9 Stunning Places You Have To Visit In Montenegro, and One to Miss

Last updated: 29 July 2023

Montenegro is a small yet stunning Balkan nation. Bordering 5 nations of Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina with a narrow strip of beaches along the Adriatic coastline Montenegro is simply bursting at the seams with imposing mountains and breathtaking beaches.

Despite the size of mere Montenegro, it proved to us that good things do indeed come in small packages.

Our whistle stop tour of Montenegro came about after securing £20 return flights with RyanAir. Landing in this non-EU nation, we secured a local SIM card to navigate the winding streets, hired a car from the airport and set off on an adventure around this tiny nation.

The quality of infrastructure, medieval old towns and the mountainous terrain make distances between points seem further than one would expect. Here’s our highlights from Montenegro and a few places you should definitely add to your Montenegrin itinerary.

Kotor

Topping Lonely Planet’s Top 10 cities Best in Travel, Kotor is a dreamy maze of alleys and plazas facing the majestic fjord-like bay of Boka.  The Old City of Kotor is UNESCO World Heritage site, is encircled by mountains with the fortress of St John overlooking from above.

Read More: Things to do in Kotor

For the active, hike 1300 steps up to Castle of San Giovanni for jaw-dropping views over the old town and the Bay. The perfect place to stop along the way is at Church of Our Lady of Remedy, dating back to 1518.

The Serpentine Road – Kotor Serpentine

We heavily debated if we would/wouldn’t do this after hearing mixed reports of the state of the road.  The road from Cetinje to Kotor is a curvy mountainous narrow one-lane road. In total it’s 38km, however the most challenging part is a short 8.3km stretch with 16 white-knuckle hairpins, and is considered one of the most famous hairpin roads in the world.

With sheer drops and tight twists and turns, this road isn’t over hyped, it’s the real deal but not for the faint of heart or the inexperienced driver. Driving the Serptenine requires strong nerves to negotiate each turn. We decided to tackle the road early in the day to beat the rush and any arrivals from the cruise ships that dock in the Port.

Budva

Budva is easily the country’s most-visited destination, attracting holidaymakers with promises of an atmospheric Stari Grad (Old Town), encircled with a 15th century citadel. Budva offers visitors plenty of places to get a spot of sun along one of the many beaches along the Budva Riviera.  The city of Budva is one hell of a party town with scores of clubs and bars offering partying until dawn, especially in the summer months.

Read More: Things to do in Budva

We spent most of our time in Budva exploring the 15th century citadel, museum and climbing the city walls which backs onto the sea. For people-watching, head down to the town’s marina which is home to many multi-million dollar yachts. In the warmer months swim at one of the many beautiful inlet beaches ear the Old Town like Mogren, Becici, Fine Sand, Jaz, Trsteno, Sveti Stefan, and Budva, just to name a few.

Sveti Stefan

Given the stiff competition, Sveti Stefan has somewhat surprisingly been named as Montenegro’s most photographed site. This fortified island village is connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway. Once a party palace for Europe’s rich and famous, Sveti Stefan is now home to a private luxurious resort by Aman frequented by celebrities and famous people like Sophia Loren, Claudia Schiffer, and Sylvester Stallone.

The photogenic jumble of 15th-century stone villas overlook an impeccable sandy beach and tempting turquoise waters. While its status as a private resort means it’s off-limits to all but paying guests, but rest-assured ogling is free!

Stari Bar

4km inland from the modern city of Bar, lies the old town of Stari Bar.  Often referred to Montenegro’s Pompeii, it’s had a hostile history. Beseiged by the Venetians, the Serbians, the Hungarians and the Ottoman Empire, the town’s main aqueduct was destroyed in an explosion in 1877 by local forces in an effort to regain control of the town.

Nowadays, this hillside town is home to an 11th century fortress set amid mountains. Likely to be the main purpose of your visit, be sure to give it the time it deserves by exploring the site, the remains of St Nicholas’ Church (Crvka Sv Nikole) and visit the small museum just inside the entrance to the ruins which explains the site and its history.  Travelling in off-season we entered for free but there is a small charge during peak months. Either way, be sure to leave before closing time otherwise you could be locked in and trapped inside the fortress walls like some tourists we encountered when visiting!

The Stari Bar area is known for their olive trees.  Nearby Stari Bar is is Stara Maslina, one of the world’s oldest olive trees at over 2,000 years old. A quirky addition to your itinerary, and yes it’s only a tree, but it will makes a good story nevertheless!

Perast

The tiny town of Persat slopes down from the highway to the waterfront of beautiful Boka Bay, just a few kilometres from Kotor. An old town with wonderful architecture there’s not a lot to see here aside from the Old Town and its many old churches.

Don’t miss taking a small taxi boat ride over to Gospa od Skrpjela (Lady of the Rock), a little man-made island in the glistening turquoise waters surrounded by amazing mountains that envelop the bay.

Petrovac

Petrovac is a quaint village located on the stunning Adriatic coast between Budva and Bar. Offering plenty of small restaurants and bars serving the local seafood specialty, and a 600 m long beautiful sandy beach and it is a popular tourist destination and worth a stop of your Montenegrin road trip.

Petrovac is considered family friendly as it’s seen as a somewhat serene, in stark contrast to the lively hub of nearby Budva.

We detoured further along the coast to Lucice beach where the the restaurants and beach bars were closed for the season and we had the entire length of the beach to ourselves. In summer, a children’s playground at the far end is likely to be in full swing as the calm waters of the bay are ideal for children and casual swimmers.

Cetinje

Cetinje was the capital of Montenegro until 1946, after WWII, when it passed to Titograd (now Podgorica), it’s now known as the Royal capital of Montenegro with the country’s most impressive collection of museums.

The cultural and political capital of the country, there are remnants of strong dominant architecture and stately mansions, much of which have now become museums or schools can still be seen as you stroll the city’s streets.  It’s a relatively compact doesn’t take too long to walk through the city and see it all for yourself.

Be sure to meander up to the monastery which dates from 1701. Despite being devastated several times from occupying forces, it was restored several times and became the center of the spiritual, cultural and political life of Montenegro.

Ulcinj

One place we unfortunately missed during our visit, due to a lack of time and the fact that it’s so far south on the coast.

As a city, Ulcinj is more Albanian than Montengrin, due to it’s proximity to the border. Encircled by big stonewalls and fortresses with defensive walls that jut out into the sea, the Old Town, which is a candidate for UNESCO status, is home to elegant minarets of numerous mosques give Ulcinj a distinctly Eastern feel.

With a rich with subtropical Mediterranean climate with an abundance of vegetation like olive trees, palm trees, agaves, and mimosas, it bursts with life. An array of beaches sandy, rocky and nude are all a short stroll from the Old Town and become bustling as the weather warms up.

And one to miss

Podgorica

Montenegro has prettier spots than the nation’s capital which has gone through numerous name changes over time. As far as international capital cities go, Podgorica isn’t particularly awe-inspiring.  The city’s proximity to the nation’s main international airport means that the majority of visitors will likely start and/or end their trip to Montenegro here, unless they’re flying via Tivat or Dubrovnik in neighbouring Croatia.

Arid and dry, the city is sparse and inundated with numerous Communist-style concrete bloc apartment buildings. Juxtaposing the bland architecture is the modern cable-stayed Millennium Bridge which is worth a stroll across at dusk.

For me, the city is uninviting and gives very little incentive to stick around. If you do find yourself with some time to kill, a visit to the 15th century ‘Old Bridge’, Podgorica’s oldest bridge which spans the Ribnica River is worth a visit. Nearby where the Ribnica merges with the Morača River, are the remnants of Ribnica fortress. Don’t expect any majestic Roman-style ruins, but it’s worth a visit at sunset for golden hour and a nice walk along the river path.

If you have the time on your way to or from the airport, make a detour to Montenegro’s own Niagara Falls. The name comes from the restaurant that fronts the river, ‘Niagara’. A waterfall with numerous smaller cascades navigating their way through the karst landscape, it’s most impressive in Spring, although perfectly pleasant in Autumn and even Winter.

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