Montenegro Multi-Day Trips by Length of Stay

The country is small, yet its regions feel very different: a drowned river valley on the coast, a lake on the Albanian border, limestone plateaus and a deep river canyon. Five to eight days suits a road trip best, though even three nights can work if you stay put. The routes below are built by length of stay, with prices in euros that are rounded and subject to change.

Three Nights: One Base on the Bay

Sleep in Kotor or Dobrota and travel out each day. Spend the first day inside the Old Town, which is free to enter, and climb the walls to San Giovanni early in the morning (€15 in season). The second day belongs to the water: a boat to Our Lady of the Rocks off Perast and, if the weather is calm, the Blue Cave on the Luštica coast. On the third day go up to Lovćen, either by the cable car from Dub (€25 round trip) or by the serpentine road with a stop in Cetinje. This plan needs no long drives and no packing up.

Five Nights: Add Lake Skadar and the Riviera

Keep two nights in the bay, then move to Virpazar for a night beside Lake Skadar. A boat trip of about two hours costs roughly €20 to €30, plus a €5 park fee. Head for Budva next, where the Old Town, the Citadela and the cliff path to Mogren beach fill a relaxed day. Sveti Stefan is a private resort island: its interior is limited to hotel guests and diners, but Sveti Stefan Beach and King’s Beach are public places to see it from. Finish with a final night back on the bay or near the airport at Tivat.

Seven Nights: Add the Northern Mountains

With a week you can drive inland. Follow the Morača canyon north to Morača Monastery, founded in 1252 and known for its frescoes. Continue past Kolašin to Biogradska Gora National Park (€4 per day) for a walk beside Lake Biograd, then on to Žabljak.

Allow two nights in Žabljak. One day suits Black Lake and its flat 3.5 km path; another suits the Đurđevića Tara Bridge, which stands 172 meters over the river, with zip lines nearby, or a 14 km rafting run for about €45 to €65. The Durmitor Ring crosses Sedlo pass at 1,907 meters and is normally clear of snow from late May to October.

On the way back south, stop at Ostrog Monastery, a living pilgrimage site where visitors keep quiet, dress modestly and wear their shoes inside. Admission is free. End the loop in Budva before flying from Tivat or Podgorica. For the whole route, search bay and mountain lodging on Booking.com .

Costs and Rules on the Road

• Ferry: the Kamenari to Lepetane crossing over the Verige Strait runs all day and night. Cars pay about €5, pedestrians and cyclists nothing, and it avoids roughly 42 km of road around the inner bay.
• Coaches: Kotor to Dubrovnik is about €20 to €25 and takes two to three hours; Podgorica to Žabljak is about €9 to €12 and takes around 2 hours 30 minutes. Timetables are on busticket4.me .
• Registration: every foreign visitor must be registered with the police or the local tourist office within 24 hours in each municipality. Hotels and registered guesthouses do this automatically and add a nightly tax of about €1 to €1.50 per adult. Children under 12 are exempt, and those aged 12 to 18 pay half. Guests of private hosts or unlisted rentals should register in person with a passport, since fines for failing to do so run from €200 to €600.
• Trains: the only passenger line runs from Bar through Podgorica and Kolašin to Belgrade, so the coast and the bay depend on roads and boats.
• Roads: keep headlights on at all times, stay under the 0.03% alcohol limit and avoid unlit mountain stretches after dark.

Park tariffs for Durmitor, Skadar and Biogradska Gora are published by nparkovi.me , and visitor information for the bay is at kotor.travel .

Read more: the day trips guide details single-day outings from the coast, and the 7-day itinerary lays out a full week day by day.

• Montenegro
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