This post is all about how we spent a month in Montenegro on a family holiday. What to do in Montenegro for kids + Is Montenegro safe?
In this post you’ll also see our entire costings for a month and how you can visit Montenegro on holiday too. We give you top tips on how much we spent in Montenegro as a family of four – five and what you can expect from visiting this beautiful country.
Side note: Montenegro is so safe, I travelled (drove) as a single Mum with 3 kids for the first 2 weeks.
How Can You Afford To Travel All The Time?
A lot of the questions we get from people involve how much it costs to travel and the first question is usually along the lines of “Wow. You must be rich to afford that…”
What many people forget is that we have NO financial responsibilities like mortgages/rent, utility bills, local council bills, car repayments, loan repayments or anything else associated with a permanent base (house furnishings etc).
Whilst we’re not rich, we’re also definitely not poor but we do like to do things on the cheap.
How Much Money Do I Need To Spend A Month In?
Another question we frequently receive is “How much money do I need to save to have X time in ****……?”
So we have collated some of our costings from a month in Montenegro to give an idea of how much you might need to budget.
Can You Afford A Month Long Family Holiday In Montenegro?
This is how much a family holiday in Montenegro cost us as a family of five. Although sometimes there were only 4 of us…
Montenegro family holiday: Non-Return Flights
We booked flights for five from London to Tivat with Easyjet for £233.45.
Leaving Montenegro with AirSerbia cost £200, flying from Tivat to Belgrade.
Total Flight costs: £433.45
This is quite expensive because we booked flights separately and didn’t book our Serbian flights until the last minute. We don’t usually pay more than £300.
Hire Car Costs In Montenegro & Is it safe to drive?
We booked our rental car through Kayak and we were foolish! Not because of Kayak but because we didn’t know if we’d like Montenegro so we only booked two weeks to start with.
£304.54 – 2 weeks (We originally only booked two weeks in Montenegro as we were unsure whether we’d like it)
£557.68 – 3 weeks (Second booking as we decided we really did quite like Montenegro).
Total cost for a hire car: £862.22
This is actually extremely expensive for us and usually, if we book for 5 weeks we can get a car rental for around £500 a month.
How Much Does Petrol In Montenegro Cost?
1,500km cost £60 for a (nearly new) VW Polo 1.3cc. You can check the current price of petrol with Numbeo.
Total cost for petrol: £60
This is a good price and usually, we spend a bit more but we only had a very tiny car here.
The Cost Of Stay22 Accommodation In Montenegro
Top tip for booking accommodation: Book a month’s accommodation and negotiate a reduction
£367 – 13 nights in Becici
£309 – 6 nights in Ljuta, Kotor
£300 – 5 nights in Prcanj, Kotor
£207 – 4 nights in Ulcinj
£248 – 4 nights in Rijeka Crnojevica
Total cost: £1431
This was incredibly expensive and usually, we can reserve an entire month’s rental for less than £800. Because we moved around frequently and did not always book budget accommodation, it was more expensive.
The Cost Of Accommodation With Booking
2 nights in Tivat cost £65.
Total cost: £65
How Much Does Food Cost In Montenegro?
Top tips for buying food: Supermarkets stock a good range of dried food but the cheapest foods can be bought in fresh markets and by road stalls.
Buying food in Montenegro is relatively inexpensive. For example, fresh fruit and vegetables are plentiful and quite cheap. 900g of cherries cost €3 and six peppers cost €1. It is possible to east very cheaply here.
On average weekly food costs were £80-100.
The total monthly cost for food: £500
Budgeting For Family & Kid-Friendly Activities In Montenegro?
We frequently don’t do any guided activities and instead make our own fun but we couldn’t resist Montenegro’s charm.
£110 canoeing in Kotor
£70 river trip on Rijeka Crnojevica
£90 boat trip to the Blue cave
£100 Hike around Lake Skadar
Total cost for activities: £370
Can You Afford To Eat Out In Montenegro On Your Family Holiday?
Because the cost of food is relatively inexpensive, eating out was more affordable than say Norway or Germany.
Top tip: Eat out for lunch rather than dinner as menus are often fixed price for multiple courses. Eat in local restaurants, not chains.
£20 lunch – Petrovac
£33 lunch – Budva
£35 lunch – Kotor
£25 lunch – Podgorica
£25 lunch – Rijeka Crnojevica
Total cost for eating out: £200
Analysis Of A Month’s Costs For Visiting Very Safe Montenegro
In the beginning, we weren’t sure if we would like Montenegro so we booked the first two weeks for a very small price, approximately (£230 flights, £300 car, £300 accommodation). When we realised that we liked it and wanted to see more we only booked shorter accommodation and therefore the price increased significantly. Slow travel is much less expensive than fast travel.
Accommodation in the east of Montenegro can be found for £12 per night HOWEVER we discovered that Montenegrin budget accommodation often means that the house is incredibly basic. Some accommodations don’t feature kitchens and if they do, they’re so basic you can only cook with one saucepan at a time. Whilst this is fine for couples, we just cannot manage like that. If you’re happy to rough it a bit, it is possible to find very cheap rentals and campsites are even cheaper!
We thoroughly enjoyed our excursions but these were a big expense and you don’t need to do these to enjoy Montenegro.
I do really recommend renting a car though. Montenegro has a reputation for terrible driving but I disagree and I found it quite good. I was never intimidated and was happy to drive around the country alone with 3 kids.
Top Tips On How To Afford Family Travel in Montenegro
- Flight search engines are a good tool but they often don’t show budget airlines. Easyjet is a great no-frills line with a good reputation.
- When hiring a car, look for a company which offers an incentive and book a month at a time. You get a better reduction for booking longer.
- Montenegro is a small country. To save money, book a month’s accommodation and negotiate a reduction in price. You can visit the rest of the country on day trips.
- If you buy food, the cheapest food can be bought on road stalls and in fresh markets although supermarkets stock a good range of dried food.
- For eating out, eat out for lunch rather than dinner as menus are often fixed prices for multiple courses. Eat in local restaurants, not chains.
Search for accommodation in Montenegro
I totally fell in love with Montenegro and I wanted to live there! I would have stayed for a lot longer than a month. Everyone was really nice, the food was delicious and I never once felt unsafe. Compare that to America where I never felt at ease and you’ll see why I’m so passionate about Montenegro. I genuinely cannot wait to go back and explore more of it.
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