Montenegro's sandy beaches, from Mogren to Velika plaža

The question I’d expect from anyone before a trip to Montenegro is whether there are any sandy beaches. The short answer is yes, but not many, and they’re clustered together. Most of the country’s 117 beaches are pebble or rock, and some names are misleading, such as Veliki pijesak, big sand, in Dobra Voda, which its own listing describes as pebbles with the odd sandy stretch. Here are the ones that genuinely are sandy.

Ulcinj, the one real sandy area

At the southern tip is Velika plaža, 13 km of greyish-white sand, each grain a tenth to half a millimetre across according to the Ulcinj tourist board, and a seabed of the same that shelves very gently. At its end, Ada Bojana adds about three kilometres of sand on the river island. And in town, Mala plaža, 360 metres long, has the finest sand on the Ulcinj coast and water so shallow that the tourist board calls it a children’s paradise.

The Budva Riviera

The Budva tourist board lists Mogren, two fine-sand coves linked by a tunnel just outside the old town, Bečići, about 2,000 metres and the riviera’s long beach, Kamenovo, 330 metres, the Sveti Stefan isthmus, King’s Beach at Miločer, 280 metres, and Lučice, a 220-metre cove of golden sand by Petrovac. Petrovac itself has 600 metres of reddish sand facing its islets. Beware the best-known town beaches, though, as Slovenska plaža is mostly pebbles and Jaz has a pebbly shore with a sandy seabed.

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

Bar

The municipality’s big sandy beach is Sutomore, 1,200 metres and 56,000 m², lively and fully equipped. In the same resort, Golden Coast is the Inex hotel’s fine-sand beach, 240 metres long and reserved for guests. Between Sutomore and Bar, Red Beach is a 50-metre bay of reddish sand, and on the shore of Lake Skadar, Murići has 560 metres of sand that the Bar tourist board rates the best beach on the lake. Queen’s Beach near Čanj is also listed as sandy, though you can only reach it by sea, on the water taxis from Bar marina.

Sand as a cure

In Ulcinj the sand is more than somewhere to lie down. Ulcinj has been an official spa and climate resort since 1992, and its tourist board says the beach sand is unusually clean and fine, contains around thirty minerals and is recommended for rheumatism, sciatica and back and joint problems. Whether or not you buy into the cure, it makes a pleasant excuse for a long afternoon on Velika plaža.

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

What I’d do

With small children, Ulcinj every time, for the seabed. As a couple who don’t want to miss out on Budva, Bečići to stay and Mogren or Lučice to swim. And if clear water matters more to you than sand, the pebbly coves of Luštica and Bar beat many sandy beaches.

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