Practical

Wild Camping in Montenegro: What the Law Says

Wild camping is not legal in Montenegro. It is also common, and how much that matters depends entirely on where you put the tent.

Updated · 2 min read

The legal position

Camping outside a registered site is prohibited. In national parks — Durmitor, Biogradska Gora, Lovćen, Skadar and Prokletije — it is explicitly forbidden and rangers do enforce it, with fines.

There is also the registration rule: every visitor must be registered with the police within 24 hours of arriving, which a campsite does for you and a field does not.

What actually happens

WhereIn practice
National parksEnforced. Rangers patrol Durmitor and Biogradska Gora.
Remote mountains outside parksWidely tolerated if you are discreet and leave nothing
Coastal beaches in AugustEnforced. Police move people on.
Coastal beaches out of seasonLargely ignored
Private landAsk. Permission is usually given and often includes coffee.
Motorhomes in car parksTolerated in some places, moved on in others

Fire

Open fires are banned across most of the country from roughly June to September, and this is taken seriously. Montenegro has significant wildfire risk on the karst coast, where the vegetation is oily maquis and the summer is bone dry.

A camping stove is fine. A fire is not, and the fine is substantial.

The campsites

There are more than there used to be, and several are excellent.

WhereRough price per night
Žabljak / Durmitor area€8 – €15 for two with a tent
Biogradska Gora, by the lake€10 – €18, plus park entry
Jaz, near Budva€12 – €20
Ulcinj / Ada Bojana€10 – €18
Rafting camps at Šćepan Polje€10 – €20, often with meals available
Motorhome pitch with hook-up€15 – €30

Motorhomes

Increasingly common and increasingly regulated. Coastal towns have started restricting overnight parking outside sites in season, and the seafront car parks in Budva, Kotor and Herceg Novi are patrolled.

Inland and in the north nobody minds. The Piva and Durmitor roads have laybys where vans park overnight without incident.

The practical version

  • Use a site on the coast in July and August. They cost €12 and remove the problem.
  • In the mountains outside parks, camp high, arrive late, leave early, take everything.
  • Inside a national park, use the official site. Durmitor and Biogradska Gora both have one.
  • Ask if there is a house in sight. The answer is almost always yes and you get told where the water is.
  • No fire, June to September.

Book locally

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

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