Where is Montenegro?

Montenegro is a small country in Southern Europe, on the Adriatic Sea in the Western Balkans. It borders Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the west, Serbia to the north, and Kosovo and Albania to the south-east; Italy lies across the Adriatic. The capital is Podgorica. Montenegro covers 13,883 km², had 623,633 residents at the 2023 census and uses the euro, but it is an EU candidate country, not a member of the EU or the Schengen area.

Where Montenegro is in Europe

The National Tourism Organisation (NTO) places Montenegro in the middle Mediterranean, or Southern Europe. The EU treats it as part of the Western Balkans: Montenegro receives funds under the EU's Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans. The sea coast is 293.5 km long by MONSTAT's figure (the NTO rounds it to 293 km), and the land rises quickly behind it: Žabljak in the north, at about 1,450 m, is described by its tourist board and the NTO as the highest town in the Balkans.

The map of Montenegro shows towns, beaches, monuments and lakes, with a filter by region.

Neighbours and borders

Montenegro has five land neighbours, and its land border is 614 km long in total by the NTO's figure. The Police Directorate's list of road border crossings, published in May 2021 and now archived, gives these:

On the Croatian side the EU Entry/Exit System applies to non-EU travellers. Each crossing, with its category and camera, is on the border crossings page.

Is Montenegro in the EU?

No. Montenegro applied for EU membership in 2008, has been a candidate country since December 2010, and its accession negotiations started on 29 June 2012. It is not in the Schengen area either: the European Commission lists 29 Schengen countries, 25 EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Montenegro uses the euro all the same, without being in the EU or the euro area. By the Central Bank of Montenegro's account, a dual currency system with the Deutsche Mark started on 2 November 1999, the Mark became the sole legal tender on 1 January 2001, and the euro has been the sole legal tender since March 2002.

Citizens of the US, the UK and most EU states stay up to 90 days with a passport and no visa; the rules for every passport are on the visa page.

Capital, people and language

The Constitution defines Montenegro as an independent and sovereign state. Its Article 5 makes Podgorica the capital and Cetinje the Old Royal Capital (Prijestonica). The 2023 census counted 623,633 residents, and MONSTAT's mid-2025 estimate is 623,115. The Capital City municipality of Podgorica had 179,505 residents in 2023. The country has 25 municipalities, the Capital and the Old Royal Capital among them (December 2024).

Montenegrin is the official language. Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian and Croatian are also in official use, and the Cyrillic and Latin scripts are equal (Constitution, Article 13).

Size, coast and landscape

MONSTAT gives the area as 13,883 km²; the NTO still uses an older figure of 13,812 km². The country divides into three regions: the coast, six municipalities from Herceg Novi to Ulcinj; central Montenegro around Podgorica; and the mountainous north.

MONSTAT's table of peaks puts Bobotov kuk on Durmitor and Maja Rozit in Prokletije at the top, both at 2,522 m; the NTO names Zla Kolata in Prokletije, 2,534 m, which is not in MONSTAT's table. The largest lake is Skadar Lake, 369.7 km² in MONSTAT's table; it is shared with Albania and its area changes with the water level, about 370 km² in summer and 540 km² in winter for the whole lake.

There are five national parks: Durmitor, Biogradska gora, Lovćen, Skadar Lake and Prokletije. UNESCO lists four World Heritage properties in Montenegro: the Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor (1979), Durmitor National Park (1980), the Stećci medieval tombstone graveyards (2016, shared with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia) and the Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th centuries (2017, shared with Croatia and Italy).

Montenegro at a glance

How to get to Montenegro

By air. The police list two airports as border crossings. Podgorica Airport (TGD) is at Golubovci, about 40 km from Cetinje and 46 km from Bar by the airport's own figures. Tivat Airport (TIV) is on the Bay of Kotor, 8 km from Kotor and 21 km from Budva. Airlines and routes change by season; the airports' own site lists them.

By train. The Bar-Belgrade railway enters from Serbia at Bijelo Polje, the rail border crossing for passengers and goods.

By road. The 2021 police list names twenty road crossings with the five neighbours. Traffic drives on the right, and there is no vignette: the only tolls are the Sozina tunnel and the Smokovac-Mateševo motorway, paid per passage. Rules are on the driving page, and long-distance coaches on the buses page.

By sea. The police list the ports of Bar, Zelenika, Kotor, Tivat (Porto Montenegro), Kumbor (Portonovi) and Budva (seasonal, 1 May to 30 October) as border crossings. Jadrolinija (Bar-Bari) and Adria Ferries (Bar-Ancona) have sailed from Bar, but not every season, so check that a ferry runs before planning a crossing from Italy.

Where to go next

• Things to do in Montenegro, by region and season
• Regions: the coast, central Montenegro and the north
• Cities and towns
• Beaches and national parks
• When to visit and weather
• Itineraries
• All travel information