Airport in Tivat: where is it located and how to get to it?

Montenegro in recent years has become an increasingly popular destination for beach tourism, because before the trip it is worth learning a little more about this country. For example, many flights departing to this country arrive at Tivat airport - if your knowledge of geography is not so scanty, you know that it is not the capital. Accordingly, the traveler, accustomed to thinking independently, wonders where he will go to an unfamiliar country and whether it is better to fly to Podgorica, which is the capital. Let's try to figure everything out in order.

The first thing to say is that there are only two international airports in Montenegro, so that from abroad you can fly either to the capital Podgorica, or, actually, to Tivat. At the same time, do not rush to scold the air carriers - if you are traveling precisely for the sake of a beach holiday, it is from here that it will be much easier for you to reach the majority of Montenegrin resorts on the coast. However, we will talk about this in more detail later.

For the first time, the airport’s similarity was discovered at this place after World War II, but at that time there was no need for a major international destination for tourists - the socialist structure of then Yugoslavia did not contribute much to international tourism. At first, the airfield was conceived to a greater extent as a training ground for parachutists, both civilian and military. However, local authorities decided that the runway should not stand idle without regular flights, and in 1957, the first passenger route to Belgrade appeared here, today being the capital of neighboring Serbiaand then the former capital of the entire united Yugoslavia. This route is actively exploited so far.

Unable to become a full-fledged international tourist center, Montenegrin Adriatic, on the other hand, was becoming more and more interesting for the citizens of Yugoslavia itself, which was not such a small country. Since 1968, two more routes have been added, then considered internal - to Zagreb and Skopje (today these are the capitals, respectively, of Croatia and Northern Macedonia). The realization by the authorities that the airport is becoming more and more popular is evidenced by the construction of a new air terminal here, which opened in 1971. Together with him, they built a full-fledged asphalt runway with a width of 45 meters and a length of two and a half kilometers.

As in Yugoslav times, so far about 80% of all arrivals and departures occur in the summer time. This is due to the fact that Tivat itself is located in a relatively small town far from megacities, but not far from several popular resorts. In the schedule of its passenger traffic, periods of peak load and relative standstill are clearly visible, but in general, the airport is able to work very productively, serving up to 6 flights hourly. In 2018, these air gates let through 1.25 million passengers, twice as many as the entire population of this tiny country.

With all its popularity, Tivat seems to be a very unusual international airport, since it does not work at night in principle. The reason is simple and even banal - for decades of existence, the runway has not bothered to equip with lighting.They planned to carry out the corresponding modernization in 2009, but as of today, things have not gone beyond plans. But in the near future they now want to build a new terminal that can cope with the sharply increased passenger traffic - maybe then they will take over the lighting.

If you have flown at least once, Tivat airport is unlikely to surprise you with something else besides its modest size. In all other respects, this is a completely typical air terminal - for example, there is a car rental for arrivals and a mandatory duty free for those who fly away. In general, the procedures that must be performed when using the airport are standard. Here are tips for arrivals:

• stay in your place in the cabin of the aircraft until the ship stops completely and the crew says that you can leave;
• Going down the ramp, you need to get to the arrival hall, but there are no special buses, as in major air ports, so get ready to go on foot - good, there will be relatively close;
• in the arrival hall you have to go through border control in accordance with the rules established in the framework of bilateral relations of Montenegro with the country whose passport you present;
• luggage can be obtained here;
• after completing all the formalities, you can go to the main hall, then go out through the south side of the terminal and continue to act according to your own plans.

For flying away, the rules are also quite ordinary, for a traveler with experience, they will not seem strange:

• You need to arrive at the terminal at least two hours before the departure, especially if you fly away at the height of the tourist season;
• entrance for departing is carried out on the north side of the building, inside you need to find an unoccupied reception desk or take a queue if everyone is busy;
• after registering for boarding, arrange and hand over large bags and suitcases in the luggage;
• perform all necessary procedures with local border guards - in particular, go through a pre-flight inspection for the legality of your departure and the absence of things that are prohibited for export, as well as passport control;
• According to the results of the successful passage of all checks, you should have been given a special boarding pass - you need to show it to the employees at the plane entrance to prove that the border guards have no complaints to you.

The schedule and set of directions at the airport of Tivat changes regularly, as it is a rather busy international airport terminal, especially on the scale of such a small country. Local authorities have done a lot for the development of the Montenegrin tourism industry, the country is happy to receive foreign guests, because in the summer, the choice of travel destinations is quite impressive. But in the winter, it is impossible to get here directly from any airports other than Belgrade and Sheremetyev Moscow, but on the same points, airplanes fly all year round and quite often.

In the summer, Tivat literally comes to life, so it is not necessary to get to Moscow to fly here. The list of destinations for Russians is becoming much wider - seasonal and charter flights are now also flying to St. Petersburg, two other Moscow airports are also connected - Domodedovo and Vnukovo. Such flights are operated by both Russian airlines and Montenegro Airlines Montenegrin.

If you are traveling, you may be interested in some other destinations where direct flights depart. Please note that the current schedule may change almost every week, but in general you can take routes to the following countries and regions approximately from April to October:

• Ukraine (Boryspil, Kiev, Kharkov, Odessa, Dnepr);
• other post-Soviet countries (Moldovan Chisinau, Armenian Yerevan, Azerbaijani Baku, Estonian Tallinn);
• Poland (Warsaw (Chopin), Katowice, Poznan);
• Germany (Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Hannover, Leipzig / Halle);
• Western Europe (Belgian Brussels, British London (Gatwick) and Manchester, Swiss Geneva, Dutch Amsterdam and Eindhoven, French Paris);
• Northern Europe (Swedish Stockholm and Gothenburg, Danish Copenhagen, Finnish Helsinki, Norwegian Oslo);
• Middle East (UAE Dubai and Tel Aviv Israel (Ben Gurion).

Due to this diversity of destinations, a huge number of tourists arrive in Montenegro, even from those countries and cities with which there is no direct air service. In general, Tivat airport is connected to all major European logistics centers, so you can usually get here from any city that has its own air terminal, with a maximum of one transfer.

The big advantage of the air terminal in Tivat is that it is very small, and therefore it is unrealistic to get lost here - you simply will not have much of a choice of wrong ways to turn in the wrong direction. The big disadvantage of this building is that, with the current intensity of work, the airport of this small town still remains deeply provincial in terms of service, and there is no reason to rely on any decent service here.

Since only those who have just got out of a hotel room, or local, use this airport, something like a shower at the airport has not yet appeared. You can have a bite at a local cafe, but there are no higher level food establishments, like a restaurant, either. There are also no special recreation areas - inside the hall there are only a few chairs provided for a huge crowd of tourists, regularly observed in recent years, which creates an increased demand for café services where you can still sit. For this reason experienced travelers usually do not advise to come to Tivat airport in advance - Of course, it is better not to be late and go through all the procedures without undue haste, but not everyone will be able to stand for two hours or longer.

You can navigate in the building itself and outside with the help of codes placed everywhere, which can be used in accessible language to explain the speaker to any language where the infrastructure of interest may be located. As you already understood, there is quite a bit of it here, so getting lost here is really difficult - unless you are truly surprised, not being able to find a luggage room. The reason, alas, lies not in your inability to navigate, but in the fact that she, too, is not in this amazing airport.

After all this, it is hardly surprising that neither at the airport of Tivat nor there is nothing close to a hotel or any other place to sleep. In principle, such infrastructure is not very necessary here, since there are no night flights, and upon arrival or before departure, it is better to spend the night in a pre-booked hotel at a resort that you have chosen at home - fortunately, in Montenegro they don’t know about distances.

What the local authorities took care of is the mother’s and the baby’s room - it can be found on the second building of the station, near the cafe and waiting room. Lately, even beds have been set up here for which mom and baby can claim. Theoretically, even anyone who wishes may lie down here, but far from everybody knows about this innovation, and rest in the company of crying babies is not always so attractive.

If the rest of the infrastructure leaves much to be desired, then for children and their parents, everything was done quite well. For example, there is a kitchen nearby where you can warm up the formula for a child, and a small dining room is provided. Naturally, there are changing tables and furniture for storing various hygiene items.

If a child is already out of infancy, it does not mean that his needs are of no interest to anyone. For example, there is also a small children's library nearby, access to which is free. At the same time, parents can even leave their business for a short time, leaving the child in the children's room under the supervision of a professional educator. This option is very convenient for those who want to visit a duty free or solve the issue with a rented car. However, admission to this room is not so simple - the baby will be allowed in there only after a medical examination and availability of the relevant certificate, but you can quickly go through the whole procedure right in the medical station of the station.

Contrary to all its old-fashionedness and the lack of many basic amenities, Tivat Airport was equipped with wireless Internet. By the standards of most modern people, the connection here does not shine with speed at all, but when there is practically no other entertainment, even such a bonus seems very important.

Many locals, especially taxi drivers, park right outside the airport building, without driving into a paid parking lot. According to some tourists, finding a place is difficult, but still possible. The local police seem to make no comments on this, but only you decide whether to do so. As for paid parking, it is relatively small - just over two hundred cars and a dozen buses can simultaneously accommodate here. Judging by the reviews, if you stay at less than a quarter of an hour, you don’t pay anything at all, in the future the payment will be from 60 eurocents for each hour.

Tivat Airport is located on the shores of Kotor Bay, in the vicinity of the same city. The distance to the city center is only a couple of kilometers, so you can overcome the distance in any convenient way - by taxi, bus or rented car, the road will take very little time. From other cities to get is also not so difficult - the fact that this is one of only two international airports in the country, but more on that later. It is important to note that the busy highway connecting the city of Tivat with the rest of Montenegro runs literally a hundred meters from the terminal building.

If you look at the map, Tivat is located in the southwestern part of Montenegro, relatively close (but across the bay) from the border with Croatiaas well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a rule, beach tourists go somewhere further, but if you do not travel by ticket from a travel agency, be sure to take the time for the town itself - with a modest population of 13,000 people for the entire municipality, including the surrounding villages, there is simply amazingly high concentration attractions. By the way, the nearest beach is located directly behind the airport, and the town and its surroundings can please the traveler with picturesque mountain landscapes, warm water in the bay and ancient architecture, because the settlement has existed at this place for more than 2 thousand years.

It is clear that a million and a quarter of passengers a year is a bit too much for a ten-thousand-thousand Tivat. Travel companies use this airport as the closest to many other resorts, such as the popular Budva, and if you are traveling in an organized, package tour, then it will certainly provide a transfer to the hotel. If you are an independent traveler, pay attention to buses, taxis or the possibility of car rental.

The bus is considered the cheapest solution, its cost is from 2 euros per person. The stop at the airport has the appearance of a characteristic yellow mushroom, however, the terminal itself is not the end for any route - everything that passes here. Transport will have to slow down by raising a hand - he will not stop, but he will not refuse to throw a willing traveler. The interval of movement is about half an hour.The direction to Budva, Kotor, Podgorica and most other famous resorts suggests that you will not even have to cross the road from the airport, Tivat itself, respectively, in the opposite direction.

Taxi drivers are even waiting for you right in front of the airport, landing costs from 0.5 euro, then you have to pay from 80 euro cents per kilometer. Experienced tourists warn that at the peak of the season, drivers often call overpriced, because for a 40-minute trip the cost can be several tens of euros. To avoid unnecessary margins, it is advised to pre-order a taxi through the site - there is a fixed price, and you can choose the passenger capacity of the car, as well as other amenities, such as a working air conditioner.

If you want to move around the country freely, independently determining the route at any time of the day, it will be most practical to rent a car. This service is provided directly at the airport, but in the summer season it is better to make an order in advance by calling the contact number, otherwise there may not be free transport at the right time. The cost of this service ranges from 12 to 20 euros per day, depending on both the chosen car model and the company that provided the transport, since the competition for the client is quite high.

Tips for tourists traveling to Tivat, in the video below.