Naturist beaches in Montenegro, north to south

Montenegro has more of a naturist tradition than many people expect, and the national tourist board promotes it without fuss, with a page devoted to its naturist beaches. They come in all shapes, from a whole resort on a river island to coves you can only reach by boat. Here they are from north to south.

Herceg Novi and the Bay of Kotor

Njivice is about 7 km from Herceg Novi and 3 km from Igalo, and you can drive there. Most of the beach sits beneath steep rocks, so there’s shade even without a parasol. Inside the bay, off Tivat, Sveti Marko island, now known as Stradioti, has lots of small coves among olive trees and Mediterranean scrub, wild and reachable only by sea, one of them naturist. The rest of the beaches in the area are covered in beaches in Tivat.

Budva

On the big beach at Jaz, about 2 km from Budva towards Kotor, the official atlas of Montenegrin beaches marks a naturist bathing area with the code 2G, pebbly and with very clear water. South of Sveti Stefan, a short walk brings you to several small red-sand coves among the rocks, Crvena glavica, and one of them is naturist. The path is steep and uneven, but the national tourist board insists it’s worth the effort.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Ulcinj before prices climb.

Bar

The Bar tourist board lists Ratac as a naturist beach on Cape Ratac, between Bar and Sutomore. The headland splits it into two small pebble beaches screened from the road by pine trees, and the ruins of the 11th-century monastery of the Virgin Mary of Ratac stand at its tip. All of Bar’s beaches are covered in beaches in Bar.

Ulcinj

The big naturist destination is Ada Bojana, the river island at the southern border, which the national tourist board calls the country’s largest naturist resort. It has about three kilometres of sand, with tents, a campsite and fishermen’s rafts to sleep in, plus horse riding, water sports and birdwatching on offer too. In town, next to Ženska plaža, which is women-only from May to October, there’s the pine-wood beach on the Ratislav peninsula, a mix of rock, concrete and gravel that the same site recommends for anyone with breathing problems. The others are in Ulcinj beaches.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Ulcinj and choose by the reviews.

Worth knowing

I’d stick to the beaches and zones marked as naturist, which are the ones the national tourist board publishes, plus Ratac from the Bar tourist board. For beach types and maps, the national tourist board refers you to the beach atlas of the Public Company for Management of Marine Assets, the body that manages Montenegro’s beaches. On the naturist beaches themselves, I would apply the usual courtesy and take no photos of other bathers.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Ulcinj before prices climb.