Practical

What a Day in Montenegro Actually Costs

Montenegro is cheaper than Croatia and more expensive than Albania, and in August the coast prices itself like neither. Here is what the day is actually made of.

Updated · 2 min read

The building blocks

Coast, AugustCoast, SeptemberNorth, any time
Espresso in a café€1.50 – €2.50€1.50 – €2€1 – €1.50
Burek and yoghurt€2.50 – €3.50€2.50€2
Beer, 0.5 l, in a bar€3 – €4.50€2.50 – €3.50€2 – €3
Main course, ordinary restaurant€10 – €16€9 – €14€7 – €11
Fish, per kilogram€40 – €70€35 – €60n/a
Two sunbeds and a parasol€20 – €40€15 – €25n/a
Petrol, per litre€1.55€1.52€1.55
Double room, mid-range€90 – €140€60 – €95€45 – €80

Three days, three budgets

Per person, per day, sharing a double room, in September. Add roughly a third for August.

CarefulComfortableNo thinking about it
Bed€30€45€90
Breakfast€3€6€12
Lunch€6€12€25
Dinner€12€20€45
Coffee and a drink€5€9€18
Beach or entry fee€3€12€25
Total€59€104€215

The car sits on top of all three: €25–€55 a day for the hire plus about €12 of fuel for a normal day's driving. Split between two people that is €20 to €35 each per day.

Where the money actually goes

Two things dominate and neither is the one people budget for. Accommodation in August is where the coast makes its year, and it swings by a factor of two between mid-August and mid-September. Fish is the other: a whole sea bass priced per kilogram at a waterfront restaurant will land at €35 to €50 for one person, which is a genuine shock if you ordered it expecting a €15 main.

Cheap things that are genuinely good

  • Burek from a bakery, €2.50, and a proper breakfast.
  • Domestic wine by the carafe — a litre of house Vranac is €6 to €10 and is usually the same wine as the bottle.
  • The public beach section, which is free by law on every beach.
  • Buses along the coast — Kotor to Budva is under €5.
  • National park entry at €3 to €5, against €25 for a guided tour of the same walk.

The north is a different country for money

Žabljak in September costs about half what Budva costs in August, for a better room. Restaurant prices in the north run a third lower and the portions run larger. If the budget is tight, the mountains are not the sacrifice — they are the saving.

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 Jeep Safari — Tara Canyon ViewpointsJeep safari · ŽabljakJeep Safari — Tara Canyon ViewpointsA short off-road loop to look down into the canyon, with a monastery and a spring on the way.from €60 Green Zip Line at the Tara BridgeZip line · ŽabljakGreen Zip Line at the Tara BridgeNinety seconds over the canyon on a 740 m line next to the Đurđevića Tara bridge.from €45 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

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