Ada Bojana is certainly an unusual gift of nature, surrounded by the blue Adriatic Sea on one side and the Bojana River on the other two, forming a triangle. The far bank of the river is Albania. About 3 km of fine-grained sand faces the open sea, and behind the beach the island stays flat, green and low, which is precisely why the wind reaches it unobstructed.
An island the river made
Ada Bojana is not ancient. It took shape in the 19th century, when a ship ran aground on a rock near the river mouth and the wreck began to trap silt carried down by the Bojana. Sediment piled up around it until two small islets and the growing sandbank fused into one triangular island. The river has never stopped working: sandbars shift, channels move, and the seaward beach is rebuilt a little every winter.
From the 1970s the island was developed as one of Europe's better-known naturist resorts, and it still runs on that low-rise, bungalow-and-reed-hut logic rather than as a hotel strip. Along the river arms stand the kalimera, traditional wooden fishing huts on stilts with a square net lowered into the water on a long arm. The technique is old Bojana practice, and the huts have quietly become part of how people eat here.
Why the wind works here
The sandy beach, known for its sunsets, is about 3 km long and faces the sea. Favourable winds that create good conditions for all kinds of extreme water sports, especially windsurfing and kitesurfing, make this one of the best places of its kind on the Adriatic. Advanced riders wait for the strong mistral that blows in the afternoon hours, and beginners have a windsurfing school on the beach.
Two features make the spot unusually forgiving. On the sea side the bottom shelves gently, so there is a long stretch of waist-deep water before it drops away, which is exactly what you want when you are learning to relaunch a kite. On the river side the water is flatter and more sheltered when the sea turns choppy. Just north, Velika Plaza, the 12 km beach running back towards Ulcinj, offers the same wind with far more space. One caution: at the mouth itself the current is real, so stay upwind of the outflow and treat it with respect.
What kitesurfing actually involves
Kitesurfing is a young extreme sport that combines elements of wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing and paragliding, with gymnastic elements as well. It is very dynamic and splits into several riding styles, which is why it became known simply as riding on the water. It is done with a relatively small purpose-built kite, usually 7 to 15 square metres, flown on lines from a control bar while the rider stands on a board. According to ISAF and IKA estimates the number of kitesurfers worldwide in 2012 was around 1.5 million, and it has grown since. Promoting the sport in this region makes sense given the potential this climate offers.
A first course normally begins on land with kite control, moves into shallow water for body-dragging, and only then puts you on the board. Plan three or four sessions rather than one afternoon, and expect the shallow flats here to shorten the process rather than lengthen it. Riders who already know what they are doing tend to come for the reliability of the thermal breeze rather than for waves; this is a flat-water and freestyle spot, not a wave spot.
Getting to Ada Bojana
Ada Bojana sits at the very southern end of the Montenegrin coast, beyond Ulcinj. The road runs behind Velika Plaza from town to the island, which is reached by a bridge across the river arm. Podgorica is the closest airport, around an hour and a half by road; Tivat is roughly two and a half hours along the coast, and our Montenegro airport guide covers both. Most people without their own transport base themselves in Ulcinj and drive or taxi out to the water each day, which also solves the question of where to eat and what to do on a windless morning.
Season, kit and the days with no wind
The wind season broadly follows the warm months, from roughly May into early October, with the most dependable thermal breeze between June and August, when it usually fills in during the early afternoon and fades around sunset. May, June and September give lighter crowds and comfortable air; midsummer gives the strongest and most reliable afternoons. Pack sun protection, because there is almost no natural shade on the sand, something for your feet on the river bank, and repellent for the evenings, since this is a river delta and the mosquitoes know it.
When the wind fails, the area holds up. The sunsets from the seaward beach are the reason many people come in the first place, the river restaurants serve what was caught that morning, and Ulcinj's old town, Sasko Lake and the Ulcinj Salina, one of the most important bird sites on the Adriatic flyway, are all a short drive away.
