.
- Private transfer. The simplest. A driver meets you, handles the border, and drops you at the resort entrance. You can sit back with a coffee or a glass of wine on the way and not think about anything.
- Rental car. Fine if you plan to drive around Montenegro for several days. For a one-off arrival it tends to backfire. You sit in the same border queue, and once you reach Portonovi you are in a gated complex with limited and paid parking, not a street you can pull up on.
- Bus. Cheap, but slow and indirect. Buses use the main crossing, drop you in Herceg Novi rather than at the resort, and then you still need a taxi for the last few kilometres.
For a first arrival with luggage, a private transfer is usually the cleaner choice — and if you are heading to a resort like One&Only, arriving in the right car is part of it. We run Mercedes across the range, from the E-Class through to the S-Class and V-Class vans for groups and luggage. If you want to compare, our full price list lays out the routes and car classes.
What is actually inside Portonovi
One thing to be clear about, because it sets expectations. Portonovi is polished, modern and expensive. The atmosphere is closer to a Mediterranean marina town like Saint-Tropez than to traditional Montenegro. This is a place built for yachts, designer boutiques and long lunches, and it knows it.
What you get on the ground:
- A working marina full of yachts, with a waterfront promenade to walk.
- The One&Only Portonovi hotel — the first One&Only resort in Europe — and the two-floor Chenot Espace wellness centre.
- A private beach, bars, high-end boutiques and a handful of restaurants.
You do not have to be a hotel guest to enjoy the marina. Plenty of our passengers come just for a coffee, a meal and a walk along the water. The flip side: the complex itself is fairly contained. The marina, the food and the views are the point. There is not a lot of “old town” to explore inside Portonovi itself — for that, you step out, which brings us to the area around it.
Where to eat
For a small place, the eating is good, both inside Portonovi and a short drive away.
- Malo Ribarsko Selo. The restaurant inside Portonovi our guests mention most often, and one of the better seafood spots in the whole bay. Fresh fish, marina views. This is the one we point people to first.
- Adriatica, Kamenari. A short drive toward Kotor, just before the Kamenari–Lepetane ferry. The setting is the draw: a wide view across the bay with Mount Lovćen behind it, plus a small private beach. A seafood platter for two is the order to get.
- Đenovići waterfront. Right next to Kumbor, a few minutes on foot, the little cafés and family restaurants along the Đenovići seafront have a more local feel — and lower prices than the marina.
Đenovići: the local side, a short walk away
This is a tip most first-timers miss. Walk a few minutes east from Portonovi and you reach Đenovići, an ordinary coastal village with stone houses, a quiet seafront and locals doing their day. You would never guess a five-star marina is right next door.
It is nothing dramatic. But sitting at a café on the Đenovići waterfront, or eating at a small konoba there, gives you the everyday Montenegro that the marina, by design, does not. Worth the short walk for a contrast.
Day trips we run from Portonovi
Portonovi is a good base because the best of the Bay of Kotor is within an hour. You can contact us for private excursions from the resort — we work with local partners on the Montenegro side and can build a half day or a full day around what you want to see. The ones we set up most often:
- Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks. The one we recommend first. A small baroque village on the bay, and a short boat to the man-made islet church just offshore. Boats run every 10–15 minutes in season. This is the part of the day most guests remember.
- Kotor and the cable car. The walled UNESCO old town, plus the Kotor–Lovćen cable car that opened in 2023. The ride up takes about 11 minutes to the Lovćen massif, with adult round-trip tickets usually around €20–€25 depending on season and promotions. For the direct route there, see our run from Dubrovnik to Kotor.
- Herceg Novi. Just up the road. A town of stairs and fortresses — Forte Mare, Kanli Kula and Španjola — founded back in 1382, with a lived-in feel Kotor has lost. Close enough for a quick half day, and we run it as a direct Dubrovnik to Herceg Novi transfer too.
- A boat trip to Rose, Mamula and the Blue Cave. Boats leave from the Herceg Novi and Đenovići side, right near you. You pass the old fishing village of Rose, the island fortress of Mamula (now a luxury hotel), a hidden Yugoslav-era submarine tunnel, and swim in the Blue Cave (Plava Špilja). A half-day trip runs about 4–5 hours.
- Porto Montenegro, Tivat. The other big marina in the bay, around 30 minutes away — superyachts moored by the Regent, designer boutiques, a Rolex boutique, and a row of waterfront bars built for long evenings. The most glamorous corner of the bay, and an easy half day.
- The scenic drive around the bay. A favourite of ours. Instead of taking the quick Kamenari–Lepetane ferry across the strait, we drive the long way around the inner bay through Kamenari, Risan and Perast. It takes longer, but it is the most scenic side of the whole trip. Our guide to the scenic stops between Dubrovnik and Kotor walks through each one.
If you want to go further afield, Budva and the national parks inland are within reach for a full day. For a shortlist of what is worth the drive, our roundup of places in Montenegro to visit is a good start.
And for something completely different, you can cross back into Bosnia for a day trip to Trebinje, an underrated town a short drive away.
How we help you get to Portonovi
Most of our Portonovi bookings are simple airport pickups: we meet your flight at Dubrovnik Airport with a name sign, handle the border, and drop you at the resort. We also run the return, set up private day trips while you are based there, and arrange the driver-change option when the border calls for it. The fleet is Mercedes across the range, so the car can match the trip — an E-Class for a couple, an S-Class when you want it, a V-Class van for a family with luggage.
Send us your arrival date, your flight time and how many people are travelling, and we will reply with a fixed, all-in price for the Dubrovnik to Portonovi transfer. We confirm the car, the pickup details and the payment method before the trip.
Frequently asked questions
How far is Portonovi from Dubrovnik?
About 35 km from Dubrovnik Airport and about 60 km from Dubrovnik old town. The airport is much closer because it sits south of the city, near the Montenegro border.
How long does the transfer take?
From the airport, around 40–45 minutes of driving plus border time. From the city centre, around 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30 plus the border. In peak summer the border can add anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours.
Do I need a passport, and is Montenegro in the EU?
Montenegro is not in the EU or the Schengen zone, so this is a full border crossing. A passport is strongly recommended for every passenger, but entry rules depend on nationality, so check the current rules before you travel. The euro is used on both sides.
Which border crossing is best?
It depends on the day. The main Debeli Brijeg–Karasovići crossing is busiest in summer. The smaller Vitaljina/Kobila–Konfin crossing nearby is usually quieter but takes passenger cars only. Our drivers check conditions and choose the faster one.
Can I travel at night to avoid the queues?
Yes, and it usually helps. Early morning and late evening crossings are far quicker than the midday summer rush. We can time your pickup for the quieter hours.
Is Portonovi worth visiting if I am not staying at the resort?
For a coffee, a meal and a walk along the marina, yes. It is a contained, upscale complex rather than a town to explore for hours, so a shorter stop suits most people who are not hotel guests.
What are the best day trips from Portonovi?
Perast with Our Lady of the Rocks, Kotor with the cable car, Herceg Novi, Porto Montenegro in Tivat, and a boat trip to Rose, Mamula and the Blue Cave. All are within about an hour, and we can arrange them as private excursions.
Is a private transfer better than renting a car?
For a first arrival, usually yes. You skip the parking problem inside the gated complex, your driver handles the border and picks the faster crossing, and you can relax instead of navigating. A rental makes more sense if you plan to drive around Montenegro for several days.
