The best of Montenegro – a two week itinerary

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Montenegro is often overlooked, in favour of its more well known neighbour, Croatia. However this once lesser-known country in the Balkans is gaining popularity, and rightly so. Montenegro is an absolute gem, sitting in the heart of the Balkans coastline.

If you have been to Croatia before then you will be familiar with the beautiful glistening blue sea, clean pebble beaches, charming cobbled old towns and dramatic scenery. Montenegro has all of that and more! Plus, as Montenegro has not yet reached the same holiday-destination status as Croatia, it is still quieter and more laid back.

But hurry – Montenegro is certainly becoming more well known, with more and more visitors arriving each year, so if you want to visit Montenegro before it gets too busy, I would recommend planning a trip there soon!

The best of Montenegro - a two week itinerary

I spent (just over) two weeks in Montenegro in August of 2025 with my Husband and had the best time! I like to see a bit of everything when I go on holiday, so during my two weeks in Montenegro, I planned an itinerary which included a mix of mountains, lakes and hiking with cafe hopping through old towns and strolls along the bay. Because I was planning to move around and stay in different places, I booked flights, accommodation and transport all separate which meant that I could extend my trip a couple of extra days to 16 nights in total, which just allowed for a bit of extra time to travel in between places.

Plan your two week Montenegro itinerary using my booking links below:

I booked my flights via Trip
Accommodation was booked via Booking.com
Buses in Montenegro were booked via Omio
Activities were booked with Viator
I hired my rental car via Discover Cars
My e-sim was via Airlo

In this post you will find my exact itinerary, recommendations and honest opinion on what I would have done differently. So, read on for my two week Montenegro itinerary.

Day 1: Arrive in Tivat and pick up your rental car

Tivat is the main airport that most of the main airlines fly into in Montenegro. You could also fly into Dubrovnik in Croatia and drive across the border, depending on which part of Montenegro you were visiting.

Click here to view my two Croatia itinerary and read destination guides for Croatia

I chose to arrive in Tivat and from there I picked up a rental car at the airport. Montenegro does have public transport in the form of buses and some boats and ferries, but these mostly operate along the coastal roads and around the Bay of Kotor, so if you are travelling inland, I would highly recommend hiring a car to get around.

Hiring a car in Montenegro

I always use Discover cars when hiring a car abroad. I would recommend opting for the full insurance as it is better to be completely covered and have that peace of mind. I hired the car for 5 days, and with full insurance and an additional driver the cost was £310 which I thought was quite reasonable. To book your own rental car in Montenegro, have a look at Discover cars.

Most of the roads in Montenegro are new, smooth highway-style roads and I found driving here to be pretty straight forward. The roads can be quite narrow and winding, especially the further inland you go towards the mountains, but just take it slow. I would also recommend purchasing an e-sim before you arrive in Montenegro so that you can follow google maps on your phone. When visiting a new country, I always use Airlo for e-sims as it is really easy to set up and covers a wide range of countries and regions. To purchase an e-sim through Airlo, click here. Top tip: the signal can be patchy in the mountains, so I would always advise to download an offline version of google maps just in case!

Drive to Zablijak

After picking up the rental car, we drove to the mountain town of Zablijak, on the edge of Durmitor National Park. The drive takes just over 3 hours, but we stopped a couple of times along the way to check out the views. Initially the drive from Tivat skirts the edge of the Bay of Kotor. This road can get quite busy, especially driving through the busy town of Kotor, but the views across the bay are lovely.

Soon enough, the road will start winding up the side of the mountain. I felt very safe on these roads, yes they are high, but the road is new and modern and it didn’t feel sketchy at all. I’d recommend stopping at the Slano Lake Viewpoint to stretch your legs and take in the sweeping views of the lake.

When you arrive in Zablijak, if you’re like me, you’ll probably want to get settled into your accommodation and have a quiet night after a long day travelling!

We stayed at Apartments Grbovic – a local guesthouse, just a short walk from the main high street in Zablijak. The apartments were run by a lovely host and were very quiet, clean and affordable, with street parking outside. If you are looking for something a little more high end, take a look at Hotel Rezident.

The main street in Zablijak is lined with cafes, and local restaurants, but don’t expect a loud, lively nightlife here. The vibe in Zablijak is very laid back and casual, as you might expect from a mountain town, where the daytime activities revolve around canyoning, hiking and cycling. We stayed 4 nights in Zablijak which gave us a good amount of time to do everything we wanted without rushing, but you could easily condense this to 2 nights if needed.

Days 2 - 4: Exploring the Durmitor National Park

If you have read other posts on my blog, you may have noticed that I love hiking and being outdoors. It doesn’t have to be a big hike, even just a short walk to a great viewpoint is enough for me to get my ‘outdoor fix’! If you are an outdoor lover, like me, then you have to add Durmitor National park to your Montenegro itinerary.

There are lots of different activities you can do in Durmitor National Park, from child-friendly trips to the Black Lake, to more extreme tours like canyoning in the Tara River.

I have written a separate post with more details on some fantastic activities to do in Durmitor National Park, which you can read here: Best things to do in Durmitor National Park, but I have also included some of them in a quick summary below.

Things to do in and around Zablijak:

Spend a few hours (or a long, lazy day) at the Black Lake. This is a great option for families visiting Durmitor National Park. You can swim in the lake, or walk the 5km loop trail around it. Check out my blog for all the info on visiting the Black Lake.
Join a rafting or canyoning trip on the Tara River. The Tara canyon is the deepest canyon in europe and the river is great for rafting. Book your full day rafting tour, here.
Visit the Tara Canyon bridge viewpoint – just 30 minutes drive from Zablijak is the Tara canyon bridge and viewpoint. From here you can appreciate the depth and scale of the canyon. There are a couple of cafes and restaurants here and you can even zipline across the canyon.
Drive the Durmitor Panoramic Ring road. This is without a doubt the best thing to do in Durmitor National Park. The views are brilliant. However, I would highly recommend checking out my blog post on driving this road to make sure that you get the best out of it and also to ensure that you remain safe and know what you are getting into. Read my blog post on driving the Durmitor ring road, here.
Visit Piva lake – you can combine this with driving the Durmitor Ring Road. Piva lake is a large, beautiful lake, surrounded by steep mountain ranges. Spent a couple of hours here to make the drive down worthwhile.
Go Hiking. This is one of the most popular activities in Durmitor National park. There are so many different trails, of various levels, from the challenging Bobotov Kuk Peak with via ferrata sections, to short, undulating valley trails.

There are many many more activities in Durmitor National Park, including quad biking, cycling and riding the Savin Kuk Ski Lift. For a more comprehensive summary of these, check out my blog post on the Best things to do in Durmitor National Park.

If you want to see a different side of Montenegro and enjoy the mountains, I would definitely recommend the drive to Zablijak and Durmitor National Park. It was one of the highlights of my two weeks in Montenegro. Just make sure to pack some warmer clothes, especially for the evenings, as the temperature can be 10-15 degrees lower here than by the coast!

Days 5-8: Herceg Novi

Herceg Novi is not typically visited by British or American tourists (at least from what I experienced whilst I was there). In fact we got chatting to a local man whilst we were in Kotor who was from Herceg Novi and he was really surprised but delighted to hear that we had been there. I really enjoyed Hercig Novi and if you enjoy the cobbled old town vibes of Kotor but find it a little too busy, then Herceg Novi could be perfect for you.

As we didn’t need a car in Herceg Novi, we dropped it back off in Tivat and took a bus to Herceg Novi. Tip: When getting a bus, from Tivat to Herceg Novi, make sure that it does not go through Kotor, as this will mean that you have to drive around the bay, which will be busy and will take a long time. The express buses to Herceg Novi will take the ferry across the bay, cutting out a good chunk of driving time. I booked all my buses in advance, via Omio as we were travelling in peak season and I wanted to make sure we got the time we wanted. Book your buses in Montenegro via Omio, here.

The small town of Herceg Novi is situated right at the northern end of the Bay of Kotor, near the border between Montenegro and Croatia. If you fly into Dubrovnik and choose to drive or get a bus into Montenegro, then Herceg Novi is the first main town that you will come across.

I have a separate blog specifically on Herceg Novi which goes into more detail, but below is a quick overview of some of the best things to do:

Things to do in Herceg Novi:

Stroll the little Old Town and enjoy a leisurely coffee or lunch. There are a couple of small fortresses in the old town which you can visit with gorgeous views over the town and bay.
Walk along the waterfront: Not only does Herceg Novi have the cutest little old town, it also has a brilliant waterfront promenade that stretches 7km along the Bay. All along the promenade are shops, bars, restaurants and beach clubs.
Cool off in the Bay. If you enjoy the beach, note that like many of the ‘beaches’ in Montenegro, the ground is either pebble, rocks or it is a man-made concrete structure with steps into the water. However the water is really clear and clean.
Take a boat trip. There are also lots of boat trips you can take from Herceg Novi also. Walking along the promenade you’ll find lots of companies offering various tours, most of which have pretty much the same itinerary. If you are travelling in a group, or as a family, it may work out better value to hire your own speedboat, plus you can tailor the itinerary to suit you. Book your private speedboat here.

Herceg Novi is quite a laid back place, so for us, arriving from Durmitor National Park, where we did lots of walking, this was a nice welcome break to have a couple of days to slow down a bit.

For all the information you need to know about visiting Herceg Novi, check out my guide, here: Best things to do in Herceg Novi.

Days 9-12: Kotor

Of course, you can’t visit Montenegro for the first time without visiting Kotor. To get to Kotor from Herceg Novi, we took a bus, booked once again via Omio. If you prefer, you can pre-book a private taxi transfer instead. Book your private taxi here.

Kotor is the most popular place to visit in Montenegro, thanks to its historic Old Town. Cruises have been stopping here for years, so it is much more touristic than Herceg Novi and it can get very busy in the town, particularly when there is a cruise ship docked.

We stayed in Kotor for 3 nights at Katereo Apartments – a cute little apartment in the heart of the Old Town. I absolutely loved it here and despite being so central, it was so quiet and private, with a little outdoor terrace. If you prefer not to stay in the old town, then have a look at Dobrota, which is an area just a short walk along the bayfront. Here you can find gorgeous properties, like the bayfront Apartments Marilu and boutique guesthouse Panonija.

Below are some of the best things to see and do in and around Kotor, but for a more detailed guide on visiting Kotor, check out my post here: Kotor Travel guide.

Best things to do in and around Kotor:

Take a bus or taxi to Tivat where you will find lots of designer shops and high end restaurants around a luxury marina.
Visit the small town of Perast, where you can take a small boat to the Lady or the Rocks.
Take a boat trip – There are many boat trips that depart from Kotor, which include a visit to the Lady of the Rocks, as well as the popular Blue cave. Book your boat trip in advance, here.
Ride the Kotor Cable car – this is one of the best things to do in Kotor. I have written an entire blog all about the Kotor cable car, including the best time to visit, read it here: Everything you need to know about the riding the Kotor Cable Car
Hike up to the Kotor Fortress for sweeping views of the Bay.
Stroll around the Old Town – there are some great little shops in the Old Town – just note that most of the shops are closed on a Sunday. Have a leisurely lunch in one of the squares and grab some ice cream from one of the many gelato shops.

Days 13-16: Budva

For our last three nights in Montenegro, we took a bus from Kotor to Budva. I’ll be honest – I have mixed feelings about Budva, and it was definitely the least favourite place out of the 4 areas we stayed in during our two weeks in Montenegro.

The Old Town of Budva is really nice, and reminiscent of the walled town of Kotor. The narrow cobbled alleys are a hive of activity, especially during the evenings, with lots of restaurants, cafes, ice cream shops and takeaways.

However, in contrast, the area of ‘Buda Riviera’, where the main beach is, I didn’t like very much. It felt very touristic and not in a good way, with cheap kids’ fairground rides along the promenade and just rows and rows (and more rows) of sunbeds lining the beach, so there was hardly any space to sit without hiring a bed.

However, if you use Budva as a base, there are some nice things you can see and do in and around the town:

Best things to do in and around Budva:

Stroll around the Old Town – this was my favourite thing to do in Budva, and whilst it does come to life at night, it is worth having a wander during the day when it is much quieter and you can admire the buildings and visit the cute little shops with fewer other people. You can also take a short walk along the Old City walls.
Walk to Mogren beach. From Budva Old Town, follow the narrow path alongside the cliff to reach Mogren beach. It does get busy here and it still does unfortunately have sunbeds lining the beach, but the setting in a small cove is pretty.
Visit Fort Mogren by walking from Mogren beach. The Fort is perched on the cliffs, with great views over Budva and the water.
Take a trip to Sveti Stefan. This is one of the best things to do whilst staying in Budva. Sveti Stefan is a small Islet beach resort, famous for its 15th century fortress. The two beaches either side of the islet have plenty of room for sunbathing (without lots of sunbeds!) and you can rent kayaks and paddleboards here, too. We took the local bus from Budva which was really easy, but you could also take a local taxi if you prefer. There are some restaurants on the main street above the beach, but we got some snacks from the local shop and had a picnic on the beach instead. We spent the whole day here and really enjoyed it. Definitely worth a visit.
Visit the caves and waterfalls above Budva town. This is dependent on the time of year that you visit, as if you visit in the peak summer months, then there might not be much of a waterfall. But there are several viewpoints above Budva such as the Ivanovići Cave and Čučuci Waterfall that you can visit. I wouldn’t make a specific trip, but if you have your own rental car, it might be worth stopping by.
Book a guided tour to the Lipa cave. Just a 40 minute drive inland from Budva is the Lipa cave. If you have your own car, you can drive there, but you can also book a tour and let someone else do the driving for you. Once you arrive at the cave, you can explore the 1.6 miles of underground passages. Book your Lipa cave tour here.
Visit Skadar Lake – The lake actually sits across two countries: Montenegro and Albania. If you are travelling in your own rental car, it is a 1 hour drive from Budva. The best way to appreciate the beauty of the lake is by wooden boat. You can pre-book your boat in advance here: Skadar Lake National Park Guided Boat Tour. If you don’t have your own transport, don’t worry, there are full yours that you can book from Budva to Skadar, like this one: Budva to Skadar Lake – Cruise with Lunch

Tips and recommendations for two weeks in Montenegro

After spending just over two weeks in Montenegro, would I have done anything differently? I think perhaps the only thing I would have done differently is to have fewer nights in Budva – perhaps just one – two at the most and I would have stayed in – or closer to – the Old Town, rather than near the main beach. I perhaps would have also reduced the number of nights in Kotor, and then added on a trip to Petrovac or Bar, further south along the coast, in order to see another area of Montenegro. But that is just because I like to move around and visit lots of places! I’m not so great at sitting still!

The reason I chose to stay in 4 different places over the two weeks is because I didn’t want to be travelling to the various sights every day, or at least, I didn’t want long journeys every day. However, if the thought of unpacking and re-packing multiple times sounds like a nightmare, or if you are happy to go at a slower pace and prefer a more relaxed holiday, then you may wish to just base yourself in one or two places and move around less. Just be aware that the traffic around the Bay of Kotor gets incredibly busy and congested, especially in the peak summer months, so although the journey time may look short, it often takes much longer than you expect.

Is Montenegro worth visiting?

Yes, absolutely! I loved Montenegro and had such a great two weeks exploring here. It has so much to offer, from mountains and lakes, to gorgeous blue bays and cute old towns. Basically everything I love in a destination, all rolled into one.

Getting around Montenegro is relatively easy. And although the public transport system is still not quite at the level of some other European holiday destinations, with the local buses being somewhat unreliable,the pre-booked coaches are easy to arrange, and driving in Montenegro is really easy.

Budget-wise, Montenegro isn’t exactly a cheap European destination. I would say that it is comparable with Croatia in terms of eating out and getting around. However, there are always more budget-friendly options available in terms of transport, accommodation and activities.

I would say that Montenegro is a destination suitable for the whole family, but particularly for couples who want a bit more out of a holiday than lounging all day every day on a sunbed.