Montenegro in April: weather and what's on

In April the coast reaches average highs of about 18 °C, while Žabljak, at 1,450 m, averages 7.8 °C by day and still has frost on 19 days. The month turns the seasons: skiing ended in its first half in 2026, the Njegoš Mausoleum on Lovćen reopens in mid-April, and the national tourist organisation names April and May as the months of strongest water for Tara rafting. Budva's carnival opened on 30 April in both 2025 and 2026.

Weather in April

The table gives the April figures from the ZHMS normals 1961-1990. There is no ZHMS station in Kotor or Budva; Herceg Novi and Bar are the nearest coastal stations.

By day, Podgorica and the coast are within about one degree of each other; the monthly mean is 13.9 °C in Podgorica and 13.6 °C in Bar. The mountains are a season behind: Kolašin has the most rain of the five stations, on 17 days, and frost on 10, while Žabljak still has frost on 19. For the coming days, see the weather page or today's forecast for Podgorica, Bar, Herceg Novi, Kolašin and Žabljak.

What's on in April

• From Easter to Easter (Od Uskrsa do Vaskrsa): a children's programme in the Old Town of Budva on both the Catholic and the Orthodox Easter Sunday, 11:00 to 15:00, according to the Budva tourist organisation. In 2026 that meant 5 and 12 April.
• Kotor mountain races: the Kotor tourist organisation listed three April races in 2025, with entries dated 10, 15 and 20 April: the Kotor Staircase Race, 1,350 steps up to San Giovanni over 1.2 km; the Boka Bay Trail, on 17, 34 and 60 km courses; and the Kotor Vertical Extreme to Pestingrad (1,007 m), 2.8 km, held since 2017.
• Festival of the Wind (Festival vjetra): Tivat, 24 April to 23 May 2026, with three regattas, the Morska posla fair, and children's and music programmes, all free, according to the Tivat tourist organisation's 2026 calendar.
• De Wine fest: a spring wine fair in Bar. Its second edition, in 2026, took a weekend in late April (reported on 26 April) with more than 70 exhibitors.
• Budva International Carnival (Međunarodni budvanski karneval): the 23rd carnival ran from 30 April to 3 May 2026, the 22nd from 30 April to 4 May 2025. In 2026 the children's parade was moved to 10 May after a day of mourning.
• HAPS (Hercegnovski aprilski pozorišni susreti): the April theatre festival of Herceg Novi, held since 1996, according to the Herceg Novi tourist organisation. The Herceg Novi tourist organisation announces the dates.
• Bar Chronicle winter scene (Zimska scena Barskog ljetopisa): the winter programme of the Bar Chronicle runs from January to April, according to the Bar tourist organisation.

Dates move with Easter and the organisers' calendars; the tourist organisations publish them a few weeks ahead: Budva, Kotor, Tivat, Bar and Herceg Novi.

Seasons: what opens and closes

Skiing ends. Kolašin 1600 has no snowmaking, so its season depends on natural snow. In 2025/26 Kolašin 1600 reopened on late-March snow and closed on Wednesday 8 April after 77 ski days; the private Kolašin 1450 closed on Sunday 12 April after more than 100 days; Savin kuk near Žabljak kept running into April.

Njegoš Mausoleum reopens. The mausoleum in Lovćen National Park is closed from 16 November to mid-April. The National Museum's pages give two reopening days: 11 April on the visit page and 15 April on the working-hours page. In season it opens daily from 09:00 to 16:00.

Hiking on the coast. The national tourist organisation puts the best hiking season for the coastal mountains from mid-April to the end of October; the high mountains follow in June.

Tara rafting at high water. The national tourist organisation gives a rafting season from April to October, with the strongest water in April and May; the offers it listed for 2026 started on 1 May. Durmitor National Park names 1 July to 15 September as the safest period by water level. See rafting and the Tara.

Free entry to the national parks on 22 April. It is one of the free-entry days in the national parks' fee decision.

Swimming. April is outside the bathing season (May to October), in which Morsko dobro monitors the sea water. There are no official monthly sea-temperature normals; the latest measured sea temperature is on its own page.

Winter tyres. The traffic law's winter period, in which a car driven in winter conditions needs winter tyres on all wheels, ends on 1 April.

How busy it is

In April 2025, hotels, campsites and other collective accommodation recorded 117,801 arrivals (MONSTAT; private accommodation not included). These are national figures; there is no separate figure for Kotor.

Where to go

• Kotor and the Bay for the April races up the fortress steps and along the bay, and for the first warm walks on the coastal mountains, which open from mid-April. Kotor has no ZHMS station; Herceg Novi's 18.1 °C by day is the nearest guide.
• Tivat from 24 April for the Festival of the Wind: regattas, the Morska posla fair and free concerts on the waterfront into May.
• Budva for the Easter programme in the Old Town and, from 30 April, the carnival.
• Bar for De Wine fest in the last week of April and the last weeks of the Bar Chronicle winter scene.
• Lovćen once the mausoleum reopens in mid-April; the cable car and the mountain road are the ways up (see the park page).
• The Tara for rafting at its strongest water, for those who want the big river; Durmitor National Park's safest window is 1 July to 15 September. The high mountains themselves are still in winter: Žabljak has frost on 19 days.

What to pack

Spring on the coast, winter in the mountains. For Podgorica and the coast: a light jacket for days of 18 to 19 °C and evenings of 9 to 10 °C, and a waterproof for the 12 to 13 wet days (126 to 159 mm). For the mountains: warm layers and a jacket for lows of 1.2 °C in Kolašin and -1.2 °C in Žabljak, and 16 to 17 wet days. Hiking boots for the coastal trails, which open from mid-April. Swimwear is for hotel pools: the bathing season starts in May. Winter tyres are no longer required from 1 April, but the mountain passes can still have snow, so check road conditions before driving north.

A sample week at the end of April

1. Days 1-2, Tivat and Kotor: the Festival of the Wind on Tivat's waterfront (from 24 April in 2026) and Kotor's Old Town; the bay is on the ferry's winter timetable until early May.
2. Day 3, Lovćen and Cetinje: the Njegoš Mausoleum, reopened in mid-April, and Cetinje.
3. Day 4, Bar: De Wine fest if the weekend coincides, and Stari Bar.
4. Days 5-6, the Tara: rafting at high water from Žabljak or the Tara bridge area, with warm clothes for the mountains.
5. Day 7, Budva: the carnival's opening day, 30 April in 2025 and 2026.

Dates shift every year; check the organisers' sites above before fixing the days.