Best resorts in Montenegro

The state of Montenegro is located in South-Eastern Europe, on the coast of the Balkan coast. The country has borders with 5 states at once, including Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, as well as Croatia, where the theme of world tourism is developed and no less actively developed!

A few iconic figures about Montenegro:

    2,534 m is the highest point of the country. We are talking about Mount Zlata Kolata.

•     144 km - the length of river Tara, flowing simultaneously on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
•     In Montenegro, it forms the largest canyon in all of Europe, the length of which
•     82 km, and a depth of up to 1,300 m.
•     295 km is the total length of the coastline of the country, which makes it most
•     prone to active work with tourists.
•     14 - the number of sea islands on the territory of the state.

The best resorts are concentrated in the Budva Riviera - 35 km of the Adriatic Sea coast.

The most famous and most visited resorts on the Montenegrin coast:

1.     Budva - the central part of the Adriatic coast.
2.     Milocer - located within walking distance of the beach in Budva and is rated by many travelers as the best local resort.
3.     Sveti Stefan - an island and resort village with its own beach area, closed for public use.
4.     Petrovac - a resort 17 kilometers from Budva with a few kilometers of coastline within the city and numerous beaches in the area.
5.     Becici - the resort village with a native population of just over 1000 people is open to a huge number of tourists!
6.     Rafailovichi. This village deserves first of all the credit for the local beach with a few kilometers of amazing promenade along the water.
7.     Przno
8.     Drobnici
9.     Rezhevici
10.     Krstac
11.     Bulyarica

History of Montenegro - formation and development

Montenegro as an independent country has existed since the early 19th century.

•     Since its inception, only 60,000 local inhabitants had lived here.
•     The total territory of Montenegro was 1,200 square kilometers.
•     And by the number of settlements the index barely passed 100.
•     Even 200 years ago the modern resort and city of Cetinje was only a monastery and a dozen crude little houses.
•     Today Montenegro is one of the best resorts in Europe, and in 1830s the main income came from agriculture and cattle breeding - sheep and goats.
•     The present world-famous landmark "Skadar Lake" was at that time the center of the fishing industry in the region.
•     Present capital of the state (Podgorica), and such resorts as Zabljak, Niksic, Bar, Kolasin Ulcinj were joined to Montenegro only at the beginning of 20th century. That allowed to get the picturesque coast of Adriatic Sea 70 km. long besides the territories.
•     Montenegro as we know it (with visa-free regime and rapidly developing tourism) began to exist only in 2009.

Nowadays Montenegrin territory is only 14 000 square kilometers and a little more than 600 thousand natives. At the same time, the convenient geographical location of the country at the borders of the Adriatic Sea allows actively develop the topic of tourism, both in summer and winter!

The best resort in the South and the North is a radically different Montenegro!

A few parameters by which we can classify the regions:

•     Climatic characteristics. The seaside region (resort) is characterized by long summer, dry and hot - up to 30 degrees Celsius. Winter in its turn is short and mild (the thermometer does not fall below 7 degrees with a "-" sign. The north is the exact opposite: the amount of precipitation in the mountainous Montenegro is one of the highest in all of Europe! Some regions remain snow-covered for up to 5 months of the year.
•     Relief characteristics. If on the coast (southern part) it is mostly flat terrain, valleys... then in the north there are whole mountain systems with deep canyons and steep drops in altitude.
•     Vegetation and animals. Coniferous and mixed forests are the exclusive advantage of the northern regions of the state. Here you can find such representatives of fauna as bear, wild boar, wolf, fox and others. The south has its own advantages, due to its milder climate.
•     Water resources. While the north of the country is dominated by forest and highland lakes with rivers, in the south the country is washed by the sea over its entire area!

Considering the North and South of the country in terms of tourism, year-round activity should be noted! Winter-spring is a ski resort in the North; summer-autumn is the best beach resort in the South.

Cities and towns of Montenegro - territorial features of the best resort in Europe!

The territorial integrity of the state is made up of several dozen communities (24). Each got its name from the central city of the same name in each:

•     Andrijevica is the northeastern region. The central settlement is concentrated in the valley of the Lim River. The city's population barely exceeds 1,000 inhabitants.
•     Bar is the southern part, which is a full-fledged resort at the beginning of the 21st century! At the same time the central seaport of Montenegro is concentrated here, and the total area of the municipality is 67 square kilometers.
•     Barane - the municipality is located in the east, its total area is more than 500 square kilometers.
•     Bijelo Polje - the northeastern region with a population of 46,000 people. At the same time, the territorial size of the community is as small as 1,000 square kilometers.
•     Budva is the central riviera of Montenegro, the best resort for locals and tourists! The city itself and the municipality are located on the Adriatic coast, and the population of the county is 16,000.
•     Danilovgrad is the central region with a population of 6000 inhabitants. In the entire county, however, there are close to 20,000 inhabitants in an area of 500 km2.
•     Zabljak - occupies the northern region. Here permanently lives a little over 2000 citizens - 50% of the population of the entire municipality. The city center itself is concentrated at an altitude of 1500 meters, next to the mountain massif of Durmitor.
•     Kolashin is the administrative center with a population of 3,000 people. In the municipality itself there are 10,000 people. However, Montenegrins are only 50% of the population. The remaining half are Serbs (45%).
•     Kotor is geographically located on the shores of the Bay of Kotor on the Adriatic Sea (South). It is noteworthy that the old part of this city is protected by UNESCO. Approximately 15,000 people live in Kotor, and other villages in the county account for about 10,000 more.
•     Maikovac - has a location on the banks of the Tara River, in the northeastern region of Montenegro. The main attraction of the resort: the National Park "Biogradska Gora". The town has more than 4000 inhabitants.
•     Niksic - built at the foot of Trebija Mountain, in the Niksic valley to the north. It is the largest municipality in the state, with an area of more than 2000 km2 with a population of 60,000 people (2nd largest after the capital, Podgorica).
•     Plav is a town to the northeast with 4,000 natives. The main attraction is Lake Plav lake.
•     Pluzine is located to the northwest of Montenegro, closer to the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1,343 residents - that is how many lived here in the early 20s of the 21st century.
•     Plevlja is the northernmost part of the country with a population of more than 30,000. However, the territorial size of the entire municipality is within 1,400 square kilometers.
•     Podgorica is the capital in the center of Montenegro (30 km from the coast). This region is made up of 2 communities at once: Tuzi and Zeta. The total number of inhabitants is more than 150 thousand!
•     Rozaje is the eastern district near the border with the Republic of Kosovo. 23,000 people - that is how many people lived in the municipality as of 2011.
•     Tivat - the city on the coast of the Bay of Kotor, on the Vrmac peninsula on the southern slope. In Tivat, there are more than 10,000 people, while in the entire county - more than 14,000.
•     Ulcinj - with a total area of the municipality of 255 km2, its population is 21,000 inhabitants. An interesting fact is that it is the only region, where the native majority are Albanians - more than 70%. The Montenegrins are only 12%!
•     Herceg Novi is the administrative center of the municipality, geographically situated on the Bay of Kotor, at the foot of Mount Orien. The population of the region: 33 thousand inhabitants.
•     Cetinje is the cultural center of Montenegro and, according to the constitution, one of the capitals, along with Podgorica. According to the census, 14 thousand people live here - it is the 6th largest city!

Despite the fact that we are talking about a single state and the whole territory of Montenegro can be considered a resort, in its different areas the vacation is different, because of the climatic characteristics.

Montenegro's climate. What is its uniqueness?       

Despite the small size, Montenegro has several climatic zones at once! In most regions it has a temperate continental climate, on the coast the Mediterranean climate prevails, and in the mountains (in the north) - the Alpine climate.

The characteristics of the climate zone on the Adriatic coast:

•     Here the Summer is dry and hot. It starts in May and lasts until the "deep" October! At the same time there is a large amount of precipitation in comparison with neighboring countries.
•     Winter is characterized as soft and short.
•     Sea water temperature during all the warm months ranges from +20 to exorbitant +27 degrees!

The features of the low "plateau" are the second climatic zone:

•     Even more rainfall with an equally dry summer season!
•     The central part is recommended to visit during the summer months (June-August), otherwise the intensity of rain starts to go off the scale in the fall!
•     The air temperature here does not get warmer than 27 degrees.

A characteristic feature of the alpine climate, the third climatic zone (north):

•     In summer in the highlands, the air does not get warmer than +20 degrees! And in winter it practically does not rise above zero.
•     The precipitation here falls evenly throughout the year and is quite plentiful at any time.
•     The snow in the highlands remains from November to April.

Do you want to see Montenegro in winter, to try what the best ski vacation is? Zabljak is one of those regions that you want!

Read more about the climate of Montenegro by month - when and where would it be more appropriate to go?

Officially, the swimming season starts in June and ends in October. But Montenegro is not only the best resorts, the sun and chic evening promenades on the waterfront ...!

Depending on the climate holidays here can be year-round! Weather conditions by month:

• March. The temperature mark on the water by the sea does not rise above 14 plus, and there is still snow in the high mountain regions. The best ski resorts are open! Here the temperature is on average +5 during the day.
• April. The coastal +20 Celsius already allows to comfortably attend excursions in the seafront area. The minimum amount of precipitation in the South also contributes to this. In the highlands the thermometer temperature no longer falls below 0.
• May. In Budva and other resorts, the bathing season is already slowly opening. The water temperature already reaches 19-20 ° C, while the air temperature rises to 25 ° C. So if you don't swim, you can sunbathe on the beach for sure! May in the north - a completely different story! Here, the temperature maximum at this time is only 13 ° C plus. Budva, Bar, Podgorica, the rainfall begins to decrease as the spring months draw to a close.
• June. The official opening of the season in all the best resorts. During the daytime, 27 ° C is the norm on the coast! At the same time in the region of Cetinje this figure does not exceed 15 ° C.
• July. The coolness in the midsummer is possible only in the north, in the mountain resort areas. For example, the temperature does not rise above 19 ° C in Zabljak at this time. Rainfalls are rare and short-lived on the coast.
• August. The temperature in the sea reaches a record 26 degrees! In August, the thermometer averages across the country and shows an average of 28 ° C. The hottest city is Kotor (31 degrees). But at the same time in this area there is a greater amount of precipitation. Kolasin records as much as 23 ° C.
• September. This last month of vacation on the beaches of Montenegro! The air is no longer warmer than 26 degrees, even at the coast. In Cetinje this figure is 22 degrees during the day, and at night it drops to 11 degrees. In the resorts in the mountains it's already starting to rain and the daytime maximum does not exceed +16.
• October. By the end of the month the water becomes less and less comfortable for swimming (falls below +20). In the mountains it cools down to +10 during the day. The amount of precipitation is rapidly increasing everywhere.
• November. The first snowfalls are already recorded in the mountain resorts, and the temperature is already dropping below zero here. At sea resorts, however, the figure is limited to +15 ° C.
• December. The first month of winter and the official opening of the best ski resorts in Montenegro (Kolasin, Zabljak). From 0 to -6 - the temperature readings in the north during the day and, respectively, at night. Precipitation in December is maximum and can last up to 17 days! In the south, the daytime air no longer gets warmer than +9.
• January. The daytime maximum in the north of the country does not exceed 0 ° C, while on the coast the thermometer shows all +13. The large amount of precipitation in all areas is a usual phenomenon for this time.
• February. In Podgorica there are up to 12 days of rainfall per month! And the air temperature here and even further south stays at +13. The ski resorts have stable snow cover, which makes this time of year the most popular for this sport.

When is the best time to plan a vacation in Montenegro?   

Studying the climatic characteristics of the country, we can conclude that recreation here is possible year-round! The only question is what and where.

A few important points that determine the most optimal time for recreation on the beaches:

•     Beach season is already possible to open in May and it lasts until October. So it is so, but in May the water can seem warm not all holidaymakers!
•     October? Yes, there are still a lot of tourists on the coast, but the time for a holiday is also questionable, due to an increase in the intensity of the rains.
•     In May and October it's better to combine beach rest with excursions and nature walks.
•     July, August and September are optimal months for swimming at the resorts of Montenegro.
•     In June you can start swimming at such resorts as Kotor, Tivat, Herceg Novi, Perast.
•     On the Adriatic coast the water is very warm in June. These regions are Budva, Becici, Petrovac, Bar.
•     July and August are the hottest months, so the recreation on the shores of the Bay of Kotor and the surrounding areas can be complicated by heat. During the daytime the thermometer readings may not drop below +30, but the temperature can easily go as low as 35!

The ideal time to visit the beach resorts of Montenegro is late May, June, September and October (first half).

Rest in Montenegro's highlands. When is the best time to visit the sights in the north? Practical Observations:

•     July and August are the hottest months, so relaxing on the beach at this time may not seem comfortable for everyone! Finding some nice coolness and exploring the sights of the north is the perfect time! National Park Durmitor, Black Lake and many others.
•     December and February is the best time for ski resorts (Zabljak and Kolasin). In February, the snow is already maximum stable, so this time is the most popular.
•     In December and January are registered the maximum precipitation throughout Montenegro.

Want to go skiing? December and February is your time!