Ulcinj and Velika Plaža: The South and Its Dark Grey Sand

The southernmost town in the country and the least like the rest of it. Ulcinj has minarets instead of bell towers, Albanian spoken in the street and thirteen kilometres of dark grey sand next door. The Albanian border is twenty kilometres away.

People come for two things: a beach that exists nowhere else here, and a town that was one of the pirate capitals of the Adriatic.

Velika Plaža

Thirteen kilometres of sand, Montenegro’s longest beach and one of the longest on the Adriatic.

The sand is dark grey and very fine, carried down over the centuries by the Bojana river. Locals consider it medicinal, and people with joint and skin conditions have long been brought here. That is hard to verify, but the sand is genuinely warm underfoot.

The key point for families: the entry is very gradual. Getting chest-deep means walking fifty metres. Nothing like the rocky platforms of the bay.

The beach is divided into sections, some with loungers (€12–20 a set), some free. The facilities are simpler than Budva’s, but there is room for everyone.

Kitesurfing. Steady wind and shallow water have made the southern end a kiting centre, with several schools, rental and beginner courses.

Behind the beach lie the former Ulcinj salt pans. Salt has not been produced here since 2013, and since 2019 the area has been a nature park and a haven for birds.

Ada Bojana

A river island in the Bojana delta, between two channels and the sea, with a three-kilometre sandy beach. Known for two things: it has been a naturist zone since the seventies, and fish restaurants stand on stilts over the water.

On foot or by bike you get onto the island free. With a car you pay for parking: €1 an hour in June, €2 an hour from 1 July to 15 September, capped at €10 a day — the scheme that has applied since June 2025. How long the drive takes and where to learn to kitesurf are covered in Ada Bojana.

The old town

A fortress on a rock above the sea, with narrow lanes, a museum and a few hotels in old houses inside.

In the 16th and 17th centuries Ulcinj was a corsair base: pirate ships sailed from here and the town ran a slave market. Legend has it that Miguel de Cervantes spent several years here in captivity — and took the name Dulcinea from the town’s Italian name, Dulcigno. How Venice, the Ottomans and Montenegro divided this coast between them is told in a short history of Montenegro.

The view from the walls at sunset is the best thing in town.

Getting there

Bar is 27 kilometres away, 35–40 minutes by car; Budva is 65 kilometres, an hour and a half. From Tivat airport allow two hours. In July and August, allow half as long again, or even double. On the way through Bar you can stop at Stari Bar: a ruined town on a hill and an olive tree more than two thousand years old.

The road runs along the sea and is narrow in places. Buses from Bar and Budva are regular; from the bus station to Velika Plaža you continue by local transport or taxi.

Parking by the beach is paid at €1–2 an hour; further back there is plenty of free space.

What to know

Ulcinj is a Muslim town. In summer everyone on the promenade is in beachwear, but entering a mosque requires covered clothing.

Mosquitoes near the river and on Ada Bojana in the evening — bring repellent.

The season is longer here: the south is warmer and you can swim from mid-May to mid-October.

Getting there without your own car

The south is the far end of the coast and slow to reach by bus. A private tour covers the whole Budva — Petrovac — Bar — Ulcinj — Velika Plaža route with a driver and guide, stopping where you want: the Montenegrin coast tour.

All formats are under things to do. If you are driving, hire options are on the car rental in Bar page.

From the water this stretch reads differently: a cruise from Bar runs past coves with no road access, from €130 an hour for the whole boat: yacht charter. Boats run in season only; there are no trips in winter.

Loungers, Ada Bojana access and parking: prices checked in September 2026.