Montenegro itinerary 7 days: Kotor, Lovćen, Skadar and Durmitor

Tivat airport is 15 minutes from Kotor. After check in, walk in through the Sea Gate, from 1555, which opens straight onto Pjaca od Oružja, the clock tower square. The old town is small and takes an hour on foot without a map: the alleys always end in a square.

If a cruise ship is in port, the streets are packed until about 16:00. Late afternoon, once they leave, is the best time.

Three minutes from the square, the cathedral of the town’s patron saint has 14th century frescoes and a treasury of reliquaries upstairs. Half an hour is enough; the ticket is paid at the door.

The climb starts behind the Church of Our Lady of Remedy: about 1,350 steps to the fortress, 260 metres up. Allow 45 minutes up and two hours in total, with water and trainers. Start around 17:00 to catch the sunset at the top.

The ticket is paid in cash at the entrance and the price changes with the season. To skip the stairs, the free Ladder of Kotor trail, which is longer, starts from the Njeguši road.

Perast is 20 minutes by car from Kotor, and it is best to arrive before 10:00, before the tour buses park. It is a single waterfront street lined with the palaces of Venetian sea captains. Climb the bell tower of Saint Nicholas, the tallest on the bay, to see both islets from above. An hour and a half.

Water taxis leave from the Perast quay and take five minutes to the islet. It is man made: since the 15th century, sailors have dropped rocks and sunk old ships here, and the custom continues every 22 July. Inside the church are 68 paintings and an embroidery made with human hair. Pay for the boat when you board and for the small museum on the island.

The neighbouring island, Saint George, belongs to a monastery and is closed to visitors. The afternoon is free for a swim in Perast or dinner at a konoba in Ljuta on the way back.

Leave Kotor at 8:30 on the R-1 road, which climbs the cliff in 25 tight hairpins. There are pull outs to stop and photograph the bay; use them, because the road is narrow and buses come down the other way. Without a car, the Kotor Lovćen cable car makes the climb in 11 minutes.

At the top of the serpentine, the village of Njeguši has smoked ham and made cheese for generations. Stop at one of the houses along the road to taste pršut with cheese and bread mid morning. Forty five minutes.

Twenty minutes on, the road through Lovćen National Park ends at a car park. From there, 461 steps through a tunnel lead to the mausoleum of the poet and prince bishop Njegoš, at 1,657 metres. The round viewpoint behind it shows the Bay of Kotor, Lake Skadar and, on a clear day, Albania. The park charges 3 euros per person, and the mausoleum has its own ticket at the entrance.

Cetinje, 30 minutes away, was the capital of the kingdom until 1918, and the old embassies still line its streets. Visit the monastery, which keeps the relics of Saint Peter of Cetinje (shoulders and knees covered; wraps are available at the door), and walk to King Nikola’s palace, now a museum. Have lunch here, where prices are lower than on the coast.

The way back to Kotor runs through Budva, 40 minutes from Cetinje. Skip the strip of bars and go into the walled old town: the citadel has the best view of the coast, and Ričardova Glava beach, right against the wall, is good for a late swim. Two hours; Kotor is 30 minutes away.

Leave Kotor at 9:00 and follow the coast. The islet of 15th century houses became a hotel and is closed to visitors; the classic photo is from the viewpoint on the road above, with parking next to it. The public beach is to the left of the sandbar. Forty minutes, then drive on to Virpazar, an hour away.

Lake Skadar is the largest in the Balkans and half of it is a national park, with channels covered in water lilies, herons and Dalmatian pelicans. Boats leave the Virpazar quay in the afternoon on trips of two to four hours; the longer ones reach Rijeka Crnojevića with a swimming stop. The park fee is 5 euros per person and some operators include it: ask first.

In the evening, taste vranac wine from the wineries around the village and lake carp at one of the konobas on the quay.

Leave at 8:00. The road from Virpazar to the viewpoint is half an hour of narrow lane, single track in several places; drive slowly. Between 7:00 and 9:00 the light is best for the photo of the river bend. Half an hour.

Five minutes below the viewpoint, the village feels frozen in time: a street of stone houses and the arched bridge of 1853 reflected in the river. Coffee by the water and drive on.

An hour and a quarter away, the upper Ostrog monastery is set into a cliff at 900 metres and draws Orthodox, Catholic and Muslim pilgrims. The last stretch of road is narrow and twisting; at weekends, park at the lower monastery and walk up the trail in 20 minutes. Clothes covering shoulders and knees, silence in the chapels and an hour for the visit. Žabljak is 1 hour 45 minutes away.

After check in at Žabljak, the Black Lake is 3 km away. The flat trail around its two arms is 3.5 km and takes an hour; rowing boats are for hire in summer. Durmitor National Park entry costs 5 euros per person per day: check at the booth.

The bridge is 30 minutes east of Žabljak, 170 metres above the river, in the Tara Canyon, the deepest in Europe. Walk across on the side path and, for adrenaline, the zipline crosses the canyon next to the bridge. Rafting starts below the bridge from May to October, with the strongest water in May and June. Allow two and a half hours.

In the afternoon, drive the P14 panoramic road west from Žabljak up to Sedlo Pass at 1,907 metres. It takes 20 minutes to the pass, between high meadows and rock walls; stop at the pull outs and, if you have the legs, walk an hour along the trail from the pass towards Bobotov Kuk. The road closes with snow from November to May.

Leave Žabljak at 8:00; the turn off for Biogradska Gora National Park is an hour and a half away, between Mojkovac and Kolašin. The flat 3.5 km trail around the lake passes trees over 40 metres tall in one of the last virgin forests in Europe. An hour and a half; the ticket is sold at the gate.

On the way to Podgorica, the road drops through the Morača Canyon and passes the monastery of 1252, with 13th century frescoes and a garden above the gorge. Forty minutes. Podgorica airport is an hour and a half away.