Practical

Campsites in Montenegro Worth Booking

Montenegro's campsite network is thin compared with Croatia's and better than it was. The good ones are in the mountains and at the two ends of the coast.

Updated · 2 min read

What a pitch costs

WhereTwo adults, tentMotorhome with hook-upSeason
Durmitor / Žabljak area€8 – €15€15 – €25Jun – Sep
Biogradska Gora, lakeside€10 – €18 + park entryLimitedJun – Sep
Jaz, near Budva€12 – €20€20 – €30May – Sep
Ulcinj / Ada Bojana€10 – €18€18 – €28May – Oct
Šćepan Polje rafting camps€10 – €20SomeApr – Oct
Lake Skadar, Virpazar area€10 – €16€15 – €25Apr – Oct
Kolašin / Bjelasica€8 – €15€15 – €22Jun – Sep

The mountain sites

Durmitor has the best camping in the country — pitches in pine forest near Black Lake, cold nights even in August, and everything within walking distance. Park entry of €3 a day is on top of the pitch.

Biogradska Gora has wooden cabins and a small campsite directly beside the lake. It is booked out in August and the hour after the day visitors leave is the reason to stay.

The rafting camps

The camps at Šćepan Polje on the Tara are campsites with a rafting business attached. Wooden bungalows, pitches, a canteen and a bar, on the riverbank. Open April to October.

They are cheap and cheerful, and everyone around the fire spent the day on the same river, so conversation starts by itself. Some have no electricity beyond a generator in the evening.

The coast

Thinner. Jaz near Budva is the main one, behind the beach and busy with vans. Ada Bojana and the Ulcinj sites are at the far southern end and are better — warmer, sandier, and next to the best fish restaurants in the country.

Between Budva and Bar there is very little, because that stretch is worth more as apartments.

What to check before booking

  • Electricity — many mountain sites have none, or a generator for a few hours
  • Hot water — same
  • Shade — coastal sites are often bare; mountain sites are in pine forest
  • Season — mountain sites close in September and do not reopen until June
  • Card payment — assume cash in the north

Wild camping, briefly

Not legal. Forbidden and enforced in the national parks. Tolerated in remote mountains outside them if you are discreet and leave nothing. Enforced on coastal beaches in August. Open fires are banned country-wide roughly June to September, and that one is taken seriously — the karst coast burns.

A campsite is €12 and removes all of it.

Book locally

Run by a licensed operator in Žabljak. Send a request, pay the operator on the day.

Tara Rafting 14 km — Durmitor National ParkRafting · ŽabljakTara Rafting 14 km — Durmitor National ParkThe shortest Tara section Tara Kula runs: a half day on the river inside Durmitor National Park, passing under the Đurđevića Tara bridge.from €60 Tara Canyon Rafting 36 km — the Deepest PartRafting · ŽabljakTara Canyon Rafting 36 km — the Deepest PartA full day on the Tara through the canyon’s deepest stretch, with a jeep leg and an optional lunch.from €120 Family Day: 3 h Rafting + 4 h Jeep SafariRafting · ŽabljakFamily Day: 3 h Rafting + 4 h Jeep SafariHalf the day in a jeep, half on the calmer lower Tara, with breakfast and lunch sorted.from €120 Durmitor Retreat — Apartment in ŽabljakStay · ŽabljakDurmitor Retreat — Apartment in ŽabljakA renovated apartment in the middle of Žabljak, two minutes on foot from the rafting agency.Book on Airbnb

More in Practical

PracticalMontenegro Uses the Euro but Is Not in the EUHow a country outside the eurozone ended up using the euro, where cards stop working, and what the cash machines charge you. PracticalEight Mistakes First-Time Visitors MakeUnderestimating driving times, arriving without cash for the north, missing the registration slip, and five other things that go wrong on a first trip. PracticalChoosing a Base in MontenegroSix towns compared on price, noise, and how far everything else is. Pick the base that matches the trip you are actually taking.