Montenegro in August - 2021: weather, prices and reviews

Montenegro beats many beach countries in August. At least, because visa-free travel works for Russia (and now even "no-test"). And also, they say, the heat is milder here, and you can live in the midday sun, not survive.

On the last trip we tested this “they say” in practice - we spent two weeks in August on the Montenegrin coast. I'll tell you about the weather, resorts and very beautiful places.

Let's not forget about the new travel rules in 2021. In the first sections, I explain all the nuances of entering and show the ways in which you can definitely fly to Montenegro from Russia.

Do you need a visa to Montenegro?

Montenegro is waiting for us, Russians, without a visa.
In general, the visa-free regime is valid all year round. The nuance is that from April to October a tourist can stay in the country for up to 90 days. And from November to April - up to 30 days.

• Moreover, Montenegro has ceased to require PCR tests - entry for tourists is completely free. So far, this is the only close beach destination without wasting money and nerves.

Everything seems to be simple, but it works strict rule: within a day after arriving in Montenegro, tourists need to register and pay for a journalist (1 euro per day for a person 18+, 0 euros for a person 12-). If there are several resorts on a trip, then for each one - separately on the spot.

Hotels will do it for you themselves, but if you live in an apartment / guesthouse, you will have to go to the travel center or to the post office yourself (look for Tourist Info or Posta on Google Maps) - with your passport and the host's first name and surname. Some glorious owners take this responsibility upon themselves, so first check in the correspondence.

Is it possible to go to Montenegro now?

Yes, Montenegro is open to Russians. But since Russia selectively restores flights and ignores Montenegro for now, there are no direct flights.

Then how to get to Montenegro now?

There is a great option with a transfer in Belgrade. It worked even before the events of 2020 (we flew like that), and is reliable now - because air traffic with Serbia has officially resumed.

• So, on Aviasales enter Moscow-Tivat or Moscow-Podgorica and the dates → click “Find tickets” → and in the search results you see only options with a connection in Belgrade (BEG), they will definitely fly.

For convenience, you can tick “1 transfer” in the filters on the left. It is reported that from June Air Serbia will start flying between Belgrade and St. Petersburg, Rostov, Krasnodar - so Moscow is not united.

It's still possible to go to Montenegro in transit through Vienna with Austrian Airlines. In the second case, the Schengen is not needed, and the air ticket must necessarily be the same, Moscow-Podgorica through Vienna, and without luggage.

Are PCR tests necessary for transplants?
Serbia: not needed if you fly to Montenegro with a single ticket (one airline) and with a stopover less than 12 hours. Otherwise, you must pass the test in English 48 hours before departure.
Vienna: not needed with a single ticket and transit less than 23 hours.

About rest in Montenegro in August with a tour has not yet been heard.

Weather in Montenegro in August - is it worth going?

Top view of Budva

The weather in Montenegro in August is the most vacation. Hot, sunny, smells like sea salt and sunscreen.

Everyone writes that the climate in Montenegro is different: it is milder compared to the Mediterranean countries (here - the Adriatic). The truth is there is, it is easier to breathe, and moist air does not stick to the skin. But this does not mean that the days are blissful +25, and you can drink coffee on the veranda. In Montenegro, the same summer temperatures are at + 30 ° C, and as a person who dislikes the heat, but loves the sea, at lunchtime I still wanted to hide under the air conditioner and not go out until five.

But the sea in Montenegro in August is the warmest for the entire season, it has time to warm up over the previous months. Precipitation can happen a couple of times, but in such weather it rains for joy.

Water and air temperature

Here is a table with August weather at popular resorts. It doesn't matter if you go in mid-August or at the end, it is a hot and clear month. Suddenly, you can catch + 15 ° C and a downpour is possible only in the mountains in the Durmitor National Park.

Can I swim? Sure. But water is not the same “warm bath” as in Turkey or Cyprus. In Montenegro, the sea is cooler and refreshing.

Note from the fields. In August, we noticed a not very pleasant feature of the sea: in Budva, the bottom was covered with a dense "carpet" of algae for several days. To step on such - br-rr.

Water and air temperature in Montenegro in August:

Resorts of Montenegro: where to relax in August

As you can see from the table, it is not worth focusing on where it is warmer - plus or minus is the same everywhere. Here it is better to take into account what exactly is needed from the trip: noisy-active-popular / calm and beachy / beautiful so that you want to buy an apartment. So, where is the best place to relax in Montenegro in August?

Note from the fields. Montenegro is a relatively compact country, the distances between resorts are small. In order not to suffer the torment of choice, we lived for several days everywhere. So on our site there was material about resorts in Montenegro. Everything is there "on the shelves", so here you can briefly:

Budva

The most massive resort in Montenegro - in August, there is nowhere for an apple to fall on the beaches. Locals sometimes call Budva the Montenegrin Moscow because of the number of tourists in the capital.

It is a large city surrounded by mountains, with pebble beaches, large supermarkets and stone labyrinths of the Old Town - in a word, the most developed beach resort. Budva does not sleep until the morning, at 10 pm the nightlife is just beginning.

Near Budva - literally 10 minutes by car - there are two villages: Becici and Rafailovici. In addition to the small-pebble, almost sandy coast, which is rare for Montenegro, it is quiet and calm here, ideal conditions for families with children.

Herceg Novi

The city is almost on the border with Croatia - pretty and not boring, there is something to do besides the sea. For example, explore the old Spanish fortress. Follow the health path to the neighboring village of Igalo. Or endlessly going up and down the stairs, because this is a city of steps.

Herceg Novi is located in the bay, and therefore the water warms up a little faster (actually, rather, for the beginning of summer), and there are almost no waves. Beaches - pebble or concrete in the form of platforms.

Kotor

If I were returning to Montenegro, it would be exactly in the Kotor region - in the small village of Dobrota. I would live in an apartment overlooking the stunning hills on either side of the bay (so huge that they hide the sun earlier than it should). I would go sunbathing on tiny pebble beaches. I would climb the view peaks and see off the sunsets to the honks of cruise liners sailing from the port of Kotor.

And all this is in peace and quiet. Because all tourists walk around Stary Kotor. It resembles a Venetian city with narrow streets, white stone houses and slippery paving stones. Noisy and crowded, with a port and no beaches, there is nothing to do here for more than a day. Unlike Dobrota, a piece of paradise in a couple of kilometers (use :)).

Tivat

There are two centers of attraction for tourists in Tivat.
The airport is both the extremely pretentious and expensive Porto Montenegro Marina. Or, in a simple way, a port with million dollar yachts, an embankment with boutiques and restaurants, and view hotels. There are few beaches in Tivat due to the proximity of the port. And the rest is an ordinary large Montenegrin city. Calmer than Budva.

Bar

Bar is good to live, but not very comfortable to relax. There are wide avenues and spacious parking lots, many large and small shops, but almost no hotels.
Small pebbles are brought to the city beach in Bar every year, and large boulders lie on the rest of the beaches.

Ulcinj

If Budva is local Moscow, then Ulcinj is Turkey! This is because there are minarets, hookahs and Albanians (this is the closest city to Albania). People come here to swim on a long sandy beach - 13 km of black volcanic sand! - conquer big waves and the open sea, enroll in the ranks of kitesurfers or ... nudists. There is already your choice (for the latter there is a separate island :)).

Accommodation in Montenegro - where to look?

Montenegro is so original that there are zero McDonald's and one Zara in the whole country, and there are almost no hotels from chains like Hilton, Marriot or Hayat. Even in popular Budva, only the four-star Iberostar all-inclusive is surrounded by local hotels.

Among the representatives of the Montenegrin hotel business, there are many worthy options. But I got the impression that tourists often live in apartments and guesthouses. Yes, and we had such a rest - we rented a specific apartment at each resort.

• Now both apartments and hotels for vacations can be selected and booked on Booking.

Yes, earlier the private sector was managed exclusively by Airbnb, but now the owners place their accommodations on Booking. Reviews, ratings, ratings - everything is attached.

How much is Montenegro worth in August 2021?

≈ from 1,500 rubles per day for a modest apartment for two,
≈ from 3000 rubles per day for a room in a regular hotel in 3 stars,
≈ and from 10,000 rubles per day for a room in 5 stars.

If it is important to you calculate the budget of the trip from and to, then it seems that we wrote an article especially for you - about prices in Montenegro.

Montenegro attractions: things to do in August

How to relax and what to see in Montenegro in August?
I will try to tell you in a structured way - you can ride around the country for weeks and still not cover everything.

• In the summer in Montenegro you need to go into the mountains - take a break from the heat and see such beauty, which is hard to find in terms of impressions! Peaks, bridges, mountain rivers, canyons and incredible green nature - this is in the north in the Durmitor National Park. If there is one excursion that can show the country in all its wondrousness, THIS IS EXACTLY SHE.

How to watch? On an excursion or on your own by car.
We took this ↓ excursion to our company of five people - and it became the coolest day of the whole trip:

• Montenegro is a religious country and tourism is thriving here on local shrines: in the temples and monasteries of Ostrog, Cetinje and Pivsky.
  How to get there? Excursion or by car.
• Skadar lake - take a boat ride on the lake, the water offers stunning views of the mountains. Then, climb to the observation deck on the mountain above Virpazar, from there the scenery is even more breathtaking.
  How to watch? Guided tour with a local or on your own.
• Milocer Park - one of the best in the country. This is a royal park with unique plants, a cypress alley, grottoes and views of the turquoise Adriatic. A great place to catch some zen while admiring the sea and greenery.
• Boko-Kotor Bay - with a visit to the Old Town of Kotor (to be honest, it is similar to Budva or the one in Dubrovnik, Croatia) and - definitely !! - with an ascent to the observation deck in the Castle of San Giovanni. For more vivid impressions, you can bypass the "official" route by stairs - along a path in the mountains. It goes from The Ladder of Kotor point on Google maps. Montenegro becomes a steam room at the beginning of August, so it is better to plan hiking in the morning.
  How to watch? Independently, having reached Kotor by bus from the local bus station, or by car.

It is interesting that if the towns of Ulcinj and Bar carry the Ottoman part of history, then Budva, Kotor and the cities along the Bay of Kotor tell about the history of Venetianism. I advise you to visit major cities to get acquainted with the architecture.

You can also see the neighboring countries - Croatia, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia. A visa is needed only for the first, but:

- Everywhere, except for Albania, you need a PCR test no older than 48 hours to enter. You can go to Albania without a test. The approximate cost of this procedure in Montenegro: 50 euros. No test is needed on the way back.

Car rental in Montenegro

Many tourists in Montenegro rent a car. Because public transport is developed at the level of "bus to Podgorica (capital)" and "bus to the neighboring city". There is no question of getting to the natural attractions by bus - it is long, dreary, sometimes completely impossible.

• In Montenegro, the Russian-language service Myrentacar is popular - it works with small local rentals and sets prices lower than international offices.

So, renting a car for a day in the high August season costs from 40 euros (3600 rubles). But the more days, the lower the cost - and for a period of 5 days, rent is already cheaper, from 25 euros per day (2250 rubles).

Russian driver's licenses in Montenegro are quoted.
Road signs and traffic rules are the same as in Europe. The cost of gasoline is about 1.3 euros (115 rubles) per liter. Horror.

Roads, serpentines and routes in Montenegro are very picturesque. But beware of the local reckless drivers! Montenegrins drive recklessly and rarely follow the rules, do not be guided by their driving style. The traffic police are strict - tourists are not stopped unnecessarily, but they are fined for violations. Local "peculiarity" - to take away the driver's license for almost ... everything. You can return them after paying a fine at the police or at the bank. In large cities, parking is paid in summer, even those located along the roads. Unpaid parking time is also fined.

My review of Montenegro in August

Having spent a full-fledged vacation in the country, I now understand the reviews about Montenegro: in August it is beautiful, comfortable, calm, tasty and hospitable here. Compared to resort Europe, vacation in Montenegro in August is more budgetary - prices for housing, food and entertainment are lower. Even though there is also a euro here.

And I always like to give a comparison to a friend:

"For a month in Crimea, I spent as much money as I usually leave for 3 months in Montenegro!"

At the end of summer, local resorts are hot, warm sea, ripe fruits (watermelons, peaches, nectarines, figs) and a maximum of opportunities for recreation for every taste - whether it's beach sealing or an active race in the mountains or architectural sights.

Pros and cons

Pros:

+ visa-free
+ good beach rest - and the only one possible now without additional conditions with a test
+ natural beauty
+ many attractions
+ delicious food
+ milder weather than Turkey or Cyprus
+ inexpensive relative to Europe

Minuses:

- Montenegrins smoke everywhere!
- no good coffee: (even the guide asked us to bring
- there are no direct flights yet (but there are connections)
- pebble beaches