Plan for the weekend: route to Boka, prosciutto and the sea
Six to seven hours from Belgrade to Kotor, one obligatory stop for Njeguš prosciutto and a bay where the sea is still warm in mid-September.
Six hours of driving and the mountain opens into a steel-colored bay — Boka Kotorska does not announce itself, it appears behind the last bend near Kotor, after about sixty serpentines descended from Cetinje. By then, half of Serbia is already behind you and all of Montenegro on the other side of Mojkovac.
This is a route for an extended weekend, not for one day: about 460 kilometers from Belgrade to Kotor, seven to eight hours of pure driving without breaks. It's worth it because of two things that can't be found closer — Njeguš prosciutto from the mountain itself and the sea, which is still 23 to 24 degrees in mid-September. Before departure, check the load distribution in the trunk, becausea full trunk changes the braking distancebefore it is noticed on the first sharp bend.
Share by share
| Share | Km | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Belgrade - Cacak | 145 | 1h 40min, highway |
| Čačak - Bijelo Polje | 140 | 2h 10min, highway through the gorges |
| Bijelo Polje - Podgorica | 105 | 1h 30min, Morača canyon |
| Podgorica - Kotor | 65 | 50 min, Sozina tunnel |
The first three hours are fast highway; the last hour through Morača canyon is narrow and winding, two-way, slow to overtake. We wrote in more detail about border crossings and tolls on this route in the textfor Montenegro: two routes. Those who, instead of the Sozina tunnel, continue via Cetinje and the old road, should count an extra half hour and twenty-five serpentines, but get a view of the entire bay at once, from the Krstac viewpoint.
A station for prosciutto, not for souvenirs
Njeguši is a village at 900 meters above sea level, on the old road between Cetinje and Kotor, the last point before the road begins to descend in serpentines. The storm that blows through that pass all year is the reason why prosciutto is dried right here, and not on the coast: cold and dry air, without moisture that spoils the meat. It is smoked on beech wood for three to four weeks, then dried for six to twelve months. Along the road are the stalls of the hosts who sell directly from their own dryers — what you are looking for is dark, almost mahogany-colored prosciutto on the cut, with a visible layer of fat that softens at room temperature.
This is a route for an extended weekend, not for one day: about 460 kilometers from Belgrade to Kotor, seven to eight hours of pure driving without breaks.
The sea that hasn't left yet
In the middle of September, the Adriatic is warmer than it seems — the sea cools more slowly than it warms, so the water temperature lags behind the air by a month and a half. On the Luštica peninsula, at the exit from the bay, the coves of Žanjic and Mirišta are shallow and sheltered from the northerly winds, without the crowds that crowded the beaches in August. For planning a stay on the water further down the coast, it is also usefulroute to Lake Skadar, an hour away from Podgorica. The Blue Grotto at Rose is only accessible by water, by boat or kayak from Rose, half an hour's drive away — the light entering through the underwater opening colors the interior a fluorescent blue at its strongest around noon.
When to go to avoid the column
Leaving Belgrade before six in the morning leaves a reserve for the two things that slow down this route the most — the crowd at the Šćepan Polje or Dobrakovo border crossings, and truck traffic through the Morača canyon, which intensifies after ten. Whoever starts later drives that section an hour slower than the plate shows, because he overtakes on a narrow road where visibility is short. Returning on Sunday afternoon brings the same problem in the opposite direction — the line forms at the exit from Podgorica around four, so it is more profitable to go back right after lunch, while the sun is still high, and stop for coffee only in Bijelo Polje, halfway.
For the night, a campsite along the coast is a cheaper and closer option than a hotel in Kotor itself — several smaller campsites are located along the beach on Luštica, with direct access to the water and a place for barbecue, about twenty minutes from the busiest part of the bay.
Questions & answers
short and to the point- Is the sea in Boka Kotorska warm in mid-September?
- Yes, usually 23–24°C because the sea lags behind the air for a month and a half; it cools noticeably only after mid-October.
- How long is the drive from Belgrade to Kotor?
- About 460 km and seven to eight hours of pure driving, along the Morača canyon as the slowest and narrowest section of the road.
- Where can you buy real Njeguš prosciutto?
- Directly at the host's stalls along the old Cetinje-Kotor road in the village of Njeguši, where the prosciutto is dried, not in coastal shops.
