Belgrade to Montenegro by train, plane or car

The Belgrade to Bar line is one of those journeys you remember longer than the destination. It crosses Serbia and Montenegro north to south overnight and delivers you to the Adriatic for under €24. If you’ve time on your hands, nothing beats it for joining up the two countries. Here are the times and fares published by ZPCG, the Montenegrin operator, and the alternatives.

One overnight train each way

On the ZPCG timetable I checked on 11 October 2026 there’s a single international service in each direction. Train 433 leaves Beograd Centar at 19:54, stops at Bijelo Polje at 02:55 and Podgorica at 05:44, and reaches Bar at 06:54. Train 432 does the reverse, leaving Bar at 20:10, calling at Podgorica at 21:20 and Bijelo Polje around midnight, and arriving in Belgrade at 07:08. The rest of the network is in trains in Montenegro.

What it costs

Belgrade to Podgorica costs €21.60 in second class and €32.40 in first. All the way to Bar it’s €23.80 and €35.60, and to Bijelo Polje €16.60 and €24.80. Set against a night in a hotel in high season, that’s about the best value of the whole trip, especially travelling solo or as a couple.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Bar on Expedia and filter by area before price.

The Montenegrin stops

The first significant stop is Bijelo Polje, whose station is the rail border crossing with Serbia, according to the National Tourism Organisation. You arrive in the small hours, so keep your passport within reach. The line then drops into the middle of the country. The National Tourism Organisation names Kolašin, at 954 m on the banks of the Tara, as a stop on this line, and it’s a good excuse to break the journey in the mountains. On the way down the track crosses the Mala Rijeka viaduct, which is the bridge pictured above. Then come Podgorica and, at the end of the line, Bar, with the port and the southern coast. There’s no railway to Kotor or Budva, so you’d finish by road.

Making the most of your arrival

ZPCG’s timetable links up neatly with the overnight train. If you get off in Podgorica at 05:44, the first train to Nikšić leaves at 08:00, takes 1 h 7 min and costs €3.20 in second class, stopping after 29 minutes at Danilovgrad. If you stay on to Bar, the 433 arrives at 06:54 with the southern coast on the doorstep. Going the other way, the last regional train from Nikšić gets into Podgorica at 21:07 and the overnight to Belgrade leaves at 21:20, which I wouldn’t rely on with heavy bags. From the coast, the easy option is to head to Bar and board the 432 there at 20:10.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Bar and pick one that fits your day.

Other ways from Serbia

Flying is much quicker. The winter 2026-27 table from Airports of Montenegro shows daily Belgrade to Podgorica flights with Air Montenegro and Air Serbia, and both airlines also serve Tivat. By car, my OpenStreetMap estimate gives about 429 km from Belgrade to Podgorica and about 500 km to Kotor, all of it driving on the right. The National Tourism Organisation counts five road crossings with Serbia. The cross-border coaches are in the next section.

The coach, the alternative to the train

Since Kotor’s bus station sends people to busticket4.me for times, I’ve taken these figures from that ticket site, and I’m flagging it. For Wednesday 21 October 2026, checked on 12 October, there were eight departures from Belgrade bound for the coast and calling at Podgorica, between 08:30 and 23:00. They take 9 to 10 hours to the capital and cost €28 to €35, before the station fee.

The operators are Serbian and Montenegrin, Lasta with MS Tours, Božur, Blue Line, Royal Travel, Ozlem, Trans Jug, Jadran Bus and Lens, and most carry on to Budva and Herceg Novi. Most go via Zlatibor; the 08:30 runs via Raška and the 20:00 via Kraljevo. They reach Budva between 05:40 and 10:00 the next morning, for €32 to €38, and Kotor after 11 to 12 hours on the road, for €34 to €39.

Against the train, the coach is a little dearer to Podgorica, since the train costs €21.60 in second class, but it drops you right in Budva or Kotor with no change at Bar. I’d take it if the train is full or if I’m heading for the bay; for Podgorica or Bar I prefer the train, which also lets you stretch your legs.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Bar on Booking.com and filter by area before price.

How I’d do it

I’d ride it southbound, from Belgrade to Bar, to wake up in Montenegro and start the day by the sea. With time to spare, hop off at Kolašin and carry on to Podgorica the next day. And if your trip takes in other countries, have a look at Montenegro and the Balkans.