Discover Montenegro — Self-Launched: Kotor to Podgorica

Fly into Tivat (TIV, ~15 min by local bus/taxi, £3-8) or Podgorica and bus in. Check into a hostel or guesthouse inside or just outside the walls of Kotor's old town. In the late afternoon walk the medieval lanes yourself — the maritime museum, the cats of Kotor, the squares of Trg od Oružja — then climb part of the city walls (free-ish outside paid hours, ~£2-3 in season) for sunset over the bay. Evening: konoba dinner of njeguški pršut, cheese and fresh seafood.

🚌Local bus or taxi from Tivat airport to Kotor old town (~£3-8)

🛏Hostel or family guesthouse in Kotor old town (£15-25/night, dorm or private budget room)

• →Self-guided walk of Kotor old town
• →City walls / San Giovanni fortress sunset climb (£2-3)
• →Konoba dinner with local pršut and seafood

Take a local boat (budget option: hop on one of the small shuttle boats from Kotor's waterfront, ~£5-10 each way, or a shared tour boat ~£15-18 return) across the bay to Perast. Wander Perast's baroque old town at your own pace and, if you like, take the tiny rowboat shuttle out to Our Lady of the Rocks island (~£4). Back in Kotor by afternoon — rent a sea kayak (~£18-22 for a couple of hours) or visit the Maritime Museum (£4-5).

🚌Local boat/shuttle Kotor–Perast return (~£10-18); walking in town

🛏Hostel or family guesthouse in Kotor (£15-25/night)

• →Local boat across the Bay of Kotor
• →Perast old town self-walk
• →Our Lady of the Rocks island boat (~£4)
• →Optional sea kayaking (~£20)
• →Optional Maritime Museum (£5)

Local bus to Budva (~£4, 45 min) for a self-guided walk of the walled old town and the Citadel. Then bus/van onward to Ostrog Monastery (buses from Budva/Podgorica toward Nikšić, ~£5-8; a shared taxi from the lower car park to the upper monastery is ~£3-5) — dress modestly, it's an active pilgrimage site. Continue by afternoon/evening bus via Nikšić to Žabljak (~£8-10, ~3 hrs). Check into a mountain guesthouse or eco-lodge; short sunset stroll to Black Lake (Crno Jezero) if you arrive with light.

🚌Local bus Kotor–Budva (~£4), bus/van to Ostrog (~£6), bus Nikšić–Žabljak (~£8)

🛏Mountain guesthouse / eco-lodge in Žabljak (£18-28/night)

• →Budva old town self-walk
• →Ostrog Monastery visit
• →Optional Black Lake evening walk

Local bus or shared taxi Žabljak–Kolašin (~£6-8, ~1.5-2 hrs), dropping at Biogradska Gora National Park entrance (park fee ~£2-3). Spend the day walking the 3.5 km loop around Biogradsko Lake through one of Europe's last primeval forests — marked trails, no guide needed. Rent a rowboat (~£6) or bring a picnic. Late afternoon continue the short hop into Kolašin (~£2-3) for the night; dinner of kolašinski sir and mountain lamb.

🚌Local bus/shared taxi Žabljak–Biogradska Gora–Kolašin (~£10 total)

🛏Guesthouse or small hotel in Kolašin (£18-28/night)

• →Biogradska Gora National Park lake loop walk (park fee ~£3)
• →Optional rowboat/kayak hire (~£6)

Book a local 4x4/jeep off-road half-day directly with a Kolašin operator or guesthouse host (~£40-55 per person, cheaper if you team up with other travellers) — the same Sinjajevina/Bjelasica backcountry tracks the tour uses, with rivers, shepherd huts and forest. Afternoon local bus or train Kolašin–Podgorica (~£4-5, ~1.5 hrs by bus). Evening self-guided walk of Podgorica's old town — Stara Varoš, the clock tower, the Ribnica fort ruins and Millennium Bridge — with a final dinner in the old town.

🚌Local 4x4 half-day (~£45 shared), bus Kolašin–Podgorica (~£5)

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Podgorica (£18-28/night)

• →Local 4x4 off-road excursion (~£45)
• →Podgorica old town self-walk (Stara Varoš, clock tower, Ribnica)

Easy morning — coffee on Hercegovačka street, optional doclea Roman ruins or the cathedral if time allows — then local bus or taxi to Podgorica airport (~£2-4) for your flight home. If you're flying out of Tivat instead, direct buses run Podgorica–Tivat (~£5).

🚌Local bus/taxi to Podgorica airport (~£2-4)

🛏—

• →Optional Doclea Roman ruins
• →Coffee and last-minute bakery stop