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Best time to visit Montenegro

It’s a small country, and so if you want to choose the best time to go to Montenegro, particularly the coast, we would recommend outside the months of June and July. As the beaches are somewhat brimming. However the mountainous regions, and also around Lake Skadar, are crowd and often cloud free during this time, so it can be just perfect in summer months. Temperatures hover in the very pleasant range as late as November, so perfect for hiking, biking or kayaking right up until our clocks are changing back home.

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Best time to visit Montenegro

People think Montenegro is all Med and no mountains. In fact, it has the perfect climate concoction

The best time to visit Montenegro is just outside the summer months as Montenegro is so small, the coast can feel very crowded. Peak season is a great time to enjoy the mountainous national parks, however - Kotor on the coast can reach 30°C in summer, whereas inland Cetinje averages a sultry 22 °C. Lake Skadar has its own microclimate as it is surrounded by mountains, so not quite as baking in summer but definitely warm enough for swimming. Hikers can ramble happily in Montenegro until November.

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Kotor Weather Chart

MIN °C

MAX °C

RAIN (mm)

JAN

-1

157

FEB

139

MAR

128

APR

119

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

100

OCT

139

NOV

190

DEC

175

Our Montenegro Vacations

Montenegro, month by month

Hikers can ramble happily in Montenegro until November. July and August are very hot for coastal hiking, but the inland mountains offer welcome relief during this time. They are also empty. Unlike the beaches. Note however that ,even in the mountains, the plain around Podgorica is still baking in summer. If you want to swim along the coast, the water doesn’t really start warming up until May, but gets to a lovely 25°C by the end of the month, staying warm until October. Montenegro's mountainous regions receive the highest amounts of rainfall in Europe. There can be rain all year round, so always have a raincoat in your daypack. Thunderstorms are frequent in summer. White water rafting doesn’t really kick in until May, as the snow melt in the mountains means that the rivers are too strong before then. Orthodox Easter is usually a week or two later than Catholic and Protestant countries. With open air services and processions, this is wonderful to watch, but many businesses close for this period, falling in either March, April or May depending on the year. For coastal fun, June and September are best, as the beaches get very crowded. Temperatures are also perfect for activity vacations during these months. If you want to avoid snow, December, January and February are the months when it is most likely. However, snowshoeing in Biogradsko and Durmitor National Parks at this time is other worldly. And flights can be cheap as chips.

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Responsible Travel recommends

Adam Jarvis from our leading walking vacation supplier, Headwater shares his thoughts on the best time to visit Montenegro: "Montenegro experiences each season in all of its glory, from snowy winters in the mountains to sun-baked coastal summers. To get the best out of this for our walkers, we run our guided walking tours from May to September with one offering each for July and August at the beginning and end respectively (as the temperature can be very high during this period).”

Festivals & events

Did you know about...?

Boka Night

Taking place on the third Saturday in August every year, think fjord, flotillas and fireworks. The Bay of Kotor becomes a floating carnival on Boka Night, or Bokeska noc, with hundreds of decorated and illuminated boats parading in front of Kotor’s old town, Stari Grad. The party only begins when the last firework dims.

More about Montenegro

Montenegro travel guide

It is amazing how little people know about Montengro. Which is all to Montenegro’s advantage. So don’t share this Montenegro travel guide with too many people or they will all want a piece.

Where to go in Montenegro

When working out where to go in Montenegro, one of the best starting points is to map out their national parks. Stunning walks through time and villages where mountain culture still thrives. And all with a beach just over the peak.

Things to do in Montenegro

What’s perfect about Montenegro is that although it has five mountainous national parks, the country is the same size as Northern Ireland.

Montenegro sea kayaking

Montenegro is a great location for sea kayaking with the sheltered shores around the Bay of Kotor creating an array of UNESCO-listed old towns and rugged mountain scenery.

Montenegro self drive vacations

With a set of wheels and a decent map, you can explore much of marvellous Montenegro in a week or two, which is why Montenegro self drive vacations are such an enjoyable option.

Walking routes in Montenegro

Our Montenegro walking map and highlights page reveals the best places to hike and explore, from national parks crisscrossed by trails, to mighty mountains that beckon the hardened trekker. Read advice and tips from our friends in Montenegro and travelers who have walked its trails already.

Things to see & do in Durmitor National Park

Dramatic peaks, glacial lakes, meadows and forests make up the unforgettably beautiful and rugged Durmitor National Park in northern Montenegro.

Traveling in Montenegro with kids

From rafting down the Tara River, to staying in a lakeside traditional house and starting off the day with a kayak and a dip in Lake Skadar or a hike to a mountain waterfall. It is all so accessible, which is why traveling in Montengro with kids is so blissfully easy.

Montenegro family activity vacations

Magnificent mountains filled with fast flowing rivers and gorgeous green lakes make Montenegro one of Europe’s hottest properties for family activity vacations.

Montenegro travel advice

Tip top tip is don’t think that Montenegro is all about the coast. It isn’t. It is a small country but with so much to discover, it’s almost tardis like. And so we advise you to base yourself in one or two places and just go exploring.

Responsible tourism in Montenegro

Wow, it is beautiful, it is still very undeveloped in terms of tourism, but boy it could go the wrong way, if it allows its beautiful national park filled landscapes or marine magnificence to go into cruise control, or indeed international hotel chain control.