๐งญ Montenegro: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Montenegro feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 56 written places.
Small, steep and dramatic; coffee on the square can absorb entire afternoons.
โ Considered polite
- Drive the Kotor serpentine road early morning for empty hairpins
- Take coffee slowly - polako, slowly, is the national tempo
- Swim from rocks and pebble coves - pack water shoes
- Head inland - Durmitor and the Tara canyon rival the coast
โ Better avoided
- Expect fast service - it is not the culture and complaining will not change it
- Honk in traffic jams on coastal roads in August - everyone is stuck together
- Skip booking ahead in July-August on the Bay of Kotor
- Underestimate mountain weather even in summer
๐ก Worth knowing
- The euro is used though Montenegro is not in the EU
- Tipping is rounding up or 10%
- The tourist tax is per night - small guesthouses may collect cash
- Buses connect the coast well; the Bar-Belgrade railway is spectacular
Some links on this page are Amazon affiliate links - if you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only list the kind of gear we would pack ourselves.
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.