Do you need a visa for Montenegro?

EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian passport holders do not, for stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Every visitor has to be registered with the police within the first day of arrival, which a hotel or licensed apartment does on your behalf.

How long do you need in Montenegro?

A week covers the Bay of Kotor, the Budva coast and one day inland. Ten days adds Durmitor and the Tara canyon in the north without turning the trip into a driving holiday.

What currency does Montenegro use?

The euro, without being in the eurozone and without issuing coins of its own. There is nothing to change on arrival. Cards work in the coastal towns; the villages and mountain roads still prefer cash.

Is Montenegro expensive?

Less than the Croatian or Italian coast for most of the year. July and August are the exception, when rooms in Kotor and Budva price like the rest of the Adriatic. The north stays inexpensive whatever the month.

When is the best time to visit Montenegro?

May, June and September. The sea is swimmable, the towns are open, and the July and August crush has either not started or has gone. April and October are good for walking, with the sea too cold for swimming.

Montenegro travel guide, coast to mountains

Quick answer · where to go in Montenegro

Start on the Bay of Kotor. Kotor itself for the walls and the old town, Perast for the two island churches, Herceg Novi for the stairs down to the water. Then pick the next Montenegro: the beaches south of Budva and the long sand at Ulcinj, or the height, where Cetinje climbs to Lovcen and the road carries on to Žabljak and the Durmitor peaks. Podgorica is the transport hub, and Skadar Lake sits between the two halves. A week does the coast properly. Ten days reaches the north.

Jump toMap City guide Fun fact Stereotypes Famous faces Food FAQ

1 Montenegro city guide

One guide so far, and the Top 10 that covers the bay.

Kotor

Europe · 10 picks

Fun fact

One number worth knowing

Montenegro uses the euro without being in the eurozone. It adopted the Deutsche Mark in 1999, switched with it in 2002, and has never issued a currency of its own since.

Stereotypes, sorted out

The clichés you have heard, what is actually true, and how to fit in.

"Montenegro is a cheaper Croatia"

The realityThe shape of the trip is different. Croatia is a long archipelago; Montenegro is one deep bay, a short strip of beach and a wall of limestone immediately behind it. You can be in a national park within an hour of the sea, which is the whole argument for coming.

"It is small, so a weekend covers it"

The realityThe distances are short and the driving is not. The bay road bends around every inlet and the northern routes climb through passes. Plan in hours, and give the north days of its own.

"The whole country is a beach"

The realityMost of Montenegro is limestone. Durmitor holds glacial lakes and peaks over 2,000 metres, the Tara has cut one of the deepest canyons in Europe, and Biogradska Gora protects one of the last stands of old-growth forest on the continent. All three are national parks.

"Kotor is a cruise-ship town, so skip it"

The realityThe ships arrive and leave on a schedule. Sleep in the old town and you get it back: the walls are quiet at either end of the day, and the squares belong to the town again by evening.

"You will need to change money"

The realityMontenegro runs on the euro without being in the eurozone, so there is no local currency to buy. Cards are normal in the coastal towns. Carry cash for the villages and the mountain roads.

The Kotor walls at sunsetSveti Stefan from the road aboveThe Bay of Kotor as a fjordSuperyachts at Porto MontenegroRafting the TaraOstrog monastery built into the cliffNjeguši ham with a glass of rakija

Cultural notes that actually help

Coffee is a sitting, not a takeaway. An hour over one cup is normal and nobody will hurry you out of the chair.
Cover shoulders and knees in the monasteries. Ostrog and Cetinje are working religious houses with a steady stream of pilgrims, not viewpoints.
Learn dobar dan and hvala. The effort is noticed, and it carries across the whole region.
Lunch is the serious meal and it lands mid-afternoon. Dinner runs late in summer, so a seven o’clock table usually means an empty room.
Skip the long drive round the bay. The Kamenari to Lepetane ferry exists for exactly that, and the crossing takes minutes.
Register your stay. Hotels and licensed apartments do it for you within the first day; if you are staying with friends, do it yourself at the local tourist office.

Famous Montenegrin faces

Poets, princes and footballers. Pick a field.

Dejan Savićević

Podgorica playmaker who scored in AC Milan’s 4-0 European Cup final win in 1994

Predrag Mijatović

Podgorica striker whose goal won Real Madrid the 1998 Champions League final

Milovan Đilas

Partisan commander turned dissident, born near Kolašin, who wrote The New Class

Petar II Petrović-Njegoš

Prince-bishop and poet of The Mountain Wreath, buried in a mausoleum on Lovcen

King Nikola I

The only king Montenegro has had, on the throne from 1860 until 1918

Ivan Crnojević

Moved the court to Cetinje in 1482 and founded the monastery that still stands there

Marko Miljanov

Chieftain turned writer, whose Examples of Manhood and Heroism set down the country’s code

Saint Basil of Ostrog

Seventeenth-century bishop whose relics still draw pilgrims up the cliff at Ostrog

Mihailo Lalić

Novelist of the war in the northern mountains, born at Trepča near Andrijevica

Stevan Jovetić

Podgorica forward, at Fiorentina and Manchester City

Žarko Paspalj

Born in Pljevlja, and one of the first players out of Yugoslavia into the NBA, in 1989

Must-try Montenegrin food

Cornmeal and cured ham in the mountains, mussels and squid ink on the coast. Pick a category.

Cicvara

The richer cousin of kačamak: cornmeal cooked into kajmak until it runs with fat.

Njeguški pršut

Ham air-dried about a year in Njeguši above Kotor, where mountain and sea winds meet.

Njeguški sir

The cheese from the same village. Firm, salty, and often matured under oil.

Kačamak

Cornmeal beaten with potato, young cheese and kajmak until it pulls away from the pot.

Jagnjetina ispod sača

Lamb baked under a metal bell buried in embers, the north's way with anything slow.

Popeci

Njeguši veal rolled around ham and cheese, breaded and fried. Ordering it is a commitment.

Raštan

Collard greens stewed with smoked meat and potato. Winter food in the interior.

Buzara

Mussels or prawns opened in white wine, garlic and olive oil, with bread to mop up.

Crni rižot

Squid-ink risotto. It will stain your teeth and it is worth it.

Riblja čorba

Fish soup thickened with rice, the standard opener on the bay.

Ukljeva

The bleak from Skadar Lake, dried or smoked. A lake fish in a country that sells its sea.

Priganice

Fried dough balls eaten hot with honey, cheese or jam, at breakfast or a festival.

Vranac

The native black grape, over half of what Montenegro plants. Dark and dry.

Krstač

The native white, grown around Skadar Lake and almost nowhere else on earth.

Rakija

Fruit brandy, often homemade, poured before the meal.

Top 10s across Montenegro

When to visit Montenegro