Montenegro itineraries: 3, 7 and 10 days by car
3 routes · 3 to 10 days
Photo: Marcin Konsek · CC BY-SA 4.0
Routes
3 days in Montenegro: Kotor, Lovćen, Budva
3 days · 175 km · 25 stops · Tivat airport to Budva
Kotor, Budva
7 days in Montenegro: coast to Durmitor loop
7 days · 671 km · 49 stops · Tivat airport to Podgorica
Kotor, Budva, Podgorica, Žabljak
10 days in Montenegro: the full loop by car
10 days · 994 km · 61 stops · Tivat airport to Podgorica
Kotor, Budva, Ulcinj, Podgorica, Plav, Žabljak
Fees and opening dates from the park and museum pages.
Trips on the coast
Trips in central Montenegro
Trips in the north
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Three days covers the Bay of Kotor, Lovćen and Budva. Seven adds Skadar Lake, Ostrog, Durmitor and the Tara canyon in a loop. Ten adds Ulcinj, Prokletije, Biogradska gora and the Piva canyon, and visits all five national parks. The same three coastal days open all three routes, so the choice is how far north to go and how many days you have: the coast works from April to October, Durmitor and the north from June to September.
How many days do you need?
Three days if you fly into Tivat and want the coast: Kotor's walls and museums, Perast and the islet, Herceg Novi, the serpentine road over Lovćen to the mausoleum, Cetinje and Budva. No long drives; one base change. See the 3-day itinerary, which also has a fourth day for Skadar Lake and a version without a car.
Seven days for both halves of the country: the same three coastal days, then Skadar Lake by boat from Virpazar, Ostrog monastery, two nights in Žabljak for Black Lake and the Durmitor Ring, and the Tara and Morača canyon road back to Podgorica. See the 7-day itinerary; it also says what to drop for five or six days.
Ten days for the full loop: the south coast to Ulcinj and Ada Bojana, the far east for Plav Lake and a hiking day in Prokletije, the Trešnjevik pass to Biogradska gora, Durmitor, and the Piva canyon on the way out. It is about 1,000 km of driving in ten days with one day out of the car, so it suits drivers who hike. See the 10-day itinerary, which also covers two weeks and where to swap a day for Dubrovnik or Shkodër.
The three routes
The 3-day route stays on the coast and is good from April to October, inside the mausoleum season (mid-April to 15 November); the 7-day route depends on Durmitor, best July to September, and works June to September; the 10-day route adds Prokletije, where snow is possible even in summer, and is a July to September trip.
Distances between the main bases
Road distances and free-flow drive times between the bases of the three routes and the two airports are in the table below. The most-asked pair, Kotor to Žabljak, is 162 km and about 3 h 30; Podgorica airport to Žabljak is shorter. There is no railway to Žabljak, Kotor or Budva (the Bar-Belgrade line passes Podgorica and Kolašin), so the figures are for a car. Times do not include the ferry queue at Kamenari, border queues or stops.
| From | To | Distance | Drive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kotor | Budva | 23 km | 30 min |
| Kotor | Herceg Novi | 30 km | 45 min |
| Kotor | Cetinje | 53 km | 1 h 10 min |
| Kotor | Podgorica | 74 km | 1 h 30 min |
| Kotor | Ulcinj | 87 km | 2 h |
| Kotor | Kolašin | 132 km | 2 h 30 min |
| Kotor | Žabljak | 162 km | 3 h 30 min |
| Budva | Ulcinj | 64 km | 1 h 35 min |
| Budva | Kolašin | 121 km | 2 h 15 min |
| Budva | Žabljak | 162 km | 3 h 15 min |
| Podgorica Airport (TGD) | Kotor | 77 km | 1 h 35 min |
| Podgorica Airport (TGD) | Budva | 67 km | 1 h 25 min |
| Podgorica Airport (TGD) | Kolašin | 68 km | 1 h 15 min |
| Podgorica Airport (TGD) | Žabljak | 133 km | 2 h 50 min |
Driving here, in one paragraph
Montenegro drives on the right, accepts a valid foreign licence on its own, and has no vignette. The only two toll points are the Sozina tunnel on the Podgorica-Bar road (EUR 2.50 per car) and the Smokovac-Mateševo motorway north of Podgorica (EUR 3.50 per car for the full section), paid per passage in cash, by card or with a tag. The Kamenari-Lepetane ferry across the Bay of Kotor costs EUR 5 per car and runs day and night. From 15 November to 1 April a car driven in winter conditions must have winter tyres on all wheels. Speed limits, parking zones by town and fines are on the driving page; the two tolls are on the tolls page.
When to go
The coast's bathing season is May to October. Durmitor is best in July, August and September, and the mountain hiking season runs June to the end of October. Njegoš's Mausoleum on Lovćen, the fixed point of every route's third day, is open from mid-April to 15 November and closed over the winter. The when to visit page has every month; the weather page has the forecast for each base.
The Durmitor Ring
The Ring is the asphalt road loop of about 83 km around the Durmitor massif over the Sedlo pass at 1,907 m, the day-6 spoke of the 7-day route and day 9 of the 10-day route, driven from Žabljak and also ridden on road, gravel and e-bikes from May to October. Outside summer, check the AMSCG reports before driving the Sedlo road. The Durmitor Ring and Sedlo pass pages have the detail.
Without a car
The 3-day route works without one: Kotor on foot, a bay boat tour instead of the drive to Perast and Herceg Novi, and a bus plus a tour or taxi for Lovćen, Cetinje and Budva; the no-car section of that page explains. The 7- and 10-day routes depend on a car from day 4: the Durmitor, Skadar Lake and Prokletije parks are hard to reach by bus; Virpazar has a station on the Bar-Belgrade line; Ostrog is also hard to reach by bus. Durmitor's own van and jeep tours cover the Ring from Žabljak for visitors who arrive by bus.
Road conditions now
Closures, works, snow and chain requirements from the AMSCG bulletins:
Common questions
How many days do you need in Montenegro?
Three for the Bay of Kotor, Lovćen and Budva; seven to add Skadar Lake, Ostrog, Durmitor and the Tara canyon; ten for the whole loop including Ulcinj, Prokletije, Biogradska gora and Piva. Each is a page on this site with road distances per leg.
Is 3 days enough?
For the coast and Lovćen, yes: the 3-day route has two nights in Kotor and one in Budva with half-days of driving. It is not enough for Durmitor; a fourth day adds Skadar Lake.
How long does it take to drive across Montenegro?
Kotor to Plav, the far points of the 10-day loop, is about 205 km and about 4 hours by road without stops; Kotor to Žabljak is 162 km and about 3 h 30. Real times are longer with stops, ferry queues and mountain roads in winter.
Is it easy to drive in Montenegro?
The rules are standard: right-hand traffic, a valid foreign licence, no vignette, two toll points. Trešnjevik, on the 10-day route, is narrow and winding, and the mountain passes can close in bad weather, so check the AMSCG road reports outside summer, and from 15 November to 1 April winter tyres are compulsory in winter conditions.
Can you do Montenegro without a car?
The 3-day coastal route, yes, with a boat tour and a bus. The 7- and 10-day routes need a car from day 4; the Durmitor, Skadar Lake and Prokletije parks are hard to reach by bus; Virpazar has a train station on the Bar-Belgrade line, and there is no railway to Žabljak.
How far is Kotor from Žabljak, and is there a bus?
162 km and about 3 h 30 by road. Coach lines to Žabljak are in the bus guide.
Related
- National parks
- LovćenSkadar LakeDurmitorBiogradska goraProkletije
Sources
- JPNPCG, Decision on fees for the use of national park goods, consolidated text
- JPNPCG, Durmitor price list and active holidays (van and jeep tours; no bus connections published)
- JPNPCG, Skadarsko jezero active holidays (boat departure points; bus and train not published)
- JPNPCG and NTO, Prokletije National Park (hiking June-October, snow possible in summer)
- National Museum of Montenegro, visiting Njegoš's Mausoleum
- National Tourism Organisation, Hiking and trekking (Durmitor July-September; season June-October)
- Morsko dobro, The Beaches of Montenegro (bathing season May-October)
- Zakon o bezbjednosti saobraćaja na putevima (Paragraf.me consolidated text, current to 31.3.2021)
- Monteput, Cjenovnik Tunel Sozina
- Monteput, Cjenovnik Autoput Bar-Boljare
- trajekt.me, Cjenovnik usluga, Kamenari-Lepetane (PDF, September 2026)
- eMontenegro, Durmitor Ring cycling (about 83 km; May-October per TO Žabljak)
- eMontenegro, Ćurevac viewpoint (a 76 km Ring loop)
- eMontenegro, Sedlo pass (1,907 m; no official winter closure date)
- eMontenegro, Bar-Belgrade train (stations on the line)