Sveti Stefan from directly above: the fortified island, the causeway between its two pink-sand beaches and the turquoise water around the walls

The beach atlas

Best Beaches in Montenegro

39 beaches on 293 km of coast, from the Bay of Kotor to Ada Bojana — every one visited, measured against the official water results and awards, and photographed by us.

No. 4 · Sveti Stefan

beaches

32,033

metres of shore

with a Blue Flag we can cite

photographed by us

No. 1–10

The top tier

The ten we would send a friend to first. Rank comes from our own visits, weighed against the official bathing-water results, the awards each beach can prove, and how honestly it delivers what it promises.

Jaz bay from the hill on the Budva side: the buoy line, a yacht at anchor in the blue water and the wooded headland with the highway cut closing the bay

No. 1Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

JazPlaža Jaz

A 1.2-kilometre bay of sand and pebble 6 km west of Budva with five Blue Flag concessions, a campsite behind the sand and a quieter naturist cove at its eastern end.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: organised and free sections
Length: 1200 m

Mogren I from the boulders at its eastern end: the layered cliff, swimmers in the green water and the umbrellas of the concession under the pines

No. 2Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

Mogren IMogren I

The first of Budva’s two Mogren coves, ten minutes along the cliff path from the Old Town and reached only on foot.

Surface: sand
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 180 m

The curve of Bečići beach on a September morning, the shallows running out to the pine-covered headland and the town of Rafailovići across the bay

No. 3Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

BečićiBečićka plaža

Nearly two kilometres of fine sand and shingle with a shallow shoreline, six Blue Flag concessions and a Paris Grand Prix from 1935.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised and free sections
Length: 1.9–2 km

No. 4Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

Sveti Stefan

A 300-metre strand of pink-red pebble on the public side of the Sveti Stefan causeway, with the fortified island filling every frame.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: organised
Length: 300 m

Queen’s Beach at Miločer, a small crescent of pale sand and pebble under cypress and pine, still water in the cove

No. 5Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

Queen's BeachKraljičina plaža

A cove of pale sand and pebble in the Miločer park, named for Queen Marija in the 1930s and reserved for Aman guests again since July 2026.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 100–200 m

The full arc of Kamenovo beach from the coastal path on the Rafailovići side, buoyed bathing water and the hills of Pržno beyond

No. 6Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

Kamenovo

A 340-metre arc of sand and fine pebble reached through a tunnel in the rock, with the cleanest official water results on the riviera.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 330–350 m

The pebble arc of Žanjice from the air, loungers under the olives along the back of the beach and the water shading from clear shallows to deep turquoise

No. 7Top-tier beach

Herceg Novi riviera

Žanjiceuvala Žanjic

A 300-metre white-pebble bay near the tip of Luštica, twenty minutes by boat from Herceg Novi and the departure point for the Blue Cave.

Surface: pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: organised
Length: 300 m

The red-sand crescent of Petrovac beach and the town behind it, seen from the Castello fortress

No. 8Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

PetrovacPetrovačka plaža

A 600-metre crescent of reddish sand and fine shingle with a town promenade along its whole length and two chapel-topped islets offshore.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 600 m

Lučice in the evening: rows of thatched umbrellas and loungers on the shingle, the pine-covered headland closing the cove and clear water beyond

No. 9Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

Lučice

A 220-metre cove of golden sand between two pine headlands, a fifteen-minute walk from Petrovac and a Blue Flag site in 2026.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 220–250 m

The Arza fort on its rocky point at the tip of Luštica, and behind it the bay of Mirišta: boats at anchor over turquoise shallows and the pale shore of the beach

No. 10Top-tier beach

Herceg Novi riviera

Mirišta

The 200-metre pebble cove ten minutes along the coast path from Žanjice, under the Arza fort, with trees over the back of the beach and a fraction of the boats.

Surface: pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: organised and free sections
Length: 200 m

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Find your beach

Showing 39 of 39

Pick as many as you like. Rivieras and surfaces mean “either”; everything in the last row has to be true at once — so sand, quiet and reachable on foot is one question, not three pages.

Every beach on one map

Click a beach to jump to its card.

Herceg Novi riviera
Bay of Kotor
Tivat and Luštica
Budva riviera
Bar riviera
Ulcinj riviera

Herceg Novi riviera

8 beaches

No. 7Top-tier beach

Herceg Novi riviera

Žanjiceuvala Žanjic

A 300-metre white-pebble bay near the tip of Luštica, twenty minutes by boat from Herceg Novi and the departure point for the Blue Cave.

Surface: pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: organised
Length: 300 m

No. 10Top-tier beach

Herceg Novi riviera

Mirišta

The 200-metre pebble cove ten minutes along the coast path from Žanjice, under the Arza fort, with trees over the back of the beach and a fraction of the boats.

Surface: pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: organised and free sections
Length: 200 m

The mouth of the Bay of Kotor from the tip of Luštica: the Arza fort on its headland, the island fort of Mamula and the Prevlaka peninsula beyond — the water the Dobreč boats cross

No. 13

Herceg Novi riviera

Dobreč

A 100-metre pebble cove on the outer Luštica shore with no road to it: the boat from Herceg Novi is the only way in and the only way out.

Surface: pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: wild
Length: 100 m

The open bay from the Njivice shore, Herceg Novi and Igalo strung along the far side under the Orjen massif

No. 17

Herceg Novi riviera

NjiviceKraljičina plaža

Montenegro’s last beach going west: rock, sand and concrete to swim from below a hamlet of 102 people, with Prevlaka and Croatia 4 km across the water.

Surface: rock
Entry: entry rocky
Character: organised and free sections
Length: 200 m

The pebble shore and clear water at Ćorovića beach in Savina, looking through the mouth of the Bay of Kotor

No. 20

Herceg Novi riviera

Savina

The 200-metre pebble-and-concrete shore on the Pet Danica promenade below Savina monastery, twenty minutes’ walk east of Herceg Novi’s old town.

Surface: pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: organised and free sections
Length: 200 m

The curve of Igalo bay from the hill above Stara Banja, the strand and the Institute quarter strung along the shore, the mountains behind

No. 21

Herceg Novi riviera

Igalo

The flattest, gentlest shore on the bay: up to a kilometre of sand, pebble and concrete platforms in shallow warm water, with the mud beach of Stara Banja at the Sutorina mouth.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 600–1000 m

Herceg Novi riviera

Rose

A pebble shore and a working quay in the fishing village at the tip of Luštica, reached by the ferry from Herceg Novi rather than by road.

Surface: pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: wild
Length: 80–150 m

Meljine’s public pebble beach and clear buoyed water beside Lazure marina, with the green mountains behind

Herceg Novi riviera

Meljine BeachPlaža Lazure

A compact 30-metre public pebble beach beside Lazure marina, with clear buoyed water and the mountains of the inner bay rising behind it.

Surface: pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 30 m

Bay of Kotor

7 beaches

The landscaped timber deck at Bajova Kula beside the clear bay, with the mountains above Dobrota across the water

No. 22

Bay of Kotor

Bajova KulaBajova kula

An organised 118-metre shingle beach at Dražin Vrt on the Kotor–Risan road, named for Bajo Pivljanin’s tower above it, with a stone swimming platform and the Boka wall across the water.

Surface: pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: organised
Length: 118 m

Orahovac from the shore: the houses along the water under the bare mountains, rows of mussel-farm floats across the bay and a concrete pontoon with a canopy

No. 23

Bay of Kotor

Orahovac

Four pebble coves between stone jetties, the coldest and freshest sea in the bay — 24 parts per thousand of salt in late May 2026 — and Excellent at every official sampling.

Surface: pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: wild
Length: 150 m

The Donji Stoliv waterfront from the water: the campanile and nave of the church of the Name of Mary, stone houses and the sea wall with cars parked on the shore road

No. 24

Bay of Kotor

Stoliv

No beach at all — concrete platforms and pontoons on the captains’ waterfront of Donji Stoliv, facing Perast across flat water, with the chestnut woods of the upper village behind.

Surface: concrete platforms
Entry: entry steep
Character: wild
Length: 100 m

The Risan waterfront on a still day: the stone quay, cafés and houses along the shore road, and the mountains of the head of the bay reflected in flat water

No. 25

Bay of Kotor

Risan

Pebble coves either side of the harbour of the oldest town on the bay, with the Orjen peaks reflected in the flat water and a Roman mosaic of the god of sleep 300 m from the shore.

Surface: pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: wild
Length: 200 m

Bay of Kotor

Morinj

A 165-metre strip of sand and grey pebble at the corner of the bay where a cold stream comes out of the karst, with two campsites behind it and the mills restaurant above the road.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised and free sections
Length: 165 m

Bay of Kotor

Lipci

A strip of pebbles and flat rocks below the prehistoric deer of Lipci, reached by a narrow concrete path, with clear water deep enough to dive into and nothing else at all.

Surface: pebble
Entry: entry rocky
Character: wild
Length: 20–50 m

Bay of Kotor

Ljuta

A concrete bathing platform on the Dobrota shore road beside the mouth of a 200-metre river that comes out of the mountain at 7 °C — the coldest swim in the bay.

Surface: concrete platforms
Entry: entry steep
Character: wild
Length: 10–30 m

Tivat and Luštica

1 beaches

The Luštica peninsula and the Tivat side of the Bay of Kotor from the cable car above Kotor — the low wooded peninsula whose southern coast holds the Pržno bay of Plavi Horizonti

No. 18

Tivat and Luštica

Plavi HorizontiPržno (Plavi horizonti)

Blue Horizons: 350 metres of fine pale sand in the sheltered Pržno bay on the south coast of Luštica, shallow a long way out and backed by pines — the largest sandy beach in Tivat municipality.

Surface: fine sand
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 350 m

Budva riviera

15 beaches

No. 1Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

JazPlaža Jaz

A 1.2-kilometre bay of sand and pebble 6 km west of Budva with five Blue Flag concessions, a campsite behind the sand and a quieter naturist cove at its eastern end.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: organised and free sections
Length: 1200 m

No. 2Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

Mogren IMogren I

The first of Budva’s two Mogren coves, ten minutes along the cliff path from the Old Town and reached only on foot.

Surface: sand
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 180 m

No. 3Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

BečićiBečićka plaža

Nearly two kilometres of fine sand and shingle with a shallow shoreline, six Blue Flag concessions and a Paris Grand Prix from 1935.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised and free sections
Length: 1.9–2 km

No. 4Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

Sveti Stefan

A 300-metre strand of pink-red pebble on the public side of the Sveti Stefan causeway, with the fortified island filling every frame.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: organised
Length: 300 m

No. 5Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

Queen's BeachKraljičina plaža

A cove of pale sand and pebble in the Miločer park, named for Queen Marija in the 1930s and reserved for Aman guests again since July 2026.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 100–200 m

No. 6Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

Kamenovo

A 340-metre arc of sand and fine pebble reached through a tunnel in the rock, with the cleanest official water results on the riviera.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 330–350 m

No. 8Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

PetrovacPetrovačka plaža

A 600-metre crescent of reddish sand and fine shingle with a town promenade along its whole length and two chapel-topped islets offshore.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 600 m

No. 9Top-tier beach

Budva riviera

Lučice

A 220-metre cove of golden sand between two pine headlands, a fifteen-minute walk from Petrovac and a Blue Flag site in 2026.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 220–250 m

Pržno beach in high season: umbrellas and loungers on the coarse sand, the stone houses of the village at the water and the rocky islet off the point

No. 15

Budva riviera

Pržno

A 260-metre village beach of sand and pebble with fish restaurants at the water’s edge, a Poor result and bathing ban in July 2026 and Excellent results ever since.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 150–260 m

Buljarica from the track behind the sand: umbrellas along a 2 km arc of grey sand and shingle, campervans parked in the scrub of the wetland, the headland and the Paštrovići hills beyond

No. 16

Budva riviera

Buljarica

The longest beach on the Budva riviera — 2,250 metres of sand, gravel and stone backed by a protected wetland, with almost nothing built on it.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: organised and free sections
Length: 2.2–2.5 km

Trsteno cove from the hill: turquoise water inside the buoy line, two boats at anchor, the small sand beach with its beach club and car park under the scrub-covered slopes

No. 19

Budva riviera

TrstenoPlaža Trsteno

A 150-metre sand cove west of Jaz where an adult can still stand far out in clear water, run by one beach club and reached by a narrow lane or by boat.

Surface: sand
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 150 m

Sunbeds and closed umbrellas on the coarse sand of Mogren II, the beach club in the arches under the cliff and the island of Sveti Nikola beyond the point

Budva riviera

Mogren IIMogren II

The farther of Budva’s two Mogren coves, through a tunnel in the rock, and the quieter one for it.

Surface: sand
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised and free sections
Length: 170 m

Budva riviera

Rafailovići

The fishing-village end of the Bečići strand: two managed sectors, a working mooring, fish restaurants on the quay and the tunnel path to Kamenovo.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 1.9–2 km

Miločer Beach and Villa Miločer across clear turquoise water, framed by pines on the rocky headland

Budva riviera

Miločer BeachPlaža Miločer · Kraljeva plaža

A 280-metre strand of pale pink sand and pebble in front of Villa Miločer, backed by the old royal park and wrapped around a clear turquoise bay.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 280 m

Drobni Pijesak: a short crescent of coarse pale sand between rock outcrops, umbrellas and swimmers under the wooded slope

Budva riviera

Drobni PijesakDrobni pijesak

A 250-metre cove of yellow-white sand and small pebbles below the olive groves between Sveti Stefan and Petrovac, with a freshwater spring on the beach.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: organised and free sections
Length: 250 m

Bar riviera

4 beaches

Bar riviera

Čanj

A 1.1–1.2 km strand of sand, pebbles and stones between Petrovac and Sutomore, with all three official water points Excellent in August 2026 and a boat-only cove, Kraljičina plaža, round the headland.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: organised
Length: 1100–1200 m

Bar riviera

Sutomore

About 1,250 m of real sand mixed with fine gravel in a wide south-westerly bay, with a railway station five minutes from the water and the cheapest sunbeds on the coast.

Surface: sand and fine pebble
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 1250–1600 m

Bar riviera

Žukotrlica

A kilometre of pebbles under mature Aleppo pines at the northern end of Bar’s seafront, the start of the 3.6 km King’s Promenade and the town beach locals use.

Surface: pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: organised and free sections
Length: 1000 m

Veliki Pijesak from above: the arc of shingle, rows of parasols, the promenade and the islet Veliki Kamen just offshore

Bar riviera

Veliki PijesakVeliki pijesak, Dobra Voda

An arc of 380–480 m of shingle with sandy patches, an islet 23 m offshore, and a sunset that lands on open water in every month of the year.

Surface: pebble
Entry: entry moderate
Character: organised
Length: 380–480 m

Ulcinj riviera

4 beaches

Velika plaža at Ulcinj, the fine dark sand and shallow water running towards the horizon

No. 11

Ulcinj riviera

Velika plažaLong Beach

Twelve to thirteen kilometres of fine dark sand from Port Milena to the Bojana mouth, shallow for a long way out and swept by a thermal wind every summer afternoon.

Surface: fine sand
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised and free sections
Length: 12–13 km

Ada Bojana: the open beach and the sea on a grey September morning

No. 12

Ulcinj riviera

Ada Bojana

A triangular island of fine sand at the mouth of the Bojana, about 3 km of open beach with a signposted naturist section, kite schools and fish restaurants on stilts over the river.

Surface: fine sand
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised and free sections
Length: 3 km

Mala plaža in September, with the Kalaja walls and the Old Town on the rock above the sand

No. 14

Ulcinj riviera

Mala plažaSmall Beach

Ulcinj’s town beach: about 400 m of sand in an enclosed bay directly below the Kalaja walls, five minutes from the bus station and never quiet after ten.

Surface: sand
Entry: entry gentle
Character: organised
Length: 400 m

The Ulcinj coast from the Kalaja walls; Ženska plaža lies along the Pinješ shore beyond Mala plaža

Ulcinj riviera

Women's BeachŽenska plaža

A screened cove east of Ulcinj with a sulphur spring in the shallows, run as a women-only bathing area from May to October and visited for a fertility tradition older than any of its operators.

Surface: pebble
Entry: entry rocky
Character: organised
Length: 50–100 m

Beaches for…

The same beaches, filtered by what you are looking for.

Sea temperature, month by month

Measured, not estimated: 1,809 official samplings at 32 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. The bar shows the usual range and the dot the median.

May21 °CUsual range 20 °C to 22.5 °C
June22.3 °CUsual range 19.6 °C to 24.8 °C
July24.1 °CUsual range 21 °C to 27.2 °C
August24.7 °CUsual range 22 °C to 26.8 °C
September23.4 °CUsual range 21 °C to 25.2 °C
October20.3 °CUsual range 18.3 °C to 22 °C

The sea is only sampled from May to October, so there is no official winter figure. September water is warmer than June's. Source: JP Morsko dobro, the state coastal agency.

Before you go

What a beach day costs: Most organised beaches on our list charged €8–15 for two loungers and an umbrella in 2026. Sveti Stefan and Miločer cost many times that, so check the tariff board before you sit.
You never have to rent: Entry is free, and on public beaches half of every concession sector must stay free of furniture, so a towel is always enough.
Check the way in: Much of the coast is pebble or rock. Each beach page gives the surface and the entry into the sea, so you know when to pack water shoes.
Where to base yourself: Budva for the most beaches within a short trip; Petrovac for families; Herceg Novi for boat trips to the Luštica coves; Ulcinj for long sand and kitesurfing.

Take the data

Every beach in the atlas as a file: the shore facts we verify by hand, and the latest official bathing-water result for each of the 33 beaches that has a monitoring station. Free to use under CC BY 4.0, with the water figures credited to JP Morsko dobro. No European bathing-water report covers Montenegro, so as far as we can tell this is the only machine-readable record of this coast.

Coverage, columns and licence →

How we rank

Every beach in this atlas has been walked, swum and photographed by us. The rank weighs six things: the water (official Morsko Dobro samples, not a colour), the shore (surface, entry, shade), how crowded it gets in August, the facilities and whether part of the beach stays free, how hard it is to reach, and the setting. Awards count only when we can cite the year. Facts carry the date we last checked them.