Practical

Eight Mistakes First-Time Visitors Make

None of these ruin a trip. All of them cost a morning, and all of them are avoidable by knowing one sentence in advance.

Updated · 2 min read

1. Trusting the driving time on the map

The distances are short and the roads are not. Ninety kilometres of coast road in August is three hours, not one. The average speed across the country works out around 45 km/h once you include the coast in season and the mountain roads out of it. Plan two things a day, not four.

2. Going north with only a card

The coast takes cards everywhere. The north frequently does not — village konobas, mountain huts, small shops, some guides. Take a hundred euros in tens and twenties before you leave Podgorica.

3. Throwing away the white slip

Every visitor must be registered with the authorities within 24 hours of arriving. Your accommodation normally does it and gives you a slip. Keep it until you leave. It is rarely asked for and expensive when it is.

4. Packing for the beach only

It can be 32 degrees in Budva and 14 on Durmitor on the same afternoon, and Durmitor is two hours away. Anyone going north wants long trousers, a fleece and real shoes, even in August. The Tara canyon is cold and shaded even when the coast is baking.

5. Booking Kotor for the middle of the day

Cruise ships dock beside the old town and unload thousands of people between nine and three. The same streets are lovely at eight in the morning and at seven in the evening. It is the same town; only the hour is wrong.

6. Assuming the sea is warm in May

The air is 23 degrees and the water is 18. The Adriatic warms slowly and does not become comfortable until late June. September water is warmer than June water, which surprises people every year.

7. Crossing the border in a hire car without a green card

A car rented in Montenegro is insured in Montenegro. Croatia, Bosnia, Albania and Serbia all want an international insurance certificate. Ask for it when booking. Turning up at Debeli Brijeg without one means being sent back or buying cover on the spot.

8. Booking a tour through a foreign platform from the beach promenade

The big platforms take up to thirty per cent, and it comes out of the operator's margin rather than being added to your price — which means the operator is running the same trip on less money. Booking the local company directly costs the same or less and puts the money where the boat is.

Book locally

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

Jeep Safari — The Ring of DurmitorJeep safari · ŽabljakJeep Safari — The Ring of DurmitorHalf a day circling the massif by 4×4, from the Ćurevac lookout to the Sedlo pass.from €100 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 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

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. 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. PracticalGetting a SIM Card That Works in the CanyonsThree operators, what a tourist package costs, and the specific places where none of them have signal.