I have been to Montenegro twice – November 2018 and October 2019.
My girlfriend and I went there in the fall for a reason: after the end of the season in October, accommodation and plane tickets are two or three times cheaper, and beaches and tourist spots are usually empty. A trip to Montenegro at this time is a great way to get away from the hustle and bustle and relax.
In this article, I’ll tell you how to get there, where to live and what to see.
Introductory data
How long to fly: there are no direct flights to Montenegro in 2023, travel time depends on the chosen route and the number of connections. The minimum is 4.5 hours if you fly with a 45-minute connection in Belgrade.
When it’s in season: May through October.
Currency: 1 €.
Language: Montenegrin.
Weather
The tourist season in Montenegro lasts from May to September. The velvet season starts in April and ends in October-November.
Montenegro can be conditionally divided into two parts. The first is coastal, the climate there is mild, in summer the average temperature is +25…30 °С. The sea in the beginning of May warms up to +21 °С, in June it is already +24 °С. In October – November you can walk in a T-shirt during the day, at night it gets colder to +10…15 °С. Winter is short, there are practically no minus temperatures.
In the second part of the country, mountainous, the summer is moderately warm – up to +25 °С. In winter it is cool – -10…+5 °С. Snow stays from the middle of November to the middle of March.
Montenegro has been abnormally warm in recent years. For example, on October 25, 2019, I was hot in a T-shirt and shorts: street thermometers in Budva during the day showed +40 °C in the shade.
Tourist tax
Within 24 hours after entering the country, foreign nationals must be registered with a tourist organization or with the police at the place of stay. Usually travel agencies, hotel or apartment owners are in charge of registration.
There you also pay tourist tax – 0,1-1 € per day depending on the city. If you don’t do it, you can be fined at the airport. In Tivat in 2019, an employee of the organization told me that for one day without registration you will have to pay 40 €. According to travelers’ experience, the fine has not changed in 2023.
If you are traveling on your own and rent an apartment, the owners may forget about the registration and fine you at the airport. Therefore, after checking in, it is better to ask the owner of the apartment for a receipt of payment for registration. If he refuses, take his address and the name of the hotel owner and go to the tourist organization yourself.
Cities and attractions
is located on the Vrmac peninsula. It is a small town of only 46 km² – a little bigger than Podolsk. The population in 2023 is about 9500 people. Mostly international flights fly here, more often charters with tourists who prefer beach vacations.
In Tivat, I liked the Porto Montenegro marina, a parking lot for superyachts. There are several huge ships moored here, including some made to look like antiques, and cruise yachts also come here. Porto has a beautiful promenade, but it is quite noisy: a large hotel has been built nearby and there are several street cafes.
Herceg Novi is called the city of stairs or the city of a thousand stairs: the terrain here is hilly and you have to go up and down frequently. In an hour, I walked 4 kilometers on rather steep stairs and paths and got tired, although in other cities I used to walk at least 25 kilometers a day.
From the interesting things in the city it is worth visiting the sea fortress. It preserves old cannons and other weapons. There is an embankment, which was made on the site of the railroad. There are also a lot of churches and vegetation in the city. Locals say that Herceg Novi has more plant species than any other town in the Bay of Kotor.
You can get from Tivat to Herceg Novi by bus across the Verige Strait: the bus will pick up the ferry and be ferried to the other side. It takes almost 20 minutes, during which time you can admire the mountains from the water. The 2023 fare costs 2,5-3,5 €.
Kotor. Like everywhere else on the coast, the main attraction of Kotor is the Old Town. There is a fortress wall, on which you can walk freely, many churches, street cafes and souvenir stores.
Kotor is full of cats: they run through the alleys, meow from basements and look at tourists from narrow windows. There is even a Cat Square. If you sit down on a bench there, after a few seconds several purring animals will gather on your lap.
There is a dilapidated fortress above the Old Town of Kotor. According to the fitness tracker, it is 800 meters above sea level. There are two ways to get to it. The official way is by taking the steps from the Old Town. Different sources say there are 1300 or 1400 of them. Entrance to the steps costs 8 €.
The other way is free, but extreme – the secret trail. To get to it, you have to leave the town, find an old watermill and follow the mountain path upwards. After a couple dozen turns there will be a fortress wall with a wooden ladder and a window through which you have to climb. It’s dangerous: the last five steps you have to climb over sharp rocks above the cliff.
I would recommend going up to the fortress on the path and coming down the steps – it’s physically easier. The way up took us almost an hour and a half at a brisk pace. On the way back, we had to watch our balance: often there is no railing on the stairs, and the steps are quite high and narrow.
In Kotor you can book an excursion along the coast of Boka Kotor Bay, in 2023 it will cost 25-50 €. If you get to Kotor from Herceg Novi by bus, you can save money: you will travel the same route, only for 3 €. The trip lasts about an hour, the serpentine road is slow, so you have time to see everything.
Budva is considered one of the most party towns: there are more than ten beaches, two nightclubs and an aqua park. In the off-season it is quiet and peaceful. On the seafront you can sit in cafes or just on benches. You can get there from Tivat: by bus for 4 € or by cab for 25 €.
I liked Budva right away. As soon as you leave the bus station, you get to a restaurant with a small zoo. There are peacocks and rabbits walking freely there, lots of cats and palm trees. Pizza, coffee and desserts for a family of three in 2023 will cost about 30 €, with a full hot meal more expensive.
The Old Town is located on a small peninsula. You can literally walk around its narrow streets in a couple of hours. There are many souvenir stores in the area, but the prices are higher than in Budva itself. For example, a glass ball in the Old Town in 2019 cost 7-10 €, on the next street – 5 €, and in the distance from the center – already 3 €.
If you go up into the mountains, you can see the old monasteries. They are mostly destroyed, but there are still a few well-appointed ones. I visited the Podmaine monastery: there are several buildings inside, including a small church, which were built in the 15th century. The journey on foot would take an hour.
From Budva you can walk along the coast to neighboring towns and villages. The length of the route is 5-6 km, on the way you will pass two pedestrian tunnels in the mountains. The round trip will take approximately 3 hours.
On the way you can see the towns of Becici and Rafailovici, the fishing village of Przno and the private peninsula-hotel Sveti Stefan. It is not allowed unless you have a reservation. On the way you will meet several beaches – pebble and sandy-pebble. They are empty at the end of October.
Bar is the main seaport of the country. The atmosphere in the city is more businesslike than relaxed and touristy. Bar is also full of nine-story panel buildings with square balconies. It takes an hour to get there by train from Podgorica. A fare in 2023 costs 3-5 €. A bus ticket from Budva or Podgorica will cost 4,5-6,5 €.
There are many churches and mosques in Bar. The largest is the Church of St. John. In the center there is the palace of King Nikola with a chapel and botanical garden.
The old town of Bara and its fortress are different: they are located high above the sea. There are 240 sights marked on the map of the area, but most of them are either completely destroyed or under restoration. From the bus station to the Old Town you can take a cab for 10 €, the journey will take half an hour. It takes almost two hours on foot.
Half an hour’s walk from the Old Town there is an old olive tree, a tree that is over 2000 years old. A small park has been set up around the plant and in 2023 they charge 1 € for entry. But everything is clearly visible from the outside, there is no point in going into the park.
Zabljak and Durmitor. Zabljak is the center of mountain tourism in Montenegro and the highest town in the Balkans. It is located at an altitude of 1500 meters above sea level. In winter Zabljak becomes a ski resort, and in summer people come here for rafting, mountaineering and hiking. You can get here by bus from Podgorica. In 2023, a ticket will cost 10 €. The ride takes 2.5 hours.
The town itself is small, practically a village. But it is from there that walks around Durmitor, Montenegro’s national park-reserve, usually start. It is 390 km² with 18 glacial lakes, slopes and caves. Entry to the area in 2023 costs 3 €.
There are ready-made hiking trails for tourists in Durmitor. There you can wander through mountains, forests and blackberry fields. It is difficult to get lost: there are signs and landmarks written on the rocks.
The highest peak of Durmitor is Bobotov Kuk, which rises 2500 meters above sea level. Guidebooks say that no special preparation is needed for the ascent, but I disagree: part of the way you will have to climb over sharp stones, in some places climbing vertically upwards on prepared ropes. If you don’t do sports, it will be hard.
In the park there is a canyon of the Tara River, its length is almost 80 km. There you can try rafting – rafting on a small boat or kayak. In strong winds it is quite dangerous. In 2023 rafting costs from 10 € per person 70 € for renting a double kayak.
Until October 15, the park offers ziplines – rappelling down the tracks stretched over the river at a height of 190 meters. There are three of them: 350, 824 and 1050 meters. For 10 €, 20 € and 25 € in 2019 you could fly over the canyon on these ropes at speeds of up to 120 km/hour. I tried the longest option. The ride lasts only 60 seconds, scary only in the first moments. Then it’s a pleasure, only your eyes water from the speed. In 2023, a ticket for the short track will cost 15 €.
You can rent a bike in the park for 3 € per hour, but I wouldn’t recommend it: the terrain is hilly, lots of forest roads, walking is easier than riding.
It is possible to come to Durmitor with an excursion. Those wishing to go are usually recruited in Kotor and Budva, a trip in 2023 costs 40-60 €. Tourists are taken around the main sights, shown the beautiful bridge Djurdjevic and the Black Lake. One or two hours are allotted for the national park itself, the rest of the time is spent on the road. This is not enough: Durmitor is huge. It is better to go to Zabljak for two or three days on your own.
In my experience, half of the hotels in Zabljak are heated with wood: in the evenings, the town smells strongly of fire, and there are chimneys with smoke everywhere. We lived in just such a house. The water in the radiators is heated by the stove. In order to be warm in the morning, you have to heat up very much in the evening. It was warm during the day in Zabljak, I wore a sweater, and in the evening and morning I wore a winter jacket and a hat. We fell asleep under two blankets.
Housing
There are many hotels and apartments in Montenegro, they are searched on aggregator sites. At the beginning of November 2019 we rented a studio in Tivat with separate entrance, own kitchen, shower, washing machine and large balcony for 20 € per day.
It was more expensive to live in Zabljak. There the apartment cost 25 € per day, but it was a private house with all amenities. In Budva, a room for two people in a hotel with a pool and a private kitchen in mid-October 2019 cost 30 € per day. In summer on the coast and in winter in the mountains, prices for accommodation increase two to three times.
Transportation
Rent a car. Many attractions in Montenegro are located outside the cities. If you want to see everything, it is more convenient to travel by car. There are plenty of rental outlets, such as Localrent.com or Renta-car.me. A liter Chevrolet Spark in a 2023 will cost an average of 25 € per day. You can pay by cash or card.
The contract can also be made on the spot. At the entrance to Tivat you can rent a Nissan Micra for 20 €. Renting the same car near the airport is more expensive – 30 € per day.
I have not rented a car and asked friends to tell me about it. Here are the terms of the rental, according to them:
- The minimum age of the driver is 21 years old.
- The minimum driving experience is 2 years.
- The amount of the deposit depends on the company and the car. On average, a small car will be charged 100 € for 5 days.
Most often, the contract requires you to return the car with the same amount of fuel as you took it with. If there is less gasoline, you will be asked to pay the difference.
Buses between cities on the coast run every hour. Prices and timetables are available on busticket4.me. For example, a trip from Tivat airport to Budva will cost 3-4 € in 2023 if purchased on the website. A ticket at the station will cost 1 € more than on the website or on a hitchhiking bus you stop on the road.
It takes 12 hours to get from Tivat to Belgrade in Serbia, with tickets starting at €28 for 2023.
The buses are old, but clean. I’ve never seen reclining seats. There is no wifi. The bus drivers in Montenegro do not follow the timetable well: they can leave the station five minutes early or half an hour late. I advise you to come to the station in advance.
Public transportation. Cities in Montenegro are very small: you can walk from start to finish in one or two hours. Public transportation is practically not developed there. I saw only a few buses in Budva and Podgorica. A fare in 2023 costs 0,5-1 €.
Cab. I couldn’t call an Uber in Montenegro: the app doesn’t work. There are no other international networks either. Local companies, such as Olimpus.me or Terrae-car, drive between cities. Thus, 20 km from Tivat airport to Budva in 2023 can be traveled for 25 €. The 64 km from Podgorica to Budva will cost more – 50 €.
I don’t recommend taking cabs near the airport: the drivers charge a lot of money. For example, from Tivat airport to Budva we were offered a ride for 60 €. For comparison, it cost 25 € to call a cab through the website in the same direction.
Private drivers. If you are staying in an apartment, I advise you to contact the owners. They may be willing to drive you around the sights. For example, in October 2019, a trip through the canyons from Zabljak with a local driver cost 50 € per person. He stopped at each attraction and waited for tourists to walk around. Such a trip takes a whole day. We decided to save money and got to the canyons ourselves. First we took a bus from Zabljak to the Djurdjevic bridge for 4 € per person, and then we walked. In total, we walked 20 km during the day.
Food
National cuisine. Montenegrin cuisine is mostly meat, cheese and wine. For example, pleskavica is a huge chopped cutlet served with mashed potatoes or fries. In a cafe in 2023 it costs 10-15 €.
I remember Montenegrin prsut – dried pork or beef, which is cut into very thin, almost transparent strips. In the markets it costs 10-12 € per kilogram in 2023, in the stores – 8-12 €. It is almost like jamon, only cheaper and more spicy.
I also liked the Negush cheese. It is aged for only two or three months and olive oil is added. A kilogram on the market costs 10-15 €.
Burek is a popular fast food, a strip of puff pastry. Inside they put a filling of cheese and minced meat and bake it – you get a hearty long “stick”. A portion in 2023 costs 2-3 €.
Seafood and fish are served in many restaurants. I didn’t notice anything special – it’s mostly fried fish, mussels, squid. But if you are a fan of cheese, you will probably like it in Montenegro. Even in a small store on the outskirts there are at least a dozen varieties with different spices, nuts and even berries. A kilogram in 2023 costs 10-15 €.
The pastries and desserts seemed inexpensive to me. For example, a small doughnut with chocolate filling in 2019 cost 1.5 €, a croissant with chocolate – 1-2 €, a large bun with poppy seeds and raisins – 0.5 €.
Cafes and fast food. Eating out in Montenegro can be found on every corner. Mostly common are pekars, which is the local name for bakery. The assortment is usually large: bureki, puffs, pita, sweet pastries for 0,5-3 € in 2023. Prices in Budva and Kotor are a euro higher than in other cities.
In tourist areas there are stalls with pizza and hot dogs. A portion costs 2-5 €. There are also a lot of small coffee shops. Usually they are located in front of the bakeries and they don’t have food.
In small cafes in 2023 you can have lunch for 15-25 €. Menus are usually posted outside – on a stand in front of the cafe. Look at the price: sometimes it is not per dish, but per 100 grams.
If you decide to sit in a street cafe, pay attention to whether there are ashtrays on the tables. It seemed to me that Montenegrins smoke and drink coffee a lot.
Markets and supermarkets. If you rent an apartment with a kitchen, it is more profitable to cook on your own.
There are four supermarket chains in the cities: Voli, Idea, Aroma and Franca. Prices are roughly the same everywhere. A pack of good pasta in 2023 costs €1, a large local chocolate bar costs €0.8, half a kilo of sausages costs €3, a kilo of cheese costs €5-15, a 1.5 liter bottle of water costs €0.49.
You can store in small stores that are popular with locals. For example, in Tivat it is Queen. It is 10-20% cheaper there than in a supermarket and has fresh fruit and vegetables.
Markets in Montenegro are called Zelena pijaca. There, vendors serve cheese, prsut and other delicacies. If you haggle, you can easily knock 20% off the price. If you go to the same seller a second time, you can get even cheaper – with a “discount for their own”, as they say.
In 2019, Montenegro adopted a new law: from October 20, markets and supermarkets are not open on Sundays. You can buy food only in bakeries and cafes. Water and chocolate bars are sold at gas stations.
Seafood and fish are best bought in the evening on the beach when the fishermen return. For a kilogram of live shrimp in 2023 they ask for 10 €, but when you start to walk away from the counter, the price drops to 8 €.
Money
The currency in Montenegro is euro. You can buy euros in banks or at post offices. There are ATMs in the cities.
You can pay by card in all supermarkets. In markets, cafes, restaurants and souvenir stores, only cash is usually accepted. Large bills of 100 € are changed without problems: during our two weeks of travel, the seller could not find change only once.
Language
The official language in the country is Montenegrin, which is a dialect of Serbian. But the popular expressions I learned before the trip did not come in handy. You can speak English in the country – in tourist places, stores and markets you will be understood.
What to bring from Montenegro
The main souvenirs in the country are magnets, glass balls, painted dishes, shells and paintings. You can bring prsut and vacuum-packed cheese with you. At the market, you should tell them that you are taking it with you on your trip – they will give you a packaged product or cut and pack it for you.
I would also recommend buying a small bottle of olive oil for 10€.
Internet
I didn’t need cell phone service in Montenegro, so I didn’t buy a local SIM card. Free internet in the cities is available in cafes and bus stations. To avoid getting lost, I downloaded Google maps in advance – GPS works well in the country, even in the mountains.
Safety
Before my trip, I was researching information in the media about crime in Montenegro and came across several rankings that called the country one of the safest in Europe. In the Numbeo report for 2022, it is ranked 89th out of 142.
It feels like it: even in tourist areas there are no high solid fences, and many apartment owners do not lock their wickets at night, limiting themselves to a lock on the door of the house.
The number of police officers on the streets depends on the city. In Budva, it is difficult to walk a couple of blocks and not notice a foot patrol. In Žabljak, I saw a police car only once in a few days.
