The Best Places to see for an Incredible Montenegro Road Trip Itinerary.
You’re going away soon and need help planning your Montenegro road trip. Worry not; you’ve come to the right place. This article will show you where to go and what to see.
We’ll try our best to make your Montenegro road trip unforgettable and give you all the highlights of the beautiful country. It’s one of the most beautiful European countries and worth visiting.
Montenegro is a small country in South Eastern Europe that is still relatively ‘less discovered’ compared to nearby Dubrovnik in Croatia. However, this amazing mountainous country that borders Albania and has coastline access on the Adriatic Sea to the west offers many hidden places to explore and unspoiled destinations that are simply perfect for a road trip.
The country is both an affordable and astonishing place to visit but is growing in popularity. Our Montenegro travel guide shows the best places to visit for an incredible Montenegro road trip itinerary.
Useful things to know before a Montenegro Road Trip
Language: Montenegrin
Currency: Euro €
Airports: Podgorica and Tivat Airport
You can also fly to Dubrovnik and cross the Bosnian border into Kotor.
Driving in Montenegro
The best way to get around Montenegro is to rent a car, and there are plenty of the top car rental companies to choose from. You can easily pick them up at the airport.
The roads are generally good, and some toll roads are in excellent condition. We found that the roads in Durmitor National Park were mostly single-lane, which was beautiful.
There are buses, which are quite popular with budget travellers and go to the main places. There are also some train services which connect Podgorica to the coastline and the mountains.
How long do I need for a Montenegro Road Trip?
How much time do you have? This question is hard to answer and depends on how long you have and how you like to travel. Montenegro is a small country and can be visited in 4 days to 2 weeks.
If you are short on time, we recommend heading to the Bay of Kotor and Durmitor National Park (if you like mountains and hiking) or the Bay of Kotor and the coastline (Budva Riviera) if you want to be by the beach.
You can visit Kotor, the coastline, Lake Skadar National Park, Podgorica, and Durmitor National Park if you have longer. You could do all this in a week if you travel quickly or two weeks at a slower pace.
Best Time to Visit Montenegro for a Road Trip
The peak season gets very busy (June, July and August). If you want to visit when there are fewer tourists, you should visit during the shoulder season (May and September).
The weather is still good at this time, and it is better for hiking, too, if you are heading to one of the national parks.
Montenegro Road Trip Tips
- Bring cash with you or draw it out of the cash machines (there is a €5 charge). Most places do accept cards. However, if you’re passing through smaller villages or visiting some tourist attractions, having cash on you is a good idea.
- Google Map times may not be accurate due to the curvy roads, and it’s, therefore, a good idea to add 10 minutes to each journey. There is also a lot of traffic around Kotor, so you will need to factor that into your journey.
- It’s a good idea to download the Montenegro map from Google Maps (offline) or Maps. Me. If you are visiting from the UK like us – your data will not work because Montenegro is not in the EU. You can buy a SIM or download everything in advance (we did the latter).
- Get car insurance and roadside assistance, some roads are narrow and windy, and it is better to be protected.
- There are toll roads, but they are inexpensive, and the roads are great.
- There is a range of accommodations, from budget hostels, hotels, B&Bs, camping, and apartments. Therefore, there will be something for your budget.
- If you plan to visit a monastery or a church, wear appropriate clothing and cover your shoulders and knees.
- Food is not great for vegetarians and vegans, and the menus are mostly for meat and fish eaters. However, you can still find some dishes in Kotor and Zabljak.
- Try the beer – Montenegro Niksic Kio!
Best Places to see on a Montenegro Road Trip.
Bay of Kotor and Kotor
The Bay of Kotor is the most beautiful bay in the country and one of the most amazing in the world. It is so beautiful it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We visited Kotor, Perast and Herceg Novi on our Montenegro road trip.
Kotor is the main town on the Bay of Kotor and has been inhabited for over 2,000 years. The biggest tip is to try and visit Kotor when the cruise ships are not there, as there is a huge influx of people. Most of our stay there were cruise ships (we visited in August), but on the one evening, there was no one there – it was extremely noticeable and much quieter in the city. You can check the cruise ship schedule here.
Some of the best things to do in Kotor include:
- Walking the city walls and Stari Grad
- Hike to Kotor Fortress
- Browse Kotor Bazaar
- Going on a boat trip (these can be booked at the harbour).
- Having a beer at the Old Town Pub
- Having an ice cream at Marshall’s Gelato
- Catch the ferry to Perast (€3 single). You can visit Our Lady of the Rocks on a boat ride when you’re there.
- Admire the cats – there are cats everywhere!
Some good seafood restaurants in the bay of Kotor are:
- Scala Santa
- Port
- Bokeski Gusti
We stayed in Kotor (almost in Kotor – we had to walk 20-minutes) and would recommend doing the same. Other bloggers recommend staying in Perast, but we found there was less to do, and it was more expensive. We had the most expensive coffee of our Balkan trip! You can also get the ferry to visit Perast from Kotor, but we enjoyed the liveliness of Kotor.
Additionally, you can visit Herceg Novi, which we preferred to Perast because it was much bigger and there were plenty of little spots for a swim and nice waterfront bars and walks. However, we went on the way to Kotor from Bosnia, which means that it was not out of our way, whereas if you were coming from the opposite direction, it might be too far if you’re short on time.
Visit the Coastline
Montenegro has a beautiful yet busy coastline. There are plenty of fabulous places to go, including Budva, Sveti Stefan and Bar. If you are short on time and want to be in action, we recommend Budva. If you want to find hidden quieter spots, we recommend Sveti Stefan, or if you wish to go with the locals, we recommend heading to Bar.
Budva Riviera
Budva is a beach tourist hotspot in Montenegro. Some of the best things to do in Budva include beaches, nightlife, and cultural activities. Budva has been famous for its beautiful beaches since ancient times and has a wonderful Old City on a peninsula.
The main beach is called “Plaža Lucija” and stretches for more than 3 kilometres. It is where most people go to sunbathe or swim during summertime.
You can visit on a day trip from Kotor by car or bus, which will take around 45 minutes to an hour. Head for the Podgorica bus!
Sveti Stefan
About 10km from Budva, you will find Sveti Stefan, a 1.64-hectare island that was turned into an exclusive hotel in 2007. The island only allows hotel guests, and the rooms are expensive. You will have to imagine that it was once a fishing village in the 15th century with about 400 people living there.
Don’t worry. You don’t have to pay over the odds to get a good view of the island, and the beaches are open to the public and are free to use.
We decided to head to Crvena Glavica beach nearby because we wanted somewhere quiet and peaceful for an afternoon dip in the sea. On the pebble beach were sunbeds and parasols to rent, a bar and restaurant or places you could lie down further down. We loved the views of Sveti Stefan from this spot.
Bar
If you want to go where the locals are on your Montenegro road trip itinerary, head to Bar. It seemed different from the other coastal places we visited on our Montenegro Road Trip. There weren’t necessarily loads to do in Bar, but they had a beach, cafes, restaurants and places where you could hire bikes and scooters.
We visited by train from Podgorica, which was a beautiful train journey passing through Lake Skadar National Park. It cost less than €4 return (although it was very sweaty in summer).
Lovcen National Park
Lovcen National Park is a national park in Montenegro, located in the Rijeka Crnojevića municipality. It is one of the oldest national parks in Europe and covers an area of 6,790 hectares. Lovcen’s highest peak is Mount Durmitor, at 1,831 metres above sea level.
The park contains the Mausoleum of Njegos, which was built in 1847 as a family church and later became a mausoleum. You have two options, you can drive to the mausoleum, or you can hike to it.
However, if you are driving from Kotor, it is important to understand that the road is extremely windy and is known as the Serpentine Road; if you look this up on Google Maps, you will understand how crazy the road is. However, the viewpoints over the Bay of Kotor are spectacular.
Cetinje
We stopped off at Cetinje on the way to Podgorica. It was the former royal capital and was the residence of the president of Montenegro. It is small but pretty with colourful houses and was founded in the 15th century.
You can visit a Monastery and museums, and the Lipa Cave is nearby, one of the biggest caves and tourist attractions in Montenegro. If you are passing through, it is definitely worth a look around on a Montenegro road trip.
Podgorica – Explore the Capital
Podgorica is the capital and largest city of Montenegro, and we stopped here for one night on our way to Durmitor National Park. If you’re coming from Kotor, you can visit the Lake Skadar National Park viewpoint on the way, which is about a 20-minute detour.
The city has a mix of old and new and a cool nightlife scene; we could visit everywhere on foot. It is also where we caught the train to Bar, which was a fun experience for a Montenegro road trip, although sweaty in the summer. We enjoyed walking around and getting a feel for the place and loved walking around to find bars playing live music.
Zabijak and Durmitor National Park
Tara River Canyon Bridge
Tara Canyon is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most beautiful spots we visited on our Montenegro trip. We loved walking over the bridge (watch out for the cars) and looking down on the rafters below, rafting through the crystal blue waters. The best viewpoint is on the left-hand side of the bridge near the cafes.
The views were out of this world, and you could watch or go on a zip line. There is no need to book in advance. You can see them for yourself and decide as there are a lot of different companies and routes. You can also start your rafting adventure here, which is extremely popular, we saw so many people on the water.
Stroll around Black Lake
Black Lake (Crno Jezro) is busy and has an entry fee to enter, but it is extremely pretty and gives you a great taste of what the national park is like. Beautiful, calm, mirror waters and the reflections look almost black. It needs to be seen on a Montenegro road trip.
You can hire a boat on Black Lake if you don’t want to walk, and there are plenty of stalls as you enter to browse around and buy local produce like honey and mushrooms. It is easy to get to as you can walk from Zabilak. The path from the entrance is about 700m, and you can walk the 3.5km path around the lake.
Zabljak
We recommend staying in Zabilak during your time in Durmitor National Park. It has supermarkets, ATMs, bakeries (Pekara), cafes and restaurants.
Additionally, it is close to some unreal hikes and scenery. We had some lovely food at Restaurant Or’O in the town and would recommend it!
Chair lift Savin KUK
One of our favourite things on our Montenegro road trip was going on the chair lift to Savin KUK. It is also easy to do and close to Zabilak, so it is easy to fit in with other activities. Of course, this is only a summer activity, but you can visit in winter to ski!
You can buy a €9 return ticket from the office below, which accepts card payments. There are two chair lifts, and you have to walk between them. It takes you 1.5km up the mountain to 2313m, and the views are out of this world. You can stay as long as you like at the top as long as you leave plenty of time for the last chair lift down.
Prutas Peak
When we decided to hike in Durmitor, we looked for the hike with the best views and easiest in difficulty and time. On almost every list, Prutas Peak came out on top. We knew we had to had this hike to our Montenegro road trip itineary.
We did the out-and-back route, which was 8.3km, 773m in elevation and took us around 4 hours with stops. We were walking quite quickly, so expect it to take longer! We normally choose circular routes or the tallest peaks, but on this occasion, the weather was too hot to hike for too long, and we did not have the right equipment for Bobotov Kuk.
Other blogs also noted on other blogs that on the hike to Prutas Peak, you get the best view of Bobotov Kuk, and we loved this. The start is at Sarban, and to get there from Zabilak, you will drive the scenic route.
If we had longer, we would also like to hike to:
- Bobotov Kuk.
- Sljeme Peak.
- Skrka Lakes Valley.
Final Thoughts
That’s a wrap! If it is not obvious, we fell deeply in love with the country’s beauty. Of course, there are so many places that you can visit on a Montenegro road trip itinerary, and we will be returning to see the things we missed.
What are your must-see places in Montenegro? Let us know in the comments, and help others explore those hidden gems too!
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Photo Credits: averagelives.com