Montenegro Travel Guide (2026)
Kotor, the bay, beaches, and mountains — everything you need for Montenegro. Compact, dramatic, and still affordable. Getting there, where to stay,...
Montenegro is compact and dramatic — the Bay of Kotor, medieval old towns, and Adriatic beaches in a country you can drive across in 3 hours. Kotor is the must-see (2 nights). Fly into Tivat (8km from Kotor) or transfer from Dubrovnik (2 hours). Montenegro uses the Euro and costs €80–120/day mid-range.
Montenegro is the smallest country in the western Balkans and arguably the most dramatic. Imagine fjord-like bays backed by 1,700-meter mountains, medieval walled towns, and Adriatic beaches — all packed into a country you can drive across in three hours. It’s the Balkans in concentrate.
Kotor
Kotor is why most people come to Montenegro, and it delivers. The old town is a UNESCO-listed maze of churches, piazzas, and cat-filled alleyways enclosed by massive medieval walls that climb straight up the mountainside behind.
The essential Kotor experience: Walk the old town early morning (before cruise ships dock at 9am), climb the fortress walls to San Giovanni (1,350 steps — do it at sunrise or sunset, not midday), eat seafood at one of the restaurants along the bay outside the old town (half the price of inside), and take a boat to Our Lady of the Rocks — a tiny island church built on an artificial reef.
Cruise ship reality: Kotor gets 2,000+ cruise ship visitors on busy days. The old town goes from peaceful to packed between 9am and 5pm. Stay overnight and you get the real Kotor — the one that exists after the ships leave.
How long to stay: 2 nights is perfect. One for the old town, one for the bay.
The Bay of Kotor
The bay (Boka Kotorska) is the real star. It looks like a Norwegian fjord transplanted to the Mediterranean — deep blue water ringed by limestone mountains, with tiny villages and Venetian-era churches dotting the shoreline.
Perast is the most beautiful village on the bay — a one-street Venetian town with stone palaces slowly being restored. From here you take the boat to Our Lady of the Rocks.
The drive around the bay (Kotor → Perast → Risan → Herceg Novi) is stunning from a car. This is one of those routes where a private transfer lets you stop at every viewpoint, which you can’t do on a bus.
Budva and the beaches
Budva has the best beaches in Montenegro. The old town is a smaller version of Dubrovnik — fortified walls, terracotta roofs, waterfront restaurants. It’s more of a beach resort than a cultural destination.
Sveti Stefan is the iconic image of Montenegro — a fortified island village connected to the shore by a narrow isthmus. It’s now an Aman resort (€1,000+/night) but the beach beside it is public and the view is free.
Jaz Beach outside Budva is one of the best in the country — long, sandy, and less developed than Budva’s town beaches.
The mountains
Most visitors stick to the coast, but Montenegro’s interior is extraordinary.
Durmitor National Park is a UNESCO-listed mountain wilderness with canyons, glacial lakes, and the Tara River Canyon — the deepest canyon in Europe (1,300m). Rafting on the Tara is one of the best adventure activities in the Balkans.
The road from Kotor to Cetinje (the old royal capital) climbs 25 hairpin turns up the mountainside with views over the entire bay. It’s one of the most famous drives in Europe. Your transfer driver will know exactly where to stop for photos.
Practical info
Currency: Euro (€). Montenegro adopted the Euro unilaterally — it’s not in the EU but uses Euros anyway.
Language: Montenegrin (very similar to Serbian/Bosnian/Croatian). English is good in Kotor and Budva, less so inland.
Getting around: Montenegro’s size is an advantage — nothing is more than 3 hours from anything else. There’s no train system worth using. Buses connect coastal towns but are slow. Private transfers are the most practical option for airport pickups and cross-border routes.
Costs: Mid-range between Croatia and Bosnia. Budget €80–120/day. Kotor old town is the most expensive area. Everything gets cheaper 10 minutes outside the tourist zones.
Airports: Tivat (TIV) is the closest to Kotor (8km away). Podgorica (TGD) is the capital’s airport, about 90 minutes from the coast. Dubrovnik airport is often cheaper to fly into and only 2 hours from Kotor by transfer.
Best routes to and from Montenegro
- Dubrovnik → Kotor — 2 hours along the coast, one of Europe’s great drives
- Kotor → Mostar — 4 hours through Herzegovina
- Tivat Airport → Kotor — 15 minutes, the easiest airport transfer in the Balkans
- Tivat Airport → Dubrovnik — 1.5 hours
When is the best time to visit Montenegro?
May–June: Ideal. Warm, not too crowded, everything open. The bay is at its most beautiful.
July–August: Hot and busy, especially Budva. Kotor gets hammered by cruise ships. If you go, avoid midday in the old town.
September: Arguably the best month. Water is warmest, crowds thin, light is golden.
Winter: The coast is mild (10–15°C) but quiet. Mountains get serious snow — Kolasin and Zabljak have ski resorts.
Start planning: Book a transfer to Kotor or explore all routes.
Ready to explore?
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