Summer in Montenegro, between the beach and the mountains

Summer is the season everyone pictures in Montenegro, and with good reason. It’s beach-warm, it barely rains and the evenings stay light late. But there are two sides worth knowing before you book, the heat inland and the crowds on the coast. Here’s what each month is like and how I’d plan it.

The weather, June to August

The Institute of Hydrometeorology’s long-term averages for 1961-1990 make it plain. Herceg Novi goes from a 21.6°C average in June to 24.3°C in July, and July and August both see average highs of 29.4°C. Rain is scarce, six days on average in July, and July sunshine tops 340 hours. Inland is a different matter. In Podgorica July highs average 31.8°C, some 23 days top 30°C, and the 2024 peak was 41.1°C. The National Tourism Organisation puts it bluntly, temperatures at lower altitudes can reach 40°C.

June, July and August aren’t the same

June is, to me, the best summer month. It’s already warm enough for the beach, but Herceg Novi averages only four days of 30°C or more. July and August are the peak of the heat and the visitors; the tourist board admits that those two months bring the bulk of the coast’s visitors. August also has the bay’s best festivals.

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The beach, done sensibly

If you’re coming for the beach, choose carefully. On the Budva Riviera alone, the National Tourism Organisation counts close to 100,000 bathers a day at the peak. For somewhere calmer I’d look at the Bay of Kotor or Luštica, where beaches such as Plavi horizonti have fine sand and pine woods. My national ranking is in Montenegro beaches. And one piece of gov.uk advice I find useful, follow the flags and lifeguards and watch for speedboats and jet skis, which sometimes come too close to swimmers.

The northern escape

When the coast gets too much, the mountains are the answer. In Žabljak, below Durmitor, July averages 13.9°C, and in Kolašin 15.7°C. The National Tourism Organisation specifically recommends a relaxing break in the northern villages and towns in July and August. I’d mix the two, a week on the coast and three or four days in the mountains.

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Summer festivals

In June, Choose Vision fills Forte Mare in Herceg Novi with electronic music, and Tivat runs its Purgatorije theatre festival from the middle of June until the close of August, according to the town’s 2026 calendar. 13 July is Statehood Day, a two-day national holiday. From 10 to 20 July Herceg Novi holds its Days of Music, and August brings Kotor’s Boka Night on the third Saturday and Herceg Novi’s Guitar Art Summer Fest from 15 to 20 August. Remember too that wildfire risk runs from April to October, and gov.uk asks you not to light fires outside marked areas.