Southern Montenegro: Ulcinj, Ada Bojana, Stari Bar
Southern Montenegro is the most unhurried corner of the Adriatic: a short coast from Bar to the Albanian border, Ulcinj with its Ottoman skyline, the river island of Ada Bojana, the ruins of Stari Bar under Mount Rumija and Lake Skadar an hour's drive away. The loop is about 60 nm, with legs of 5–14 nm, one to three hours; here you spend as much time ashore as afloat.
Day by day
Marina Bar
- Bar42.096, 19.089
Handover after 17:00 at Marina Bar, an hour from Podgorica airport, next to the ferry port and the long waterfront promenade. Provisioning in town, dinner on the Topolica seafront.
Bar → Ulcinj
- Ulcinj41.926, 19.205
South-east along a coast of olive groves to Ulcinj, the southernmost town in the country, Albanian in language and Ottoman in silhouette. The old town on its rock was a corsair port for three centuries; in the evening, the Balšić tower, the old slave-market square and dinner above Mala Plaža.
Ulcinj → Ada Bojana → Ulcinj
- Ada Bojana41.856, 19.345
- Ulcinj41.926, 19.205
Along the twelve kilometres of Velika Plaža to the mouth of the Bojana, where the river island of Ada Bojana sits between two arms of the delta. Up the river by dinghy to the restaurants on stilts and fish from the lift nets; the boat goes back to Ulcinj for the night.
Ulcinj → Bar
- Bar42.096, 19.089
Back north to Bar by lunch, then four kilometres uphill to Stari Bar: a ruined town of 600 buildings under Mount Rumija, Venetian, then Ottoman, abandoned after 1878. The aqueduct, the mosque, and at Mirovica an olive tree more than two thousand years old.
Lake Skadar, then Bar → Sutomore
- Sutomore42.141, 19.043
The morning by car through the Sozina tunnel to Virpazar and a boat out on Lake Skadar, the largest in the Balkans: pelicans, water lilies and island monasteries. Back on board by 15:00 for the short hop round the point to Sutomore.
Sutomore → Petrovac
- Petrovac42.205, 18.942
North-west past Čanj and the Queen's Beach to Petrovac, a small resort with a Venetian fort on the quay and a Roman villa's mosaics behind the beach. In the evening, the path through the pines to Lučice bay.
Petrovac → Bar
- Bar42.096, 19.089
A last leg south along the cliffs, past the islets of Katič and Sveta Nedjelja, into Bar by early afternoon: refuelling and handover.
Coordinates are approximate, for the harbour or bay. Paste them into Google Maps or a chartplotter, and check the chart and pilot book before you moor or anchor.
Good to know
- Wind: in summer a daytime breeze blows from the north-west and dies down by evening. Only one stop depends on the weather — Ada Bojana: in a southerly the boat stays in Ulcinj and you go to the river by taxi; on a bad day the leg is swapped for Stari Bar or the lake, and the week loses nothing but a few miles. The best months are May, June, September and October.
- Berths: there is only one marina on the route, in Bar. In Ulcinj, Sutomore and Petrovac you spend the night at anchor or on small quays, so check the overnight forecast every evening. The mouth of the Bojana is shallow — beyond it, the river is for the dinghy only.
- Formalities: the Bojana is the border with Albania, and the bank opposite Ada Bojana is already Albanian. Entering Albanian waters requires border clearance — stay on the Montenegrin side.
- Logistics: Podgorica airport is 55 km from the marina, a transfer of about an hour. For the day on Lake Skadar, renting a car in Bar is the easiest option.
When to go and what it costs in Montenegro
Median € per berth per week from the agent's latest check, monohulls; each month's page has both boat types, a chart and boats departing that month.
Discounted boats in Montenegro
All boats in Montenegro
How long is the Bar — Ulcinj route and where do you stay overnight?
7 days and about 60 nautical miles in a loop, starting and finishing in Bar. Overnight stops in order: Bar, Ulcinj, Ulcinj, Bar, Sutomore, Petrovac. The longest leg is day 7, 14 nm.
When is the best time to sail the Bar — Ulcinj route?
Montenegro's season runs May to October. July and August are the peak; in June and September the sea is warm and the weather settled; May and October are the shoulder months, with cheaper boats. The cruising area is compact, so a week works at either end of the season too. By the agent's latest checks (monohulls), the cheapest month is December: a median of €230 per berth per week. The most expensive is October, at €253. The most boats with 20% off or more are in October: 10%. The agent checks the current month and the next five; each month has its own page with the numbers.
How much does a yacht for this route cost?
A whole boat in Montenegro for a week starts from €1,263 in the agent's current selection: the cheapest discounted week departing in the next three months. Prices per berth by month are higher up the page; the boats are under “All boats in Montenegro”.
Do I need a licence to charter a yacht?
For a bareboat charter (no skipper or crew provided), yes: a skipper's licence and, as a rule, a VHF radio certificate. Without a licence, we add a skipper, paid separately from the boat price.
What's included in the boat price?
Just the boat, for a week. Usually paid separately: transit log and final cleaning, fuel, marina fees, the security deposit (or deposit insurance), a skipper, cook and hostess if you need them, and extras (SUP board, on-board Wi-Fi, coffee machine, child safety netting).
