Day-by-day plan from Tivat Airport: Kotor Bay, Budva, Lake Skadar, Podgorica, Kolašin and Durmitor. Built around real driving times, not wishful thinking.
This 7-day itinerary covers about 650–750 km total. All roads on the main circuit are paved. A compact car (VW Golf, Škoda Octavia, Peugeot 308) handles it well and uses less fuel. If you add optional northern routes — unpaved tracks near Durmitor or the gravel approach to Biogradska Gora lake — a SUV gives you more flexibility.
For four adults with a week's luggage, a compact class car is the minimum. Two adults travelling light can use an economy class without issue.
Pick up the car from Tivat Airport (P1 parking, directly in front of the terminal — we are there when you land). Drive the scenic bay road to Kotor: 12 km, 25 minutes, past the Porto Montenegro marina and through Lastva and Dobrota villages. This is the better first-day option over the tunnel — you see the bay immediately.
Check in and walk the old town in the evening. The Kotor walls light up after dark; the walk up the fortification stairs to the fortress is 30–45 minutes and the view over the bay is worth doing at least once. Restaurants inside the old town walls are tourist-oriented — the quality spots are on the bay side just outside the North Gate.
Where to stay: Hotels in Dobrota (along the bay, 2 km from the old town) are better value than those inside or immediately adjacent to the walls.
Car note: Do not drive inside the old town walls. The parking lot at Škaljari (along the bay) is the standard option — €2–3/hour. If you are staying in Dobrota, the hotel will have parking.
The full Bay of Kotor loop: Kotor → Perast → Risan → Herceg Novi → back via the Verige ferry. Allow a full day because there are stops worth making.
Perast (15 km from Kotor): Small village with two baroque church towers and the famous "Our Lady of the Rocks" island church, reachable by a 5-minute taxi boat ride (€5 return per person, boats depart from the waterfront). The village has free parking along the road — arrive by 09:30 in summer to get a spot.
Verige ferry (Kamenari–Lepetane crossing): The ferry runs every 15–30 minutes throughout the day, costs €5 for a passenger car, and takes 5 minutes to cross. It cuts the full bay loop by 45 minutes versus driving around. The narrows are the narrowest point of the bay — the view from the ferry deck is excellent.
Herceg Novi (after the ferry): The "city of flowers" at the bay's mouth. The old town is on a hillside with a functioning drawbridge fortress. Parking is in the lower town; the old town itself is pedestrian. The seafront Šetalište bar area is the best evening spot on this route.
Drive back to Kotor via the coastal road (no ferry, around 40 minutes). This is the western side of the bay, passing through Risan — quieter than the Kotor side.
Drive from Kotor to Budva in the morning. The direct route is the coastal road via Tivat — 30 km, 40 minutes in normal conditions (longer on summer afternoons). You pass Tivat Airport on this route; the bay view from the road above Lepetane is good.
Alternative: take the old road via Trojica and Brajići (Montenegrin mountain villages above Tivat). It adds 20 minutes but is completely different from the coastal road — no traffic, open views over the bay and the Adriatic. Best done in the morning light.
From Budva, Sveti Stefan is 10 km south (15 minutes). Park along the main coastal road — free spots fill by 09:30 in summer, but there is always space 400–500 m back. The iconic island-village is private (Aman resort) but the view from the headland above is free and is the shot most people have seen in travel magazines. The beaches on either side of the causeway are public.
Back in Budva: the old town (Stari Grad) is worth an hour. It is not as well-preserved as Kotor but the seafront fortification walls are walkable. The best dinner spots are in the lanes behind the main square, away from the sea-facing tourist strips.
Leave Budva early (Lake Skadar is best in morning light). Take the Sozina tunnel (€3.50) from the Petrovac direction — this cuts a mountain crossing down to a 5-minute tunnel. You emerge on the Skadar side. The road through Rijeka Crnojevića follows a river gorge to the lake — this 15 km stretch is one of the most photogenic drives in Montenegro. Fill up at the petrol station in Rijeka Crnojevića; there are no fuel stations on the lake shore.
Virpazar is the main lake access point — a small town with restaurants on the waterfront and boat tour operators. A 1-hour lake boat tour covers the bird colonies, water lily fields and the Besac fortress ruins; most operators charge €15–20 per person. The lake is Europe's largest bird reserve (about 270 recorded species).
Alternative lunch stop: drive the lake shore road east toward Murići — narrow, slow, spectacular views, mostly unpaved. A SUV makes this comfortable; an economy car manages it in dry weather. The Godinje village above the lake is worth a 20-minute detour.
Return via Virpazar to Bar or Petrovac, then the coastal road back to Budva (or continue on to Podgorica for Day 5).
Head north toward Podgorica. The route via Virpazar and the Sozina tunnel puts you in Podgorica in about 90 minutes from Budva. The capital is worth a 2-hour stop: the Ottoman Stara Varoš quarter, the riverside promenades and the Millennium Bridge are the highlights. Park near the Ribnica river confluence.
From Podgorica, take the E65 highway north to Kolašin. The highway is modern and well-surfaced. The drive from Podgorica to Kolašin takes about 50 minutes (75 km). You gain 900 m in altitude; the valley of the Morača river below the highway is dramatic.
Kolašin is Montenegro's main mountain resort town. In summer it is the base for Biogradska Gora national park (one of Europe's last primeval forests, 20 km east of town). In winter it is a ski destination. Stay here for nights 5 and 6 — it is the right base for Durmitor.
The drive from Kolašin to Žabljak (Durmitor) goes via Mojkovac and then either north through Šavnik or west through Nikšić. The Nikšić route is easier (better road surface, less mountain). The Šavnik route is more scenic (canyon country) but slower. Allow 1.5–2 hours either way.
Fill up in Kolašin before leaving — Žabljak's one petrol station may be closed evenings.
Durmitor highlights: the Black Lake (Crno Jezero, 15-minute walk from the main car park, free entry), the Tara Canyon viewpoint (Đurđevića Tara bridge, 40 km north of Žabljak — one of the highest arch bridges in Europe), and if you have time and fitness, the trail up to Bobotov Kuk (2,523 m, 4–5 hours return from the hut).
The road from Žabljak to the Đurđevića Tara bridge is paved and any car handles it. Do not attempt the unpaved tracks into Durmitor canyon without a SUV and local knowledge — some end at cliffs.
From Žabljak, the fastest return is via Nikšić and then the modern road to Podgorica, then south via the E65 to the coast. Nikšić to Podgorica is 70 km (55 minutes). Podgorica to Tivat is 85 km (1 hour via tunnel). Total: about 2.5 hours of driving — allow 3–3.5 hours with stops and summer traffic on the last stretch.
If you are flying from Podgorica Airport, the return is simpler — Žabljak to Podgorica Airport is 150 km (2 hours). We accept car returns at both airports; let us know your drop-off location at booking.
One final stop on the way back if timing allows: Ostrog Monastery (on the cliff face above the Zeta valley, between Nikšić and Podgorica). It is visible from the main road; the approach road to the upper monastery is narrow and steep but paved. Cars park at the lower monastery. A 30-minute detour that most first-time visitors to Montenegro wish they had made.
Yes, but you would need to cut either the Skadar Lake day or Durmitor — not both. Coast + Skadar in 5 days is very doable and more relaxed. Coast + Durmitor in 5 days skips the lake entirely but includes the north. Trying to do all of it in 5 days results in long driving days with little time to stop, which defeats the purpose.
Flying in Tivat and out of Podgorica is the most logical for this itinerary — it is the natural direction of travel (coast → north). It avoids backtracking on Day 7 and shortens the final driving day. We handle one-way rentals between both airports; a drop fee applies — ask us for the exact amount based on your dates.
The Tivat–Budva coastal stretch (M2.3 from the tunnel junction to Budva) on summer afternoons and Saturday mornings. Traffic moves at a crawl for 45–90 minutes. The fix: drive this section before 09:00 or after 20:00, or use the Vrmac tunnel (Tivat to Budva cuts the coast completely). Everything north of Podgorica — Kolašin, Durmitor — has no summer traffic issues.
Pick up the car at the terminal and drive straight to Kotor. We are there when you land.
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