Top outdoor activities to do in Montenegro

Henry Riley

If you are looking for an outdoor adventure in Montenegro, we have created an outstanding guide for you. Find out why Montenegro is a paradise for adventurers and active vacations. Be active during your vacation and enjoy hiking, rafting, and other excursions through the enchanting regions of Montenegro!

Montenegro offers a lot, especially for lovers of adrenaline and active holidays in untouched nature. These are just some of the suggested activities that you can enjoy this year, especially if you are a fan of adventure.

Biking

Montenegro is a small country, but it also seems quite large when it has room for the deepest European canyon, one of the three remaining European rainforests, and even the largest lake in the Balkans.

There are many bike paths, as well as more demanding sections, but the effort is always worth it. Admiration and confusion before the beauty of, say, Skadar Lake, with birds and boats in the reeds, old fishing villages, medieval monasteries on the islands, and Prokletije among the clouds, erases all fatigue.

Skadar Lake is silvered, calm, and silent, like fish in it. But because of that, the surrounding hills rose, as if the image of petrified waves in the watercolor technique were blue in all shades.

There are countless such spells and twisted miracles in the mountains. Discovering never ends. So still further, the adventure never ends: up and down, through dense beech and pine forests, across streams and meadows, valleys and canyon edges, caravan routes and horse trails, next to old villages of authentic architecture, fortifications, stećak tombstones, and herds like a carousel in sharpening Berge.

Rafting

White water rafting or rafting on traditional wooden rafts on the river Tara is a unique experience for adventurers and nature lovers.

In the fierce competition, on the rivers that flow through different meridians, sailing through the beech “Tears of Europe” is an unparalleled experience because you pass through the deepest canyon in Europe.

Tara River Rafting can start from the Second Campsite, two kilometers upstream from the bridge on Tara and last to Scepan polje, where Tara and Piva merge and form the river Drina. The attraction, which is less and less seasonal, usually takes place on three modalities or routes, two one-day or one two-day.

From the Second Camp to the port of Zugic, rowing down 10 km of the river takes a maximum of two hours and there is a camp at that destination.

The camp is also located in the port of Radovan, 24 km away from the starting point, which can be reached in a maximum of six hours with delays (sightseeing and photographing beauties). Here, too, there is the possibility of camping, but also accommodation in the motel of the same name. In Radovan port, there is also a hostel for those who decide to enjoy it for two days.

From the starting point to Brstanovica, where Tara leaves the territory of the National Park “Durmitor”, 49 km were measured. The most attractive 11 km remain to Šćepan polje.

With this, you will always remember: the sparkling river Ljutica, only a few hundred meters long, but so powerful that it will take your breath away; the famous bridge on Đurđevića Tara (150 m high), the monastery of the Holy Archangel, the old Roman passage near Lever Tara, the beech and waterfalls of the right tributary of the Draga, but also the sleeping village of Tepco below Ćurevac. The view will be turned to you by the mysterious canyon of Sušica, but also by the unique waterfall of „Bajilovic siga“, followed by „Brstanovicki bukovi“ which raises the adrenaline to the maximum.

Most tours run from May to October. Rafting in other months is adventurous, at your own risk. The shorter tour lasts a couple of hours, and we also offer two-day and three-day tours with an overnight stay in a motel or camp. Rafting is possible on the rivers: Lim and Morača.

Canyoning

Synonymous with this discipline is Montenegro, a unique tourist attraction. Nevidio Canyon is part of Mala Komarnica, a river that springs at the foot of the southern part of Durmitor. His name Nevidio or Neviđbog means “a place that cannot be seen”. The canyon is rightly so named because the river, in the village of Komarnica, 10 km from Savnik, suddenly gets lost in a strange strait and becomes invisible. Although it seems much longer to those who pass it, the canyon is 1700 meters long, the height difference is 125 m, and the passage takes about 4-5 hours. Shortly after entering the canyon, return is no longer possible. One can only go forward, along with a cold, violent river. This gem of raw nature is for the most part in eternal shadow. In addition to the guide, adequate equipment is mandatory for the passage.

Nevidio Canyon

Where the Durmitor and Vojnik mountains “collided” millions of years earlier, the Komarnica canyon, the last conquered canyon in Europe, was cut through the hot rock. It is located 50 km from Zabljak in the direction of Savnik. The name Nevidio, or Invisible God, as it is still called, is reminiscent of mysterious inaccessibility. Its cliffs are so narrow that in some places the light never reaches. It represents one of the biggest mountaineering challenges in this part of Europe. It was conquered only in 1965. Until then, as his name suggests – no one had seen the whole thing.

A hundred meters in front of the entrance to the canyon is a large waterfall Grabovine. Climbers in diving suits at the end of summer, when the water level is lowest, start to conquer it. On the way through the canyon, three and a half kilometers long, waterfalls, straits, foamy beeches, narrow canals, and a real gallery of stone figures await them. The most difficult challenge is the so-called Kamikaze Gate – a section about 80 meters long, only 25 centimeters wide in places.

Those who decide on this unparalleled mountaineering adventure should know that whoever goes through its galleries, beeches, and waterfalls once, can only get out at the other end because it is not possible to return.

Hiking in Montenegro

Active travelers “hike” themselves on the coastal transversal off the beaten path to a piece of untouched nature. And another 3,000 kilometers await explorers on foot across the country.

The Mountain Hiking Association of Montenegro and some mountain hiking clubs as well as non-governmental organizations have launched the project “Transversal through the coastal mountains”.

The aim is to expand coastal tourism to the still unexplored natural beauty of the southern inland of Montenegro. The result is a 180 km long transversal with 150 km of access routes: Winner of the Wild Beauty Awards 2007 and one of our national “Top Trails”.

The Transversale was inaugurated in 2006 and offers excellent opportunities for active vacationers all year round. It extends along the coastal mountains from Orjen (north of the Bay of Kotor) through Lovćen to south to Rumija.

Even a day tour along this route offers breathtaking views; Vacationers get to know rare Mediterranean plant and herb species as well as historical caravan routes, old military fortresses and sites of ethnological interest. A second long-distance hiking trail is the Montenegrin Mountain Hiking Transversale (“CT1”); At 167 kilometers, it is very suitable for a weekly program. It starts around 38 km from Podgorica and ends in Durmitor.

An impressive hiking tour through the scenic diversity of the Montenegrin mountains. Both routes are part of the national development program for “Wilderness Hiking” and “Wilderness Biking” – across Montenegro’s wild beauty.

Sailing

 Beautiful, transparent, warm sea, favorable winds, 240 sunny days a year, the coast of unspoiled beauty and full of reasons to explore – will make sailors’ stay in Montenegro perfect.

The magical light of the Montenegrin coast has long been discovered. Islands, bays, bays, sandy, pebble, stone beaches, landscaped and wild, settlements immersed in flowers and old stone towns and defensive walls, archeological sites, are even more accessible today. Modernly equipped marinas provide everything that the captains of the new age, ready to travel the way the seas have always traveled, need. Whether they are passing through or stationing their ship in them.

You can also rent a sailboat and choose a daily or multi-day route with the skippers. They will also recommend attractive diving spots.

The coast also offers a large selection of great restaurants. Try local cuisine and excellent local wines. Have fun at summer festivities until dawn.

The most popular destinations are:

Tivat

Many celebrities call the port of Tivat their home. The exclusivity of one of the most beautiful ports in the Mediterranean is a combination of a fantastic natural location and environment and world-class service. Its charm consists of luxury hotels and villas by the sea, restaurants with traditional cuisine, bars, a large selection of sports and cultural activities.

Boka

If you are thinking about an ideal sailing destination, be sure it is the Bay of Kotor. Sailing in the Boka Bay is an exploration full of surprises. At the entrance, the bay looks small, and then it spreads into four bays and many bays and elongates in height – more than a thousand meters! With the constant change, of course, admiration and awe develop in breadth and height. The natural wall protects small fishing villages and towns along the Bokelj coast. It is also a picture frame for two islands in front of the famous city of Perast.

Kotor

In the southeast of Boka, where the sea went deepest into the mainland, is Kotor, one of the best-preserved medieval towns on the Adriatic. Cruisers arrive at this tourist destination, in the port that is today right next to the Adriatic Highway, all year round. In the list of destinations to visit in 2016, Lonely Planet has reserved the first place for Kotor.

Herceg Novi

The city of artists at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor. Tucked away in greenery and flowers, it enchants with light and peace, medieval fortresses, and numerous picnic areas. Its trump cards are also hidden bathing bays and small romantic harbors in the area, attractive places for diving, the island of Mamula, stone houses in the old villages on the mountain, traditional festivities in honor of the flowers.

Budva

Budva, the city of Kadma and Harmony, is loved by everyone, not only fans of day parties on the beach and nightlife in bars and discos until dawn. Budva Riviera offers a large selection of sandy beaches, enjoying all water sports, air, and land for all generations. There is a large selection of hotels, apartments, restaurants of international and traditional cuisine.

Bar

The largest port in Montenegro, a spacious, clean, beautifully landscaped port city with a beautiful promenade. Its beaches should be discovered one by one, enjoying the shade of pine and olive trees. Stari Bar is an archeological treasury through which there is no need to hurry to experience, as in a time machine, changes of civilizations in thousands of years. You should also see the other bar shore – along Skadar Lake.

Ulcinj

Ulcinj is also an old town, full of pirate secrets. The oriental spirit gives it a special charm, as well as natural attractions: healing beaches, the river Bojana, which with its delta gives birth to the nudist island “Ada Bojana”, Šasko lake, Valdanos bay, birds on Solana. The mistral on Velika plaža gathers kitesurfing fans, and the fish restaurants on Bojana are, along with the sunset, something that must be seen in Montenegro.

Kitesurfing/windsurfing

Velika Ulcinj beach and Ada Bojana are in the extreme south of Montenegro and make a special world. You will never forget it, whatever you decide – lying under the canopy and total indulgence, with refreshing cocktails and the sounds of music, or kitesurfing. Of course, it can also be combined, water fun and daily parties.

Many will say, not just the hosts, that this is the most beautiful corner on the planet. Everyone has their rationale for a special sense of oneness with nature. There is nothing but the harmony of waves, sand, and wind.

There are several kite training schools on Velika Plaža where equipment can be rented. Prices range from 120 to 300 euros depending on the number of hours and the period of the season when you would attend the course. At the beginning of the season, in May, the prices are slightly lower, and the most expensive is in the period from mid-July to the end of August.

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