Diving off Bar
Ten dive sites lie off Bar, Sutomore and Čanj: King Nikola's yacht Rumija at 18 m by the breakwater, the destroyer Dague, the cargo ship Quinto at 32 m, a Junkers Ju 88 at 54 m, Mikovića cave and the remains of a 2nd-4th century temple in Maljevik bay. No diving permit is needed.
Bar, Sutomore, Čanj
Photo: Alexkom000 · CC BY 4.0
Ten named dive sites lie off Bar, Sutomore and Čanj: a beginners' reef, a 150 m sea cave, a sunken temple at about 2 m, King Nikola's yacht and a destroyer at 18 m, a cargo ship at 32 m and a Junkers Ju 88 bomber at 54 m. Most are within a few kilometres of the port. No diving permit is needed in Montenegro. The wrecks and the temple are cultural heritage, so their coordinates are not public: a dive boat takes you to them.
Dive sites
| Site | Depth | What is there |
|---|---|---|
| Kraljičina plaža reef | - | a reef for beginners |
| Mikovića cave, south side of Volujica near Bigovica | entrance 7-8 m | about 150 m long; the roomier left branch has a steel guide cable to a siphon of cold fresh water |
| Bigovica, near the port | deep (the cannon ship) | a winter harbour from the 3rd century BC to the 16th century: amphorae, a 4th-century wreck and a sailing ship with cannons |
| Yacht Rumija | 18 m | King Nikola's yacht, about 47.78 m long, 80 m from the main breakwater; under state protection |
| Destroyer Dague | 18 m | built in 1908; sank in 1915 on an Austro-Hungarian mine with 39 dead |
| Cargo ship Quinto, below Bigovica by the Šogavica cliffs | 32 m | sank on 31 December 1940 after a collision with the Greek submarine Katsonis |
| 18th-century warship, Bar riviera | about 30 m | found in 1993; two cannons |
| Junkers Ju 88 off Čanj | 54 m | WWII bomber with the wings and both engines visible; technically equipped divers only |
| Temple, Maljevik bay | about 2 m | remains of a 2nd-4th century temple; pillar pieces about 90 cm wide, visible from the surface in calm water |
| B-25, Me 109, Spitfire | deep | WWII aircraft |
Mikovića cave is the pick of Montenegro's cave dives for visitors: an entrance at 7-8 m, about 150 m of passage and a guide cable in the wider left branch down to the freshwater siphon. The two wrecks at 18 m, Rumija and Dague, are the classic dives close to the breakwater; Quinto at 32 m is the deepest of the ships.
The Ju 88 at 54 m is for technically equipped divers only; the B-25, Me 109 and Spitfire also lie deep.
Rules
- No permit is needed to dive: Montenegro has no law on diving and no regulation on underwater activities.
- Montenegro signed the UNESCO convention on underwater cultural heritage in 2008. About 30 underwater archaeological sites are mapped along the coast, the oldest from the 4th-3rd century BC; the yacht Rumija is under state protection, and the coordinates of the heritage sites are not public.
- Spearfishing is sea sport fishing and needs a permit from a local club: a tourist permit costs €15 for 10 days or €30 for a month, and the daily catch is up to 3 kg or one fish over 5 kg.
- None of the three marine protected areas (Platamuni, Katič, Stari Ulcinj) lies at Bar.
Dive centres and boats
For a boat and a guide, ask the Bar tourist office who is running trips. Diving clubs also work from Budva, Pržno, Sveti Stefan and Petrovac; two Petrovac clubs dive the islets off their town and the coast from Cape Dubovac to Čanj. The rest of the coast is on the Budva diving page and the diving hub.
Wrecks without diving
The Wrecks4All project (Interreg IPA Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina-Montenegro, January 2020 to December 2021, €1,120,726, with the University of Montenegro and the Bar tourist board among the partners) produced a free app with 3D models of the wrecks and a VR showroom in Kotor, where a virtual dive on the Dague and other Adriatic wrecks costs €5.
Nearby
The temple is in Maljevik bay by Maljevik beach near Sutomore; the Ju 88 lies off Čanj and the beginners' reef off Kraljičina plaža. On land, Stari Bar is the town's main sight and Rumija the mountain behind it. Arriving by yacht: Marina Bar.
Questions
Do I need a permit?
No. There is no diving law and no diving permit in Montenegro. Spearfishing is different: it needs a sea sport fishing permit from a local club.
Where are the wrecks exactly?
The coordinates of the heritage sites are not public; the dive boat takes you there.
Which sites suit beginners?
The Kraljičina plaža reef and the temple in Maljevik bay at about 2 m. Rumija and Dague lie at 18 m; the Ju 88 at 54 m is technical diving.
Highlights
- Ten named sites off Bar, Sutomore and Čanj
- Rumija (18 m), Dague (18 m), Quinto (32 m)
- Mikovića cave: entrance 7-8 m, about 150 m long
- No diving permit needed in Montenegro
Sources
TO Bar: Activities · TO Bar: Wrecks4All · Radio Free Europe, 16 July 2024: underwater heritage without protection · DIVE magazine, 26 May 2023: Wrecks4All app · Kotor Tourist Organisation: Wrecks4All Showroom · Government of Montenegro: Marine protected areas · TO Budva: Activities (diving, sea fishing) · JP Morsko dobro: Nature Park Katič management plan 2023-2027 (PDF)