Montenegro in February and March: weather, snow and what's on

February and March are the two faces of late winter: mimosa, carnival and wine festivals on the coast and on Skadar Lake, and the deepest snow of the year in the north. In the ZHMS 1961-1990 normals the coast averages highs of about 13 °C in February and 15 °C in March, while Žabljak has 71 cm of snow on the ground in February, more than in any other month, and still 69 cm in March. The Mimosa Festival in Herceg Novi runs through the second half of February, and the ski season ends on snow, not on a date: in 2026 Kolašin 1600 closed on 15 March, reopened after fresh snow in the last days of the month and finished on 8 April.

Weather in February and March

The tables give the ZHMS climate normals for 1961-1990, the only normals the institute publishes. There is no ZHMS station in Kotor or Budva; Herceg Novi and Bar are the nearest coastal stations.

February

March

The coast is mild and wet in both months, with rain on 12 to 13 days and frost on only one or two. March brings the first real change: Podgorica, Bar and Herceg Novi all pass 15 °C by day and sunshine rises from about 125 to about 170 hours a month. The north stays in winter. Kolašin has frost on 22 days in February and 21 in March, Žabljak on 26 and 27. Both mountain stations reach their deepest average snow in February, 24 cm in Kolašin and 71 cm in Žabljak (recorded maximums 192 and 230 cm), and still average 15 and 69 cm in March. These are town stations, not ski slopes; current depths are on snow today.

Today's forecast: Podgorica, Bar, Herceg Novi, Kolašin, Žabljak, or the weather page for the whole country.

What's on in February

• St Tryphon festivities (Tripundanske svečanosti), Kotor: the feast of the town's patron saint is 3 February; during the festivities the Little Admiral of the Boka Navy recites the praise of St Tryphon at noon, according to the Kotor tourist organisation. The outdoor festivities end with the lowering of the saint's flag; in 2026, the 1,217th celebration, they closed on 15 February.
• Kotor winter carnival (Tradicionalni zimski kotorski karneval), Kotor and Prčanj: a masked ball, children's balls and a main parade. The national tourist organisation listed the 2026 carnival for 6-15 February, with the parade on 15 February; the parade was then announced for Sunday 22 February, starting from Dobrota. In 2025 it ran from 15 to 23 February, according to the Municipality of Kotor's programme.
• Mimosa Festival (Praznik mimoze), Herceg Novi: founded in 1969. The 57th edition ran from 13 to 28 February 2026; the 2025 edition from 14 February to 2 March, the 2024 edition to 3 March. Programme, venues and tickets are in the Mimosa Festival guide.
• Wine and Bleak Festival (Festival vina i ukljeve), Virpazar: a regional wine competition with bleak (ukljeva) tasting in Virpazar on Skadar Lake, run by the local community of Crmnica and the winemakers' association. The 28th edition opened on Saturday 28 February 2026 and continued on 1 March; no fried bleak was served in 2026, to protect the species.
• Bar Chronicle winter scene (Zimska scena Barskog ljetopisa), Bar: the winter programme of the Bar Chronicle runs from January to April, according to the Bar tourist organisation.

What's on in March

• End of the Mimosa Festival, Herceg Novi: recent editions have closed between 28 February and 3 March (3 March 2024, 2 March 2025, 28 February 2026), so the first days of March can still catch the closing programme.
• Wine and Bleak Festival, Virpazar: the second day of the 2026 edition was 1 March.
• Lastva carnival (Karneval lastovski), Donja Lastva, Tivat: a traditional carnival Sunday run by the Harlekin group; in 2025 it fell on Sunday 2 March.
• Sutorman downhill, Bar: a downhill mountain-bike race on Sutorman, held in the last week of March according to the Bar tourist organisation.
• Podgorica ultramarathon (Podgorički ultramaraton), Podgorica: a 50 km race on a 1 km loop along Crnogorskih serdara street, with fun runs over 3, 5, 10 and 21 km, organised by ATK Podgorički maraton; the 27th edition was announced for Sunday 29 March 2026.
• Bar Chronicle winter scene, Bar: continues to April.

Dates move from year to year and are published a few weeks ahead. Check the Mimosa Festival site, the Kotor tourist organisation for the carnival and the St Tryphon programme, Tivat for the Lastva carnival and Bar for Sutorman and the winter scene. The Wine and Bleak Festival has no site of its own; the local press announces it in the last week of February.

Seasons: what opens and closes

Skiing. February is the safest ski month and March the gamble. In 2025/26 Kolašin 1600 was open from 10 January to 15 March, reopened in the last days of March after new snow and ended on Wednesday 8 April with 77 ski days in all; Savin kuk near Žabljak ran from 12 January into April, and the private Kolašin 1450, which has snow cannons, closed on 12 April after more than 100 days. The winter before was short: Kolašin 1600 opened on 21 December 2024 but had counted only 15 ski days by 9 February, after rain closed the slopes, while Kolašin 1450 was still skiing on snow from its cannons. Kolašin 1600 and Savin kuk depend on natural snow; the resort pages and snow today show the current state.

• Snowshoeing: the national tourist organisation gives December to March as the season for snowshoeing and ski touring on Bjelasica and Sinjajevina; March is the last month.
• Closed: the Njegoš Mausoleum on Lovćen, from 16 November to mid-April (the museum's pages give 10 and 14 April as the last closed day).
• Swimming: both months are 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.
• Ferry: the Kamenari-Lepetane ferry runs on its winter timetable (mid-October to early May): every 20 minutes from 06:00 to 24:00 and hourly through the night.
• Winter tyres: the traffic law's winter period runs from 15 November to 1 April; until then a car driven in winter conditions must have winter tyres on all wheels. More on driving.

Where to go

• Herceg Novi for the Mimosa Festival in the second half of February: after Bar the warmest of the five stations in February, with 12.8 °C by day.
• Kotor for the St Tryphon festivities in the first half of February and the carnival parade later in the month. Kotor has no ZHMS station; Herceg Novi's numbers are the nearest guide.
• Virpazar and Skadar Lake for the Wine and Bleak Festival at the turn of the month.
• Kolašin and Žabljak for skiing while the snow lasts. Žabljak's average high is 0.9 °C in February and 3.7 °C in March, with frost on 26 to 27 days, so the town itself stays wintry even when the slopes are closing.
• Podgorica at the end of March for the ultramarathon weekend, with average highs of 15 °C and about 170 hours of sunshine in the month.

What to pack

On the coast a waterproof jacket matters more than a warm one: 12 to 13 days with rain a month and about 195 to 199 mm in Herceg Novi, against daytime highs of 13 to 15 °C and lows of 5 to 7 °C. Carnival and festival evenings are outdoors, so a warm layer for after dark. In the north pack for winter in both months: lows of -4.5 to -7.9 °C in February and -2.1 to -5.2 °C in March, snow on the ground in town, and frost on most days. Drivers heading inland need winter tyres on all wheels until 1 April. Swimwear can stay at home: the bathing season starts in May.

A sample week at the end of February

1. Days 1-2, Herceg Novi: the Mimosa Festival's closing weekend (in 2026 the festival ended on 28 February). Programme and venues in the festival guide.
2. Day 3, Kotor: the Old Town and, if the dates coincide, the carnival parade (22 February in 2026). Cross the bay on the ferry or drive round.
3. Day 4, Virpazar: the Wine and Bleak Festival, held on the last weekend of February in 2026, on Skadar Lake.
4. Days 5-7, Kolašin: skiing at Kolašin 1600 or Kolašin 1450 if the snow allows; check snow today before driving up, and carry winter tyres.

Dates shift every year, so build the week around the organisers' announcements rather than around last year's calendar.