Zeta, the airport plain on the shore of Lake Skadar

Nearly everyone who flies into Podgorica sets foot in Zeta before the capital, though few realise it. It’s the plain that opens up south of the city, flat, farmed and dotted with villages that run into one another, and it ends at the shore of Lake Skadar. Zeta has neither an old quarter nor a monument that justifies coming specially. What it does have is the airport, the river that gives it its name and one of the gateways to the lake’s national park.

A municipality of farmland

Zeta had 16,071 residents in the 2023 census, 22 settlements and 152 km², an area MONSTAT lists as provisional. The main town is Golubovci, with 2,557 people in the preliminary count, closely followed by Mahala on 2,454 and Mojanovići on 1,702. It’s the smallest of the six municipalities of central Montenegro by area and recorded 3,656 tourist arrivals in 2024.

The name has a long pedigree. The National Tourism Organisation explains that the medieval state of Duklja took the name Zeta in the 11th century, when it was a kingdom ruled by the Vojislavljević family. Today it’s first and foremost the name of a river and its valley.

The airport at Golubovci

Airports of Montenegro gives the address of Podgorica airport as Aerodromski put 14, Golubovci, and the Tourist Organisation of Podgorica puts it 12 km from the capital. Useful to know on arrival, parking is €1.50 per hour, €8 per day or €80 per month, there are several car hire firms in the terminal and there’s a medical service with a doctor on duty. Gov.uk warns that not every taxi can pick up there, so I’d use the official rank or check beforehand that a pre-booked car is authorised.

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The River Zeta and its valley

MONSTAT gives the Zeta a length of 65 km. The Tourist Organisation of Podgorica explains that at its mouth it carries more water than the Morača, even though the Morača is longer, and that its water drives three hydroelectric plants. It describes the river as home to native trout and its valley as an important ecosystem for the country. Once they meet, the two rivers cross this plain to the lake.

Vranjina and Lake Skadar

The reason to turn off the main road is the water. At Vranjina, a village of 129 people, is one of the two visitor centres of Lake Skadar National Park, the other being at Virpazar, and one of the piers where lake cruises start. Park entry is €5 per person per day and covers those centres, according to National Parks of Montenegro, and the Vranjina centre’s phone number is +382 20 879 103.

Lake Skadar is the largest lake in the Balkans according to the National Tourism Organisation, with around 280 bird species. If I were coming from the airport with little time, I’d see it from Vranjina; with more, I’d carry on to Virpazar for a boat trip.

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