12 of the Very Best Things to do in Montenegro

With crystal clear water, charming coastal towns, and incredible nature, the list of things to do in Montenegro is endless. It’s one of those places that has something for everyone.

I knew I’d like Montenegro just from pictures I’d seen online. But trust me when I say it’s SO much more beautiful in real life.

I spent a week exploring Montenegro and I’ve put together this guide to 12 of the best things to do there, from exploring fairy tale villages and medieval towns to relaxing on some of Europe’s most beautiful beaches.

1. Explore Kotor Old Town

Kotor Old Town is one of the best preserved medieval old towns in the Adriatic and is a double World Heritage Site, for both cultural and natural value.

Construction began in the 6th century, but most of what you see today was built between the 9th and 14th centuries during the Venetian rule.

The town is enclosed by city walls, along with bastions, gates and towers. Inside the walls, there’s narrow streets, ancient churches and historical squares. It’s an incredible place and I’d recommend setting aside a few hours to explore it with no real agenda.

A guided walking tour is a great way to see the Old Town while learning about the city’s history. This walking tour is really highly rated.

Make sure you visit the rooftop at Hotel Hippocampus. I had breakfast there, and it has amazing views over the town.

2. Ride the Kotor Cable Car

One of the best things to do in Montenegro is to ride on the Kotor cable car. It’s an 11 minute journey where you’ll get incredible views over the Bay of Kotor on the way to Mount Lovćen at the top.

I boarded the cable car about 1 hour before sunset which meant that the light on the journey up was a beautiful golden glow, and then I got to enjoy sunset from the top.

Once you reach the top there’s lots to do. One of the main attractions is the Alpine Rollercoaster which you control yourself and you get amazing views over the Bay of Kotor.

I think everyone must want to ride it at sunset as the queue was crazy when I visited so I didn’t get to go on it, but it does look like a lot of fun.

If you want to see more of Montenegro beyond Kotor, book this full day tour combining the Kotor Cable Car with Lovćen National Park. This is a good option if you don’t have a car or would rather have someone else organise the day for you.

There’s also the Monte 1350 bar where everyone goes for sunset. There’s plenty of outdoor seating, so I sat and had a glass of wine here. It was the most expensive drink I had in Montenegro, but well worth it for the view.

You’ll also be right next to Lovćen National Park once you reach the top, so if you wanted to go early and make a day of it there’s lots of amazing hiking trails to explore, and you can also hire e-bikes.

3. Take a boat trip

One thing you absolutely have to do on in Montenegro is to take a boat trip around the Bay of Kotor, a 28km coastal bay of the Adriatic sea.

My boat trip was organised by my hotel and we sailed past most of the major towns in the Bay of Kotor, as well as stopping at Our Lady of the Rocks so we could get off and have a look around, and to the Blue Cave.

But the thing I found the most fascinating were the submarine tunnels. They were built during the Cold War for boats and submarines to hide inside and avoid detection.

We got to go inside them as part of the tour and it was incredible to see how big they are – some of them are over 100 metres long.

When you’re booking your boat tour, make sure the submarine tunnels are included as part of the trip because it really was a highlight.

4. Kraken underwater wine cellar

Kraken underwater wine cellar is a floating wine bar in the middle of the sea, and it’s without a doubt the coolest thing you can do in Montenegro.

The idea for the bar came from the team reading about shipwrecks where wine bottles would be found perfectly preserved at the bottom of the sea. So they used the same logic and decided to try and replicate it for themselves, by ageing wine bottles under water.

They found that the wine aged much quicker, and most importantly, tasted delicious, so they turned it into a business.

The wine is aged for 1 year, 20 metres below the surface, and you can try it for yourself by visiting their floating bar.

You’ll need to book a table in advance for this as it’s really popular. You’ll be given a 2 hour time slot where you can try the wine, enjoy local food, and and of course jump off the side to take a dip in the sea. On a clear day you’ll even be able to see the wine under the water!

5. Explore the Lustica Peninsula

The Lustica Peninsula lies on the Western coast of Montenegro, and is known for its secluded beaches, lush green hills, crystal clear water and picturesque towns.

It’s still a relatively undiscovered part of the country, and it was so much quieter than everywhere else I visited.

Whilst you’re there you have to visit the Blue Cave, a natural sea cave with bright blue water which glows in the sunlight, and a great swimming spot. But honestly any of the beaches in this part of Montenegro have incredible water, it feels like a little slice of paradise.

One of the best ways to explore the Luštica Peninsula is by boat, and this boat trip takes you to the Blue Cave, Our Lady of the Rocks and the submarine tunnels.

I spent the first few nights of my trip here, and I fell in love with the area. It was absolutely stunning and so peaceful, I could have happily spent my whole week there.

I stayed at The Chedi Lustica Bay, and I can’t recommend it enough for your trip to Montenegro. There’s a great outdoor pool, a private beach, two restaurants, and the team were so incredible and couldn’t do enough to make my stay special.

6. Discover the charming village of Rose

Rose is a small fishing village on the Lustica Peninsula, and it was my favourite place in Montenegro. It’s charming and very rustic, there’s no sky rises or fancy hotels, and you can walk around it all in about 10 minutes.

Unsurprisingly there’s not much to do there, but it’s a great place to spend a few hours, swimming in the clear water and enjoying fresh seafood at one of the restaurants.

7. Climb the Kotor Fortress

The Kotor Fortress, also known as the San Giovanni Fortress, sits above Kotor old town and is part of its city walls.

The hike to the top of the fortress is one of the best things to do in Montenegro. It starts in Kotor old town, and you’ll need to climb 1,350 steps to reach the top.

I’d recommend starting the hike as early as possible, especially if you’re visiting during the summer months, as it’s a very exposed trail and it does get extremely hot.

Entrance costs €15, which I think is very expensive, but if you’re back down before 8am there’s nobody on the turnstiles so you can technically do it for free.

8. Visit Perast

Perast is a small fishing village about 20 minutes from Kotor that feels like a fairy tale town.

Most people only visit Perast for the day but I’d really recommend at least staying overnight, or even better, basing yourself here for a few days, which is what I did.

Although Perast is much quieter than Kotor (which is why I loved it so much), it still has great restaurants and a lively atmosphere in the evenings.

I ate at Trattoria Rosmarino twice during my stay. The restaurant is beautifully decorated, and they serve fresh seafood with views over Perast and the mountains.

I also loved Eho, which is in the middle of town, and is a slightly fancier restaurant, with delicious cocktails.

9. Our Lady of the Rocks

Our Lady of the Rocks is a man-made island located just off the coast of Perast (you can see it from the town).

Legend has it that in the 14th century, two brothers were sailing back to Perast, and one of them had an injured leg. As they approached the town, they found an icon of the Virgin Mary and Child. They took it home with them and miraculously, the mans leg was healed the next day.

They took this is a sign and decided to build a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the rock where they found the icon. They dropped more rocks and stones, and even sunk old boats, until eventually they had built an island.

Even to this day, locals still uphold this tradition, and every year on July 22nd, they sail out to the island and drop more rocks into the sea.

You can take a boat from Perast to the island, they run really regularly and cost €5.

If you want a longer boat trip, this one takes you to Our Lady of the Rocks, the Blue Cave and the submarine tunnels.

10. Discover Lake Skadar

Lake Skadar is the largest lake in the Balkans, and one of Montenegro’s five national parks. It’s a haven for wildlife, especially birds, including the rare Dalmatian pelican.

You can choose to either rent a kayak or see the lake on a boat tour, I opted for the latter because it was July when I visited and very hot, so I didn’t fancy having to do any work.

I’d really recommend booking your boat tour in advance. I turned up without a booking and ended up having a pretty awful experience with a company at the entrance to Virpazar.

When you arrive in Virpazar, where the boats sail from, there’s a car park at the entrance to the town. Here, a group of men came up to my car and asked if I had a boat tour booked (I didn’t), and said I could park for free if I booked a tour with them.

They charged me €50 for a 2 hour boat tour, promising me it would be a small group of around 5 people. This felt like a lot of money but they were putting pressure on me to get on the boat as it was leaving soon, and it was extremely hot so I was flustered, and I ended up agreeing.

Unfortunately, the reality was very different. There were around 15 people on the boat, the driver didn’t speak English so we didn’t learn anything about the lake, and we didn’t visit any of the places they’d shown me in the photos.

After doing research online I realised this was a common scam, and if I had walked into the village I would have found lots of reputable companies offering boat tours for a lot less money. I’m usually really savvy with things like that so I was annoyed at myself for falling for it.

But one thing I am is stubborn, so when I returned I kicked up a fuss and got the majority of my money back. And now I’m telling you so you don’t make the same mistakes.

Book your boat trip in advance rather than arranging one when you arrive. This one is really highly rated with lots of reviews, and you get to ride on a traditional wooden boat.

Despite the dodgy tour company I did still have a brilliant time on the lake, it’s absolutely beautiful and well worth a visit, just do your research and book your boat tour in advance.

11. Visit Dobrota

Dobrota is a small town a 10 minute drive from Kotor. A lot of people will choose to stay in Kotor and miss Dobrota entirely, but I’d really encourage you to base yourself here instead. I stayed here for one night during my trip and I absolutely loved it.

First of all, it’s jaw-droppingly beautiful. You’re looking out onto the Adriatic sea, with mountains all around you, it’s a scene straight out of a postcard. Then you have the added benefit of it being much quieter than Kotor, especially in the evenings, it’s so peaceful and the crowd feels much more local.

Dobrota’s shoreline is dotted with swimming spots, and small pebbly “beaches”. Even at 9pm, there were still children running off the piers into the water. It has a really beautiful atmosphere.

Even if you don’t stay here, please at least visit for a day. I had my favourite meal of the trip in Dobrota, at an Italian restaurant called La Ricetta. It was so good I actually drove back from Budva on my final night to eat there again.

The food is so fresh, usually locally sourced ingredients as much as possible, the owner is really friendly and spent a lot of time chatting with us and telling us about his life, and it’s located looking over the water with incredible sunset views.

12. Sveti Stefan

Sveti Stefan is a town located just outside of Budva, but it’s most famous for the island, of the same name, that’s connected to the mainland by a stone pathway.

Although you can’t actually visit the island itself, you can swim in the beaches surrounding it, and it’s also a really beautiful place for sunset.

Where to stay in Montenegro

Montenegro is relatively small, but where you choose to stay will have a big impact on your trip.

I’d recommend basing yourself around Kotor, Perast or the Luštica Peninsula, rather than staying in Budva, which I found much busier and more built-up.

Here are some of the hotels I stayed at and would recommend:

The Chedi Luštica Bay

This hotel on the Luštica Peninsula was my favourite hotel in Montenegro and where I spent the first few nights of my trip.

It’s in a beautiful waterfront setting, with an outdoor pool, private beach, spa and several restaurants.

I particularly loved staying here because Luštica Peninsula is much quieter than some of Montenegro’s more popular coastal destinations.

It’s a great base if you want a relaxing few days by the sea, while still being able to explore places like the Blue Cave, Rose and Kotor by car.

Heritage Grand Perast

Perast was hands down my favourite place in Montenegro. It’s a fairytale like town on the water with charming buildings, incredible restaurants, and a relaxed atmosphere.

I stayed at the Heritage Grand Perast, which is right in the middle of the town and has a swimming pool overlooking the sea.

The rooms are modern and spacious, and there’s an onsite restaurant with views out to the water and the mountains, as well as a courtyard with live music in the evenings.

Montenegro Google Map

More Montenegro guides:

• 7 Day Montenegro Itinerary: Perfect for Your First Visit