Ada Bojana: getting there, parking, beach, kiting, naturism

Ada Bojana is a river island at the mouth of the Bojana, 15 km and about 25 minutes’ drive from Ulcinj, with a sandy beach roughly 3 km long. The sea lies on one side and two arms of the river on the other two. The left-hand arm is the border with Albania; the island itself is Montenegrin. Walking or cycling onto it costs nothing; bring a car and you pay for parking, capped at €10 a day.

This is the far southern tip of Montenegro’s coast, past Ulcinj, the country’s southernmost town: about two hours’ drive from Budva and a long way from Kotor and the bay most visitors know. People come for three things — a broad sandy beach, kitesurfing, and fish at restaurants built on stilts along the river. Part of the island is naturist, and has been since the complex opened in 1973, but the beach is just as open to anyone in a swimsuit.

In short

• Where: the southern end of the coast, on the Albanian border, 15 km from Ulcinj; across the river channel is Velipojë, in Albania.
• How far: about 25 minutes from Ulcinj, about an hour from Bar, about two hours from Budva.
• The beach: about 3 km of fine sand, with a naturist section and a regular one.
• Costs: free on foot or by bike; parking €1 an hour in June and €2 an hour from 1 July to 15 September, capped at €10 a day; sunbeds €10–15 a set.
• Kitesurfing: May to September, and until mid-October in a warm autumn; the daytime wind blows onshore.
• Food: fish restaurants on wooden stilts along the banks of the Bojana.

What is Ada Bojana?

A triangular island of about five square kilometres, wedged between two arms of the Bojana and the sea. Ada is the Turkish word for “island”, which passed into the local language. Legend has it that the island built up around a sailing ship, the Merito, that ran aground here, though the versions put the wreck two centuries apart.

The Bojana is a short river: 41 km long, 24 km of which form the border with Albania. Facing the island on the Albanian bank are Velipojë and Pulaj. In 2010 The New York Times put Ada Bojana on its list of places to go that year.

How do you get to Ada Bojana?

From	Distance	Time without traffic
Ulcinj	15 km	about 25 minutes
Bar	42 km	about 1 h 05 min
Budva	80 km	about 2 hours
Podgorica airport	87 km	about 2 hours
Podgorica	95 km	about 2 h 10 min
Kotor	101 km	about 2½ hours

The road from Ulcinj runs past Velika Plaža to the river mouth, and you cross onto the island by bridge. In July and August, allow half as long again — or twice as long — anywhere on the coast.

By car the south is at its easiest. In one day you can combine Ada, Velika Plaža and old Ulcinj, and on the way down from Bar stop at Stari Bar, the ruins of the old town (entry €5). Bar is a convenient place to pick up a car: car hire in Bar.

Without a car, take an intercity bus to Ulcinj. Guidebooks mention minibuses from the market there in summer, but they leave when they fill up rather than to a timetable. That leaves a taxi, which is an expensive way to travel in season; agree the fare before you get in. Of the two airports, Podgorica is the nearer, and the transfer from it is cheaper: from €136 per car to Ulcinj, compared with from €164 from Tivat airport. Options are on the transfers page.

How much does it cost to get onto Ada Bojana?

Nothing on foot or by bike; drivers pay for parking. Since June 2025 the island has run on a scheme set by the beach operator, Ulcinjska rivijera: parking is €1 an hour in June and €2 an hour from 1 July to 15 September, capped at €10 a day. The old flat charge of €5–7 per car no longer applies, whatever older guides say.

Sunbeds cost €10–15 a set — slightly less than on Velika Plaža, where a set is €12–20.

Is Ada Bojana a nudist beach?

Partly. The naturist complex has been here since 1973, but the island is not naturist-only: the beach is divided into a naturist section and a regular one, which locals call “textile”. Pick whichever suits you. In the naturist zone the rules are simple: no clothes, and no photographs of other people.

If you are travelling with children, or naturism is not your thing, that is no reason to give the island a miss. The regular section is the same broad, sandy beach.

Can you swim at Ada Bojana?

Yes — the sea side is shallow and sandy. The one caution is the river mouth: where the Bojana meets the sea, the currents are strong and changeable. Swim, and learn to kite, well away from it.

Kitesurfing at Ada Bojana

Everything a kitesurfer wants comes together here: a steady daytime wind, shallow water and a sandy bottom. The schools stand in a row along Velika Plaža, five minutes from Ada, and people ride off the island itself as well.

• Season: May to September; in a warm autumn, until mid-October.
• Wind: the maestral, a daytime sea breeze blowing onshore. The National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro counts about 90 windy days a year. Its English pages call the wind the “Mistral”; locally it is the maestral.
• Water: 0.5–1.5 metres deep over a flat, sandy bottom — good for learning.
• Lessons: a beginner’s course takes 8–10 hours and, according to the same organisation, costs several hundred euros; May is usually cheaper than high summer.

School names and prices change from season to season, so compare two or three on the spot before you pay for a course.

What are the restaurants on stilts like?

Along the Bojana, fish restaurants stand on wooden stilts over the water — the second reason people make the trip. As everywhere on the coast, fish is priced by weight: fresh fish costs from €55 a kilo in coastal restaurants and €80–90 in the tourist spots. Agree the weight before the fish goes to the kitchen and the bill will hold no surprises.

The river brings mosquitoes in the evening, so pack repellent.

What else to order on the coast is covered in fish and seafood in Montenegro.

Can you cross into Albania from Ada Bojana?

Albania is just across the river channel, but there is no border crossing on Ada. The nearest road crossing is Sukobin–Muriqan: 27 km from Ulcinj, about 35 minutes, and about 40 km from Ada.

In a hire car you can cross only with the rental company’s written permission and a Green Card, which most companies charge €25–50 per rental for. Cross without permission and you risk a fine of €300–500 and lose your insurance cover. More in insurance and deposit.

Coming back, you go through Montenegrin passport control again, and the usual rules apply. On a British passport you can stay up to 90 days in any 180; the passport must have been issued less than 10 years ago and be valid for three months after you leave. The full rules are in entry requirements for Montenegro.

When is the best time to go?

The sea off this coast reaches 22–24 °C in June and 25–26 °C in July and August, stays at 23–25 °C in September and drops to 20–22 °C in October. For a beach day, June and September are the pick: the water is already, or still, warm, and there are fewer people than at the peak. Kitesurfing runs from May to September. In July and August, get there in the morning.

What else is nearby?

Old Ulcinj and the 13 km of Velika Plaža are covered in Ulcinj and Velika Plaža. Every sandy and shingle beach in the country, sorted by type, is in Montenegro’s beaches by type. The south can also be done as a private tour with a guide and driver — the Montenegro coast tour — but it runs only with a Russian-speaking guide, so for most readers a hire car is the simpler way. Services are provided by independent companies; booking and payment happen directly with them.

Prices checked in September 2026. Sources: National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro, the Ulcinjska rivijera parking scheme (since June 2025), Ulcinj guidebooks 2024–2026, transfer price lists.