Montenegro and Albania: how to cross and what to see either side

Albania is the neighbour I’d pair with Montenegro if you’ve already done Dubrovnik, or simply want something quieter than the Croatian coast. The two countries share a lake, a mountain range and a river, so the border isn’t a line you cross and forget, it’s part of the landscape. Here’s how the crossings work, drawing on MONSTAT and the tourism board, and what I’d see on the Montenegrin side.

Lake, mountain and river

MONSTAT measures the Albanian border at 189.69 km, the country’s second longest after Bosnia and Herzegovina. It cuts across Lake Skadar, climbs into Prokletije and, at the southern tip, follows the river Bojana, whose last 30 km inside Montenegro mark the frontier down to the Adriatic beside Ada Bojana.

There are four road crossings listed by the National Tourism Organisation. Božaj is in the municipality of Tuzi, Sukobin in Ulcinj, and the other two are Grnčar and Cijevna Zatrijebačka. The full list for every neighbour is in Montenegro’s border crossings. If you’ve hired a car, read the small print first, because a rental contract that’s fine in Montenegro may not cover Albania.

Lake Skadar, the shared centrepiece

The lake is what really ties the two countries together. National Parks of Montenegro explains that Montenegro gained half of it in 1878, that it was the heart of medieval Duklja and Zeta, and that early in the 16th century the country passed into the sanjak of Shkodër, the Albanian city on the southern shore. The Montenegrin side has been a national park since 1983, with a €5 day ticket. A boat out of Virpazar or Rijeka Crnojevića is, for me, the high point of any trip between the two, and the practical side is in Lake Skadar.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Ulcinj for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

Ulcinj and Tuzi, the Albanian-speaking south

Down south the Albanian influence is obvious. The Constitution puts Albanian in official use, and in the 2023 census 4.97% of people declared themselves Albanian and 5.25% gave it as their mother tongue. Ulcinj is also Ulqin, Tuzi is Tuz and Gusinje, far to the north, is Guci. Ulcinj, with its old town on the rock and the 13 km Velika plaža, is the last big town before the border, covered in Ulcinj. Tuzi, by the Božaj crossing, has the Šipčanik wine cellar in a former military hangar.

Hiking over in Prokletije

To the east, Prokletije forms a natural border with Albania and Kosovo, and the National Tourism Organisation counts over twenty peaks higher than 2,500 m there. Plenty of routes, including the Peaks of the Balkans, cross away from the official points, and that has its own procedure. The tourism board’s annex explains that the request goes to the border police of whichever country you’re walking into, on their official form, together with a passport copy and two fees, €2 and €3 a head. It doesn’t say how much notice they need, so I’d apply weeks ahead and to both countries. More in Prokletije National Park.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Ulcinj on GetYourGuide.

A week across both

With seven days, I’d do the Montenegrin south (Budva, Bar and Ulcinj), add Lake Skadar and then cross into Albania at Sukobin or Božaj. With ten, I’d add a few days walking in Prokletije from Gusinje and Plav. One thing worth remembering as a British visitor is that Montenegro isn’t in Schengen, and gov.uk confirms your days there don’t eat into a Schengen allowance. Albania has its own entry rules, so check both countries’ pages on gov.uk before you go.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Ulcinj for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.