Tivat in 7 Days

Set off from your accommodation and use Arsenal car park or the space provided by a centrally located hotel or apartment. Enter Porto Montenegro on foot and walk beside the marina towards the surviving buildings of the old Arsenal. Working naval buildings once occupied this shore, and their remains now sit amongst modern apartments and yacht berths. Continue along the waterfront to the Naval Heritage Collection.

Displays inside the collection cover Tivat's naval yard, its vessels and the people whose work shaped the town. The P-821 Hero submarine adds the most tangible part of the visit, with torpedo tubes, controls and confined crew quarters visible inside the hull. Entry to the submarine follows its own visiting arrangement, so check the available time before leaving your accommodation. Afterwards, walk towards the Great City Park.

Take the main path through palms, conifers and plants brought to Tivat by sailors returning from abroad. Crossing the park lengthways gives a much better sense of its botanical variety and carries you from the former Arsenal towards the older town centre. Leave through the southern side and continue to the Buća Luković estate.

A stone wall encloses the residence, defensive tower, chapel and garden associated with the Buća family of Kotor. Alterations made over several periods remain visible across the buildings, which now house museum and gallery spaces. Explore the courtyard and tower before walking through central Tivat to the Pine waterfront.

Look for the training ship Jadran beside Pine whenever it is at its Tivat berth, then follow the shore to Kalimanj harbour. The promenade passes the main town square, open views across the bay and the smaller boats used locally. Retrace the waterfront to central Tivat, collect the car from Arsenal if necessary and finish at the accommodation where the day began.

Drive from Tivat through Kotor and continue around the Bay to Perast. Leave the car at the entrance on the Kotor side, which places you at the beginning of the long waterfront settlement. Walk east to west towards St Nicholas Square and keep the car in that first space until the island visit is complete.

Follow the waterfront past the Bujović, Zmajević and Smekja palaces before reaching St Nicholas Square. Their façades and waterside positions recall the captains and trading families behind Perast's prosperity. Board a return boat at the central jetty for Our Lady of the Rocks, where the church, paintings offered in thanks and museum artefacts explain the island's story. Once ashore again, see the western end of the waterfront and walk back to the entrance car park.

Return along the Bay to Kotor and leave the vehicle at Benovo, close to the Škurda River. This position outside the walls works for the entire Old Town circuit. Cross the bridge, use the North Gate and begin at the Church of St Mary of the River.

Continue from St Mary of the River to the churches of St Nicholas and St Luke, then thread the smaller squares towards St Tryphon Cathedral. Visit the Maritime Museum for the history of the Bay's captains and the families whose palaces line these streets. Complete the route beneath the Clock Tower in Arms Square, leave by the Sea Gate and follow the river back to Benovo.

Leave Benovo and drive directly to Tivat. Use the car space beside the same hotel or apartment and keep the vehicle there overnight. The outing is complete when you are back at the Tivat address from which you left in the morning.

Travel from Tivat to Cetinje and use the tourist car park beside Ćipur on Štampar Makarije Street. From here, the main buildings of the royal quarter lie within one walk. See the monastery ruins at Ćipur first, then cross to Court Square and King Nikola's Palace.

Rooms, portraits and family possessions inside King Nikola's Palace introduce the final ruler of independent Montenegro and his European connections. Biljarda, on the opposite side of the square, served as both the home and working residence of Petar II Petrović Njegoš. Walk on to Cetinje Monastery, then take Njegoševa Street past the former legations. Return through Court Square to the car park beside Ćipur.

Drive from Cetinje to the car park below Jezerski Vrh. The final approach passes through a tunnel and climbs 461 steps to Ivan Meštrović's mausoleum. Inside are black granite figures, a seated image of Njegoš, a gold mosaic ceiling and the marble sarcophagus. Continue behind the monument to the circular viewpoint over Lovćen, then descend the same staircase to the car.

Descend to Njeguši and park near the middle of the village, close to the stone house where Njegoš was born. Its rooms and household objects present the family setting in which Montenegro's poet and ruler spent his earliest years. Follow the museum with a short village walk and lunch based around Njeguši ham and cheese. The old Kotor road then leads back towards the Bay.

Follow the descent towards Kotor and continue along the water to Tivat. Leave the car beside the same accommodation and spend the third night there. The route closes at your original address after linking all three parts of the day's historical story.

Make an early start from Tivat and drive first to Lower Ostrog. Use the car park beside the complex while visiting Holy Trinity Church, the residential buildings and the courtyard. Afterwards, take the access road upwards and leave the car in the marked area beneath Upper Ostrog.

Walk the last section to the white buildings embedded in the sheer rock face. The cave Church of the Presentation contains the relics of St Basil of Ostrog, and the second sanctuary is dedicated to the Holy Cross. Step onto the terraces for a view across the Bjelopavlići Plain. Return along the same approach and leave for Nikšić.

Choose a public car park beside Freedom Square and explore the centre on foot. Follow Njegoševa Street to the Cathedral Church of St Basil of Ostrog and King Nikola's Palace, then walk across to Bedem Fortress. These places connect the planned radial streets with the town's ceremonial buildings and its older fortified core. Return to the vehicle and drive to Krupac.

Use the car park near the beach at Krupac and walk along the water towards the dam. The open shore gives a broad view of the reservoir and the mountains beyond Nikšić. Once you have completed the lakeside section, return to this car park for the drive to Tivat.

Drive back through Nikšić and continue on the direct route to Tivat. Park beside the hotel or apartment used throughout the week. Day four finishes at the same address, ready for the next morning's departure.

Leave Tivat early and travel straight to the car park beside Morača Monastery. Enter the courtyard and begin with the large Church of the Dormition. This is the first place you explore after the long morning drive, with enough time to examine both churches and the monastic grounds.

See the historic frescoes and stone interior of the Church of the Dormition, then cross the courtyard to the smaller Church of St Nicholas. The residential buildings complete the compact monastery ensemble above the Morača valley. Wear clothes suitable for an active religious site, then return to the car and continue to Kolašin.

Leave the car in the enclosed car park on Buda Tomovića Street opposite the municipal offices. Walk to Fighters Square and follow several adjoining streets through Kolašin's compact centre between Bjelasica and Sinjajevina. Have lunch here before collecting the vehicle and heading towards Biogradska Gora.

Continue to the final car park beside Biogradsko Lake and join the shore path on foot. The loop is about 3.3 kilometres long, passing through protected old-growth woodland and across wooden footbridges near the water. Open sections frame the lake against Bjelasica, and interpretation boards explain its plants and wildlife. Finish the entire circuit where it began and walk back to your vehicle.

Return through Kolašin and continue directly to Tivat. Use the parking space beside your original accommodation when you arrive. The fifth day closes there after a full circuit of Biogradsko Lake.

Travel from Tivat through Nikšić to Piva Monastery near Goransko. Leave the vehicle beside the monastery grounds and begin the day's visit here. When Piva Lake was created, the church was dismantled and rebuilt stone by stone, preserving both its structure and painted interior.

The modest stone exterior of the Church of the Dormition gives little warning of the extensive fresco cycle inside. Examine the painted walls, vaults and iconostasis, then walk through the quiet courtyard surrounding the church. Return to the car and carry on towards Plužine.

Stop at the viewpoint above Plužine for the long perspective down Piva Lake. The town appears on a narrow shelf below, enclosed by steep slopes and the blue reservoir. After taking in the full setting, descend to Plužine and use a public car park in the centre.

Walk from central Plužine to the town beach and harbour. The route reaches the water itself and shows how the rebuilt settlement fits between the lake and the mountainside. Allow time for lunch, the waterfront and the small jetty, then retrace your steps to the same car park.

Return through Nikšić and continue to the accommodation in Tivat. Leave the car in its usual space and spend the sixth night at the same address. The Piva day is complete once you are back at the base with the monastery, viewpoint and lakeshore all covered.

Start very early from your Tivat accommodation and travel through Nikšić and Šavnik to Žabljak. Drive first to the car park at the Ivan Do entrance to Durmitor National Park. Leave the vehicle there until the Black Lake walk is finished.

The surfaced approach passes through conifers to Great Lake and the start of the marked shore trail. Follow it towards the narrow connection with Small Lake and continue around the complete four-kilometre circuit. Woodland, small bridges and open views towards Međed alternate around the water. Finish at the original approach, retrieve the car and drive into Žabljak to join the panoramic ring.

Take the Durmitor Ring from Žabljak towards Mala Crna Gora. Stop at the viewpoint above Sušica Canyon, where the deep gorge divides the wooded slopes of Durmitor and Piva. The road then drops towards the canyon floor before passing Nedajno on its way to Trsa. This is the wooded half of the circuit before the high open country.

Park near the middle of Trsa and make this the main meal stop on the ring. The village's stone homes and grazing land occupy the high ground between Piva's canyons and Durmitor's peaks. After a short walk and lunch, continue through Pišće towards Sedlo Pass.

The climb from Trsa runs beneath Prutaš and Sedlena Greda through the most exposed stretch of the route. Leave the car at Sedlo and take the short marked path for views across the plateau and nearby summits. Continue downhill to Žabljak to complete the whole Durmitor Ring.

Drive from Žabljak to the signed car park beside Đurđevića Tara Bridge. Cross on foot to see into the canyon from both sides, then return to the Žabljak end for a clear side view of the bridge's five arches above the river. The final journey to Tivat begins from this car park.

Travel back through Žabljak, Šavnik and Nikšić to Tivat. Park beside the same accommodation where your luggage has remained throughout the week. The seventh day ends at the address that also served as the starting point for the first Tivat walk.