I’ve already written about my stay in Kotor for 6 days during my 5-6 week trip through the Balkans. Staying in Kotor was great, but of course, we wanted to explore Montenegro a little bit more. That’s why we decided to do a tour to Discover North Montenegro, that I’ll show in this travel guide. We decided on a tour as with public transport it isn’t possible to see as many things in one day. There are also tours available where you get to discover Montenegro as a whole, but from Kotor, we were already able to discover more of the coastal area. That’s why we ended up with the North Montenegro tour. We booked it here and were happy with the quality. Costs of the tour are €49 for a full-day tour (7 am till 8 pm). I didn’t have the feeling we had to rush while visiting the different sights and therefore I think this is a great way to explore the North of Montenegro. The only bit where I would have liked to stay longer was the Durmitor National Park – but next time I would really embed that in my itinerary and stay there for a night or longer to do some hiking and explore more of the beautiful nature.
Let’s start with everything we’ve seen while we discovered North Montenegro to show why it is worth a visit. Of course, you can also rent a car and visit the sights on your own.
Looking for a place to stay in Kotor? These are my recommendations: Posto Capitano C Group (~€180 for 4 persons), Apartments Casa Delone (my top pick!), and Studios Kono (~€60).
You’ll already reach this point after a 5-minute drive from Kotor as Perast and Lady of the Rock are located on the other side of the bay. This is just a quick photo stop, but if you would like to spend a bit more time here, you could also take the boat from Kotor.
Next up was a quick photo stop where you have a great overview of Kotor Bay. Afterwards, we headed to Risan Bay, where you’ll have a look at an artificial salty lake area.
Another great place to explore is Tara Canyon. This is the deepest canyon in Europe and you’ll have the opportunity to take the zipline over the canyon. I didn’t do this myself, but I still enjoyed the area and the view of the blue water in the canyon. However, it can get rather busy as it is a popular touristic sight, so keep this in mind.
This stunning lake is located in Durmitor National Park and just driving around and visiting this lake makes me long for more of Montenegro’s nature. You can walk around the lake or go for a swim. The hike around the lake is about 3,5 km and will take you around 1 to 1,5 hours. The lake is a recommendation if you ask me.
The last stop on this one-day Northern Montenegro trip is the Ostrog Monastery, a beautiful white monastery located in the wall. However, to be honest, we felt a little bit awkward as the locals were praying the moment we arrived and it felt a little bit off to visit a place that is very important to many as a ‘tourist sight’.
As said, we discovered these places with a tour, but it also gives a great outline of what to discover in Montenegro. I would have loved to spend a bit more time in Durmitor National Park, but visiting these places together with the coastal area of Kotor and hiking to for example Tivat, you’ll get to see all highlights of (North) Montenegro.
