The route that gives Montenegro its specific argument: two days at the Bay of Kotor for the UNESCO walled city and the Our Lady of the Rocks island church and the specific Adriatic fjord-like enclosed bay that is simultaneously the most photographically dramatic single bay on the Mediterranean and the most undervisited relative to its visual quality (the Dubrovnik day trip has made Kotor a half-day rather than the two days it requires), two days at the Tara River Canyon (the second deepest canyon in the world after the Colorado — the 1,300-metre walls, the Tara white-water rafting (Grade 3-4 in the spring snowmelt), and the specific Montenegro interior that the coastal visitor misses), and three days on the Adriatic coast for the Sveti Stefan (the private island connected to the mainland by the causeway, the Aman resort on the island visible from the public beach free of charge from 20 metres) and the Ulcinj (the Ottoman-influenced southernmost town, the Velika Plaža (the longest beach in the Adriatic at 13km) before the crowds that have not yet found it).
Reading time: 10 minutes | Last updated: 2026
Before You Leave
Getting there: Fly London-Podgorica (TUI, easyJet seasonal, or via Belgrade/Istanbul) or London-Dubrovnik and drive south (2 hours from Dubrovnik to Kotor). UK citizens: Montenegro visa-free 90 days.
The car: Essential for the Tara Canyon and the coastal circuit. Hire from Podgorica or Tivat airports: €25-50/day.
Currency: Euro — Montenegro uses the Euro without being an EU member (the unilateral adoption of 2002).
The Route
Bay of Kotor (2 nights) → Tara River Canyon (2 nights: Žabljak base) → Sveti Stefan and Budva (2 nights) → Ulcinj (1 night) → return Podgorica/Tivat, fly home
DAYS 1-2 — Bay of Kotor
The Kotor Old City:
Full detail: 2 Weeks in the Balkans Extended. The Montenegro standalone additions:
The Kotor city walls ascent (the 1,350 steps to the Fortress of San Giovanni — the ascent at 7am before the heat and before the day-trippers from the Dubrovnik cruise ships arrive at 10:30am): the bay visible from the fortress in every direction, the Old City visible below as the specific medieval density, the Vrmac ridge visible above the opposite shore.
€8 / £6.90 entry.
The Our Lady of the Rocks:
The artificial island 200 metres offshore from the Perast village (the island built by the local sailors over 500 years by throwing a rock into the water on the feast day when they sailed past — the island 2 metres above sea level at its highest, the church visible from the Perast embankment):
The 5-minute boat from Perast: €5 / £4.31 return. The church interior (the votive paintings by the local sailors — the naive art tradition of the Adriatic sailor who made the offering after the miracle): free.
DAYS 3-4 — Tara River Canyon
The drive from Kotor to Žabljak:
The drive north on the M2.3 highway (2.5 hours — the road through the Morača canyon (the river canyon before Kolašin, the limestone walls visible from the road), the Biogradska Gora National Park (the old-growth forest, one of the three remaining primeval forests in Europe):
The Tara Canyon:
The Tara River Canyon (the 78km canyon on the Tara River — the 1,300-metre maximum depth, the second deepest river canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon by maximum depth (the Colorado Grand Canyon at 1,829m), the first deepest in Europe):
The white-water rafting (the Tara rafting season April-November, the Grade 3-4 in the April-May snowmelt, Grade 2-3 in the summer — the 21km float from Šćepan Polje to Brstanovica): €40-80 / £34.48-68.97 per person for the guided half-day.
The Đurđevića Tara Bridge:
The Đurđevića Tara bridge (the 1940 concrete arch bridge at 172 metres above the canyon floor — the bridge visible from the canyon road below, the canyon depth comprehensible from the bridge deck): free.
The bungee from the bridge (the seasonal bungee operation at Đurđevića Tara — the jump at 172 metres, the Tara River visible below): €50 / £43.10.
DAYS 5-6 — Sveti Stefan and Budva
The Sveti Stefan:
The Sveti Stefan (the islet connected to the mainland by the 200-metre causeway — the 15th-century fishing village converted to the Aman Sveti Stefan resort (the private island, the room rate from €1,200 / £1,034/night), the public beach on the mainland side of the causeway giving the island view from 20 metres at zero cost):
The specific Sveti Stefan instruction: the public beach (the Sveti Stefan public beach, the beach to the south of the causeway) gives the postcard view of the island from the shore. The view is the specific Sveti Stefan image. The Aman resort room is the specific Aman price. Both are available from the public beach; only one is free.
DAY 7 — Ulcinj
The Ulcinj:
The Ulcinj (the southernmost town, the Ottoman architecture visible in the old town above the harbour — the minarets, the hammam, the specific Ottoman Adriatic that the rest of the Montenegrin coast does not give):
The Velika Plaža (the “Great Beach” — 13km of Adriatic beach south of the town, the longest beach in the Adriatic, the specific Montenegro beach that the package holiday market has not yet discovered — the same reason to go now that the guidebook said to go to Kotor in 2005):
Free. The beach café (the kiosk with the rakija and the grilled fish at the beach’s midpoint): approximately €8 / £6.90 for the grilled sea bream and the house wine.
What It Costs
| Category | Budget | Mid-Range |
|---|---|---|
| Return flights (UK-Podgorica or Dubrovnik) | £40-200 | £80-350 |
| Car hire (5 days) | £125-250 | £175-350 |
| 7 nights accommodation | £70-210 | £210-630 |
| Food (7 days) | £30-80 | £80-200 |
| Tara rafting | £35-69 | £35-69 |
| Total | £300-809 | £580-1,599 |
