Booking air tickets is an important part of preparing for any long journey, be it a vacation, moving or a business trip. Going to an unfamiliar country, it is important to plan your route in advance and decide which city is the best to start your trip from. Therefore, when preparing for a trip to the sunny Balkans, it is worth finding out as much as possible about the airports of Montenegro.
Country features
Small and picturesque Montenegro gained independence quite recently - in the summer of 2006. Before that, the country was part of Serbia, and even earlier it was part of Yugoslavia.
The Balkan wars of the nineties of the last century for the most part bypassed these lands, but could not but affect their economic growth. Therefore, all large objects of transport infrastructure, including airfields, were inherited by the Mediterranean state from the heyday of Yugoslavia, which fell in the late 70s - early 80s of the XX century.
At present, the operator and owner of all air stations in the country is the state-owned company Aerodromi Crne Gora, whose name translates as "Airfields of Montenegro".
An important feature of the country's air gates is its pronounced seasonality. Indeed, with a population of about 600 thousand people, about 1.7 million tourists visit Montenegro per year, and most of them enter the country by air.
Most of the tours take place in the spring and summer months, and the passenger traffic through the air harbors during this period increases significantly. Therefore, it is advisable to arrive at them 2 hours before departure.
International airports of the balkan state
As of 2021, the following international airports in Montenegro are operating:
- Tivat, located near the city of Tivat;
- Golubovtsi, which is located near the state capital of Podgorica.
Both of them serve mainly European destinations. Flights from other continents to Montenegro are almost never encountered.
Let's consider the features of each airport separately.
Tivat
Tivat airport is located at a distance of four kilometers from the ancient city of Tivat. Its history began in 1957, when it was opened for intra-Yugoslav flights. In 1971, upon completion of the reconstruction, the airfield received international status and since then has been steadily receiving flights from all over Europe.
A key feature of Tivat is the sharp fluctuations in workload during the season, since the number of regular flights in this direction is small and most of the traffic is charters. If in winter it can take about 3-4 flights a day, then in summer their number reaches dozens.
The area of the Tivat terminal is just over 4,000 m2, so there are frequent queues at passport control. Despite the proximity to the city, during the influx of tourists, getting from the airfield to the city can be problematic, so it is better to book a transfer in advance. Moreover, there are no bus stops at the airport itself and to get to the bus, you need to walk about 100 meters to the Yadranskoye highway.
Due to the peculiarities of the existing infrastructure, as of 2021, flights are accepted and dispatched only during daylight hours.
For visitors to Tivat on its territory there are:
- cafeteria;
- Duty Free;
- souvenir shops.
It should be noted that the level of prices in cafes for all meals and drinks (especially alcoholic ones) is quite high and comparable to prices at other European airports. In addition, the cafeteria is located not in the departure hall, but before the air control counter. Consider this when planning your snacks.
The Duty Free store, by the way, turns out to be no more profitable than the discount stores in Budva.
Up-to-date information on the flight schedule can be found on the official website of the airport Tivat. You can contact its representatives by calling the help desk + 382-32-671-337, by fax + 382-32-670-950 or by e-mail [email protected].
Golubovtsi (Podgorica)
Golubovci Airport in Podgorica, named after the nearby town, is located 11 km from the Montenegrin capital. Despite this, getting from it to the hotel is sometimes easier than from Tivat - queues are rare here, and there are usually enough seats on buses to the city for everyone.
This is due to the fact that this airfield is primarily focused on receiving regular flights, not charters, and accordingly, seasonal fluctuations are less pronounced here. In addition, Podgorica is located a little further from the main Mediterranean resorts of the country, so most beach lovers fly to Tivat.
And the area of the new terminal, which was opened in 2006, is noticeably larger than in Tivat, and amounts to 5500 m2.
The equipment of the Podgorica airfield allows it to receive and send flights around the clock. For clients on its territory are open:
- 2 cafeterias;
- Duty-Free shop;
- two kiosks with newspapers;
- several branches of the Bank of Montenegro;
- car rental office.
The airport's flight schedule is available in the corresponding section of its website. You can clarify the data of interest in the help desk at tel. + 382–20–444–244, by fax + 382–20–444–231 or by email [email protected].
Other air harbors of the country
Even from a formal point of view, the answer to the question of how many airports in Montenegro will be incomplete without mentioning those that do not have international status or are not used at all:
A complete list of such objects includes:
- Berana airfield is the only non-international airport with a terminal building. It was opened in 1935, the last commercial flight took off in 1975. Since then, it has been used by the local aviation club and is awaiting the renovation that Montenegrin politicians have been promising since 2007.
- Niksic, located in the city of the same name. Built in the 30s of the last century, since the 90s it has been used only by the local air club. The construction of the terminal and the KDP tower continues there.
- Spiro Mogos, located in Podgorica. Before the construction, Golubovtsev was the only one in the capital, but since then it has been used only by the local air club. One of the country's four air ports along with international and Beran, which has a paved runway.
- Zabljak in the city of the same name, the entire history of its existence is used only by local aviation.
- Ulcinj in the southern city of the same name has never been actively used and has long been abandoned.
Airlines routes
You can get to the sunny country from Russia from Moscow (Domodedovo) by flights of the following Russian companies:
- S7 Airlines;
- NordStar Airlines;
- Yamal;
- Ural Airlines (flights of this company are also available from Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara).
All of them land at Tivat airport. Regular flights of Aeroflot go there from Sheremetyevo, and the Pobeda company sends its liners to Tivat from Vnukovo.
You can get to Tivat from St. Petersburg with the help of the Rossiya company or using the services of Montenegro Airlines. The Montenegrin company also operates the only regular flight between Moscow (Domodedovo) and Podgorica.
The average cost of a flight to Tivat depends on the season. In spring, winter and autumn round-trip tickets will cost about 10,000 rubles, while in summer their cost rises to 15,000 rubles. The most expensive flight is in July - at this time, the price of a flight can go up to 17 thousand rubles.
Prices for tickets from Moscow to Podgorica are less susceptible to seasonal fluctuations: in summer they cost about 14,000 rubles, and in other seasons their cost fluctuates around 11,000 rubles.
Which airlines fly to Montenegro from the Russian Federation also depends on the time of year. Some firms serve this area only in the summer, when there is an influx of tourists.From Russia in the summer to Podgorica, additional Montenegro Airlines flights from St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad begin to depart.
If you are considering the possibility of a transfer in Montenegro or would like to continue your vacation after a seaside vacation in some other European country, then you should know that liners depart from Tivat in the following main directions:
- Belgrade (Air Serbia and Montenegro Airlines);
- Brussels (Thomas Cook Airlines);
- London and Paris (Montenegro Airlines);
- Oslo and Stockholm (SAS);
- Kiev (Yanair, Windrose Airlines and Khors);
- Leipzig (Germania);
- Frankfurt am Main (Condor).
Podgorica is connected by regular flights with:
- Belgrade (Jat Airways, Montenegro Airlines);
- Zagreb (Croatia Airlines);
- Vienna (Austrian Airlines and Montenegro Airlines);
- Budapest (Malév Hungarian Airlines);
- Minsk (Belavia);
- Istanbul (Turkish Airlines);
- London (Ryanair);
- Paris, Frankfurt, Naples, Rome and Zurich (Montenegro Airlines).
How to choose a destination
If you are going to fly to Montenegro from Russia or other non-Balkan countries, the choice will essentially come down to one of two international airports. The main criterion to consider is the distance from the end point of your route to the hub in question.
This is how the airports of Montenegro are located on the map.
It is convenient to examine them in more detail using Google or Yandex maps.
It is easy to see that both transport hubs are located near the Mediterranean coast, far enough from the eastern regions of the state. So if you are interested not in a beach holiday, but in excursions to remote regions of the country, then it would be better to fly to Podgorica, which is usually less busy.
The map shows that, for example, the nearest airport to Budva is in Tivat (cities are located very close), but if you want to get to Bar, then you should book a flight to Podgorica.
If you find it difficult to estimate the distance on the maps, refer to the table of the approximate duration of the trip between the most popular resorts in the country and its air gates:
| Town | Travel time to / from Tivat, hours | Travel time to / from Golubovtsi (Podgorica), hours |
|---|---|---|
| Budva | 0.5 | 1 |
| Becici | 0.5 | 1 |
| Herceg Novi | 1 | 2 |
| Kotor | 0.2 (10 minutes) | 1.5 |
| Kolashin | more than 3 | 1.5 |
| Petrovac | 1 | 1 |
| Ulcin | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Cetinje | 0.75 (45 minutes) | 1 |
The average travel time between the two airfields is about an hour and a half.
Holders of a Schengen visa or a national visa for Croatia wishing to visit the resorts of northwestern Montenegro, in particular Herceg Novi, instead of flying to Tivat, can go to the Croatian airport Dubrovnik - even if it is a little further, but it is rarely as congested as the Tivat airfield ...
Regardless of the route chosen, if you are going to visit Montenegro in the midst of the high tourist season (from late June to mid-September), it would be wise not to rely on buses and other public transport, but to book a shuttle transfer to your hotel in advance. This will save you both time and money as public transport will be crowded with tourists and taxi prices almost double in high season. If in the low and transitional seasons the trip from Tivat to Budva will cost no more than 30 euros, then in summer no taxi driver will be lucky for a tourist for less than 50 €.
Another option, which will allow you not to depend on the peculiarities of the local transport, is to order a car rental, which will be delivered directly to the airport.
Conclusion
Choosing between the two international airports in Montenegro is best based on how close they are to the resort you are going to visit. It should be borne in mind that during the summer months, Tivat can be very overloaded.
You can get to Montenegro from Moscow by regular flights of Aeroflot, Ural Airlines, Montenegro Airlines and other companies.
