Cycling in Montenegro, along the coast & Lake Skadar

Cycling trip along the Mediterranean coast and Lake Skadar

This cycling tour takes you along small side roads to the most beautiful corners of Montenegro’s Mediterranean coast. At your own pace and with magnificent views, you’ll cycle to Europe’s southernmost fjord: the Bay of Kotor – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – and the largest lake in the Balkans, Lake Skadar.
Along the way, of course, there are plenty of opportunities to savour the country’s culinary delights and get to know the friendly locals.
Difficulty level
We rate this trip as medium difficulty, 3 on a 5-point scale. The trip is up to 48 km per day with up to 900 m ascent.
On request, the trip can be tailored to match your individual preferences, both in terms of difficulty and number of cycling days.
Weather conditions
Montenegro has a Mediterranean climate on the coast, with alpine conditions in the mountains. For cycling, we recommend coming in spring or early autumn, this is because the summers can be very hot (average summer temperature is 27°C).

Highlights

  • UNESCO World Heritage Site "Bay of Kotor", with its well-preserved medieval towns
  • Cycle along the largest lake in the Balkans, Lake Skadar, and enjoy the stunning views
  • Plenty of culinary delights to try along the way

Quick facts

Travel duration: 8 days/ 7 nights
Travel period: 15/3 - 31/10
Grade:
Medium. Average 30-65 km/ 300-700 m per day. Day by day trip grading, see "program" on each trip.
3
Accommodations:
Trip type: Self guided cycling holidays
Price example: From €1,150
Meals: Breakfast

Prices per person in EUR

This trip is available from 15/3 – 31/10, with any arrival day.

8 days/ 7 nights From €1,150 Book your trip

Period Double Room - shared bed Twin Room - separate beds TRP - Triple Room SGL - Single Room
2025-10-01 2025-10-31 €1,150 €1,150 €1,150 €1,400
2026-03-15 2026-04-30 €1,190 €1,190 €1,190 €1,440
2026-05-01 2026-05-31 €1,270 €1,270 €1,270 €1,520
2026-06-01 2026-06-15 €1,340 €1,340 €1,340 €1,590
2026-06-16 2026-09-15 €1,390 €1,390 €1,390 €1,640
2026-09-16 2026-10-01 €1,340 €1,340 €1,340 €1,590
2026-10-01 2026-10-31 €1,270 €1,270 €1,270 €1,520
Book your trip

Prices quoted are per person and include:

  • Accommodation 7 nights in hotels and guesthouses incl. breakfast
  • Roadbook in English:
    • Practical information about the area
    • Maps of the area
    • Descriptions of the cycle routes
  • Mobile app with digital maps
  • Luggage transport
  • 24-hour emergency telephone service

Not included:

  • Transport to and from destination
  • Transfers to and from destination
  • Bike hire
  • Lunches and dinners
  • Other not mentioned under what is included

Optional extras:

  • Bike hire: 140 Euro (21-27 speed bike with handbrakes)
  • Electric bike: 290 Euro (Electric bike with handbrakes)
  • Airport transfer from/to Podgorica, Tivat or Dubrovnik. See tab ‘how to get here’
  • Extra hotel nights at the start or end of the trip: Contact us for prices.

Itinerary

Day 1 Arrival in Cetinje

Arrival in the old royal capital of Montenegro, Cetinje. After a short introduction of the trip and adjusting your bike, there is hopefully time for a walk through the city.
Tonight you will stay at a nice guesthouse in Cetinje.

Day 2 Cycle from Cetinje to Virpazar - 38 km

The journey begins with a beautiful bike ride to the largest lake in the Balkans, Lake Skadar. Take a well-deserved break in Rijeka Crnojevica before continuing to Virpazar, where you will stay overnight.
38 km, +550 m, -1200 m

Day 3 Cycling from Lake Skadar to Stari Bar - 30 km

Today you will follow an old disused railway track between Virpazar and Stari Bar. The day starts with a climb to a mountain pass. Once at the top, you can enjoy the stunning views before then rolling downhill to the Adriatic Sea. The last part of the ride takes you through olive groves to reach Stari Bar, an old village beautifully situated on a hillside. (If you wish, you can also visit Bar, the newly built village 5 km away)
30 km, +850 m, -810 m

Day 4 Cycle from Stari Bar to Rastis - 30 km

You’ll leave Stari Bar and cycle into a fantastic landscape. Soon you’ll cycle past a 2000-year-old olive tree, perfect for a little stop! The cycling continues through an area of olive groves to the small village of Rashtish/Rastis. If you want a longer ride today, you can make a ‘detour’ via Ulcinj, extending the tour by 32 km.
30 km (62 km), +550 m (+920 m), -250 m (-720 m)

Day 5 Lake Skadar National Park - 44 km

Today you’ll cycle along Lake Skadar, a challenging route with 3 climbs, but also one of the most scenic stages of the trip, with breathtaking views of the lake and the Albanian Alps. You will then cycle through the Godinje wine region before reaching Virpazar. From here, a transfer is included, approximately 1 hour to Lovćen National Park. Here you stay at 1300 metres above sea level.
44 km, +860 m, -1,240 m

Day 6 Lovćen National Park to Bay of Kotor - 40 km

Today you will cycle from the mountains of Lovćen via the famous, beautiful serpentine road. This road offers amazing panoramic views all the way down to the Bay of Kotor. We reccomend you to start the day with a 200 meter climb up to a fantastic viewpoint, where you can see “almost” all of Montenegro in all directions. From here, you roll all the way down to Kotor. 40 km, +200 m, – 1400 m

Day 7 Bay of Kotor - 47 km

The historic surroundings of this area are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The tour follows the coastline with the opportunity to visit cultural sites, delicious restaurants and picturesque villages.
47 km, +310 m, -310 m

Day 8 Departure day

We at EverTrek hope you have had a great trip!
We hope to see you again.

Accommodations

During this trip, you will stay in 3-star hotels and guesthouses.

8 days/ 7 nights

NightPlaceAccommodation
Night 1CetinjeGuesthouse
Night 2VirpazarHotel ***
Night 3Stari BarHotel ***
Night 4Rastis
Hotel ***
Night 5Lovcen National ParkHotel ***
Night 6KotorHotel ***
Night 7 KotorHotel ***

Route map

Getting to the destination

Plane

The nearest airports to fly to are Podgorica (TGD) or Tivat (TIV), about 40 minutes travelling time and 1 hour by car from Cetinje. You can also fly to Dubrovnik (DBV), but a longer transfer to Cetinje (about 3 hours).

Transfer

Airport transfer from/to Podgorica, Tivat or Dubrovnik. Prices below are for 1-3 persons (minimum 2 persons per transfer)

  • Transfer from Podgorica to Cetinje: 90 Euro
  • Transfer from Tivat to Cetinje: 100 Euro
  • Transfer from Dubrovnik to Cetinje: 290 Euro
  • Transfer from Kotor to Podgorica: 140 Euro
  • Transfer from Kotor to Tivat: 50 Euro
  • Transfer from Kotor to Dubrovnik: 200 Euro

Local transports

You can get from Podgorica, Tivat or Dubrovnik airports by bus, or combination of bus and train.

Our travelers’ reviews

Scroll down to read reviews from our guests.

Have you been on this trip? We would be very thankful if you wanted to share your experiences in the form below.

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Reviews

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Review for cycling-in-montenegro-along-the-coast-lake-skadar
5/5
Lake Skadar
Posted by on
A fantastic week. At times quite tough as it was really hot. Amazing views. Our guide Vlado was incredibly helpful. Excellent bikes and great accommodations. A great start in Cetinje, which was a cozy little town. Good that we arrived a day early so we had time to spend there. Wonderful ending with three nights in Kotor. Had high expectations and was truly not disappointed. Would gladly return.
Review for cycling-in-montenegro-along-the-coast-lake-skadar
5/5
Biking Montenegro
Posted by on
Montenegro was a very positive experience: beautiful mountains, picturesque villages and small towns, and very friendly treatment from everyone we met. High-quality accommodation. At times, the cycling was quite challenging with long uphill stretches, but always on asphalt and with very little traffic. Make sure to bring water and a packed lunch, as there are not always places along the route to eat and drink. A very pleasant ending to the tour in the town of Kotor, with the opportunity to swim and skip a cycling day if your legs are tired.
Review for cycling-in-montenegro-along-the-coast-lake-skadar
5/5
Biking Montenegro
Posted by on
Good service with both transfers and information. We received a phone we could call in case of problems. For example, we got to exchange one of our bikes. Nice accommodations. Breakfasts were a bit worse than we’ve had before. Good with GPX files. However, day 6 did not fully match the description. Some of us felt that the first three days were tougher than on three bike trips we’ve done before.
Review for cycling-in-montenegro-along-the-coast-lake-skadar
5/5
Cycling in Montenegro
Posted by on
A very pleasant cycling trip where everything worked perfectly. Pick-up at the airport, luggage transfers, good bikes, helpful local representatives. The accommodations were perfectly fine, although the breakfasts were rather sparse everywhere. It would have been helpful if the addresses of the accommodations had been included in the information material, as we had some trouble finding a couple of the guesthouses when even the locals we asked didn’t know where they were. (Of course, we could have called the emergency number, but it’s nice to manage on your own.) Montenegro is a beautiful country to cycle in; the routes followed good roads with little traffic, except when leaving Ulcinj and Kotor. We covered just over 300 km in 6 warm days — wonderful. We can highly recommend this trip. Thanks for the friendly service from Gunnar & Co when booking the trip.
Review for cycling-in-montenegro-along-the-coast-lake-skadar
5/5
Cycling in Montenegro
Posted by on
Very nice cycling trip where everything worked out perfectly. Pickup at the airport, luggage transport, good bikes, helpful local representatives. The accommodations were fine, though the breakfasts were rather meager at all locations. It would have been helpful if the addresses of the accommodations had been included in the information material, as we had some trouble finding a couple of the guesthouses, since even locals we asked didn’t know where they were. (Of course, we could have called the emergency number, but it’s nice to manage on your own.) Montenegro is a beautiful country to cycle in; the routes were on good roads with little traffic, except when leaving Ulcinj and Kotor. We managed over 300 km in 6 warm days—wonderful. Can warmly recommend this trip. Thanks for the friendly reception from Gunnar & Co when booking the trip.
Review for cycling-in-montenegro-along-the-coast-lake-skadar
5/5
Biking in Montenegro
Posted by on
Quite hilly and a beautiful country. But thanks to the e-bike, it was manageable. Some stretches had, in my taste, a bit too much car traffic, especially since the roads are narrow. But mostly roads with little traffic. Excellent service from Vlado and his team. Among the accommodations, I especially want to highlight Ethno Lodge in Virpazar and the very friendly hosts who served a fantastic breakfast on the veranda.
Review for cycling-in-montenegro-along-the-coast-lake-skadar
5/5
Cycling in Montenegro
Posted by on
Montenegro was an exciting and beautiful experience. We were very well “taken care of” by the local organizer. Certinje was a nice and peaceful experience. The hosts at the accommodation didn’t speak any English, but their body language expressed so much friendliness, likewise in Virpazar where we stayed at a wonderful, homely lodge and were served breakfast with almost everything one could wish for. E-bikes are recommended if you’re not strong and like uphill climbs. Nicely chosen routes with fantastic views. The directions in the booklet worked excellently together with GPS. Narrow roads, sometimes a bit too much car traffic.

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