Do You Need a Passport for a Day Trip to Montenegro or Bosnia from Dubrovnik?

Short answer: yes. Croatia joined the Schengen area in January 2023, but that only removes border checks between Croatia and other Schengen countries. Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina are neither EU members nor part of Schengen, so any day trip that crosses into either country involves a real international border, with a real passport check.

What you actually need

• EU/EEA citizens: a valid national ID card or passport.
• Everyone else: a valid passport. Check entry requirements for your nationality before you travel — most Western passport holders don’t need a visa for a short visit, but rules vary by country and do change.
• Travel insurance: worth checking it covers you outside the EU for the day, particularly for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Which of our tours cross a border?

Two of our regular day trips leave Croatia: the Montenegro Day Tour to Perast and Kotor, and the Mostar Day Tour into Bosnia and Herzegovina. Both are straightforward border crossings on well-used routes — your driver has done them many times and knows what to expect at each checkpoint.

Tours that stay inside Croatia, like the Pelješac Private Trip and the Konavle Day Tour, don’t involve any border at all — just your ID for hotel check-in purposes if asked.

How long does the border crossing add to the day?

Usually just a few minutes per crossing outside of peak midsummer traffic. Early morning departures — which is how we schedule these tours — generally clear both borders faster than a midday crossing.

Bringing children

Children need their own passport or ID card; a parent’s document doesn’t cover them. If a child is travelling with only one parent and has a different surname, some border officials may ask for proof of relationship — a birth certificate is the simplest thing to carry, just in case.

Questions about a specific nationality or a specific tour? Message us on WhatsApp before you book and we’ll tell you exactly what to bring.