Montenegro is an ideal destination for vacations and traveling by car. From north to south, there are safe roads and places that are written about in many world travel magazines. Spending your vacation in Montenegro and bypassing some of the places we recommend is a real waste. Below, we present the pearls of Montenegrin tourism, and we leave you to explore some that we have not mentioned.
Why Explore Montenegro by Car
Public transport in Montenegro is limited outside the coastal strip. Buses run between major towns, but they rarely reach smaller villages, viewpoints, or trailheads. A car changes that completely. Montenegro has roughly 250 kilometers of coastline and a national territory of about 13,800 square kilometers, so distances are short by international standards.
You can reach the mountains from the coast in under two hours. Renting a car in Podgorica also means you can stop whenever you want, whether that's for a photo, a coffee, or a swim in a lake nobody else has found yet.
1. Lovćen National Park
Lovćen sits just above Kotor, but the drive up feels like entering another country. The road climbs through dozens of hairpin turns, and the views over the Bay of Kotor get better with every bend. At the top, you'll find the mausoleum of Njegoš, Montenegro's most important historical figure, set at around 1,660 meters above sea level. Few tourists make the climb, since most stay near the coast. Give yourself at least half a day here, and wear proper shoes if you plan to walk the final steps up to the mausoleum itself.
2. Tara River Canyon
The Tara River Canyon is one of the deepest in Europe, reaching depths of over 1,300 meters in places. It's often compared to the Grand Canyon, though on a smaller scale. The Đurđevića Tara Bridge offers a dramatic stop along the way, with zip-lining available for those who want a closer look at the drop. Beyond the bridge, the road continues toward Žabljak, Montenegro's highest town. Because the canyon sits inland, far from cruise ports and coastal resorts, it sees a fraction of the visitors that Kotor Bay does.
3. Biogradska Gora National Park
This is one of Europe's last remaining primaeval forests, and it's surprisingly overlooked. Biogradsko Lake sits at the center of the park, surrounded by trees that have stood for centuries. The park covers about 5,400 hectares, small enough to explore properly in a day but large enough to feel remote. Parking is available near the lake entrance, and short walking trails circle the water. Autumn is a particularly good time to visit, when the forest turns shades of orange and red that rarely make it into typical Montenegro photos.
4. Piva Canyon and Piva Lake
Piva Canyon runs alongside a stretch of turquoise water that looks almost artificial. The lake was formed by a dam built in the 1970s, and the road that follows it includes several tunnels carved straight through rock. This route connects Montenegro to Bosnia and Herzegovina, so it doesn't get much tourist traffic. Stop at one of the small viewpoints along the way to take in the color of the water against the canyon walls. It's a quiet drive, and you may go long stretches without seeing another car.
5. Ostrog Monastery
Ostrog Monastery is built directly into a cliff face, roughly 900 meters above the valley floor. It's an active place of pilgrimage, so it does draw visitors, but nowhere near the numbers seen in Kotor's old town. The drive up involves a narrow, winding road, so take it slowly, especially if you meet oncoming traffic. Once you arrive, the setting alone makes the trip worthwhile. Even visitors without any religious connection to the site tend to describe the atmosphere as calm and unusually still.
6. Skadar Lake
Skadar Lake is the largest lake in the Balkans, covering between 370 and 530 square kilometers depending on the season. It's shared between Montenegro and Albania, and much of the Montenegrin side is protected as a national park. Small villages like Virpazar and Rijeka Crnojevića sit along the water, offering boat trips and local wine without the crowds you'd find on the coast. Bird watchers come here too, since the lake supports over 280 recorded bird species. A short detour off the main coastal road gets you there easily by car.
7. Perast
Perast sits inside the Bay of Kotor, just a few kilometers from Kotor itself, but it feels like a different world. The town has no cars allowed along its waterfront, and its population is small, numbering only a few hundred residents. From here, you can take a short boat trip to Our Lady of the Rocks, an artificial islet with a church built on it. Because Perast is smaller and quieter than Kotor, many day-trippers skip it entirely, which makes it one of the better places to slow down and look around.
8. Durmitor National Park
Durmitor is Montenegro's most well-known mountain range, but most visitors only pass through Žabljak without exploring further. The park includes 18 glacial lakes, often called "mountain eyes," along with peaks that rise above 2,500 meters. Black Lake, the most accessible one, has a walking trail that circles the entire shoreline. If you have more time, driving further into the park reveals smaller lakes with almost no visitors at all. Roads here can be rough, so a car with decent clearance helps, particularly outside the summer months.
9. Old Bar and Bar Marina Area
Bar sits on the coast but rarely appears on typical itineraries, since Budva and Kotor get most of the attention. Old Bar, the historic town just inland from the modern port, includes ruins dating back centuries, along with an olive tree believed to be over 2,000 years old. It's a low-key stop, easy to combine with a coastal drive south. Because it's less polished than other tourist towns, Old Bar feels more like a real place than a destination built for visitors, which is part of its appeal.
10. Lake Plav and Prokletije National Park
Tucked into Montenegro's far east, Lake Plav and the surrounding Prokletije mountains are among the least visited parts of the country. Prokletije, sometimes called the "Accursed Mountains," stretches across the borders of Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo. The drive here takes longer than to other spots on this list, but the region rewards the effort with dramatic peaks and almost no tourist infrastructure. This is a good stop for travelers who want to see a side of Montenegro that hasn't been shaped much by tourism yet.
Final Thoughts
Montenegro rewards travelers who go beyond the coastline. With a car, you can reach canyons, lakes, monasteries, and mountain villages that most visitors never see. None of these places requires special permits or guided tours, just a bit of planning and a willingness to take the slower road. If you're mapping out a trip, consider using this list of 10 places you can visit by car as a starting point, then adjust the order based on how much time you have and which landscapes interest you most.