Where to stay in Ulcinj: old town, centre, Štoj or Long Beach

Ulcinj has no big chains and no five-star hotels, which I count in its favour. What it does have is accommodation spread across four very different areas, and getting the area right matters more than getting the hotel right. The municipality clocked up 1,572,353 overnight stays in 2024, according to MONSTAT, so for July and August it pays to book early.

Inside the old town

This is the option with the most character. The Ulcinj tourist board’s list includes Palata Venezia, four stars, and Kulla e Balshajve, three stars, both with old-town addresses, and its old-town page explains that Palata Venezia, thought to have been the Venetian governor’s residence, and Dvori Balšića now take guests. Staying here gives you evening walks round Ulcinj Old Town and Mala plaža a few steps away. The trade-off is steps, narrow lanes and little room for a car, as you’d expect inside town walls.

In the centre

The new town has most of the hotels on the list, among them Nobel and Mediteran Villa Edition, both four-star; Vue Mer, three-star; and Albatros, two-star, on the street leading down to the pine wood and the rocky coves of the same name. The list adds Haus Freiburg, four stars, Aida, three, and Hot and Prego, two. It’s the area I’d recommend for a first visit, as it puts restaurants, Mala plaža and the old town together, and everything else is a short drive away.

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

In Štoj

Behind Velika plaža, Štoj grew after the 1979 earthquake into a district of large houses built for letting. The preliminary 2023 census gives Donji Štoj 1,335 residents and 8,036 dwellings, which tells you how much holiday letting goes on. The official list places Zan and Biser in Donji Štoj and Imperial in Štoj, all three-star.

On Velika plaža

On the long beach itself are Hotel Otrant and Azul Beach Resort, both four-star according to the list, the latter with its own page, Azul Beach Resort Montenegro. The national tourist board says the kitesurfing schools have camping areas, and on Ada Bojana you can choose between tents, a campsite and fishermen’s rafts. This is the area for anyone heading to Velika plaža to spend the whole day on the sand.

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

Before you book

Ulcinj charges €1 a day per adult in tourist tax, with 50% off for ages 12 to 18 and nothing for under-12s, and your accommodation collects it. The 24-hour registration rule applies here too; a hotel handles it, while in a private let the Foreign Office says the job falls to you. The star ratings on this page come from the Ulcinj tourist board’s list. If you’re weighing Ulcinj against other parts of the country, the comparison lives in where to stay in Montenegro.

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