Montenegro – Coast

Montenegro's short coast packs in a remarkable density of wrecks. At the mouth of the Bay of Kotor the Austro-Hungarian steamer Tihany, a Yugoslav patrol boat, a First World War torpedo boat and an RAF Spitfire lie within a few kilometres of Mamula island, while the cliffs of Luštica hide caves and a former navy submarine tunnel. Off Budva the rock of Galiola and the tunnels of Sveti Nikola island are easy boat dives, and the Oreste wreck lies off Trsteno. Further south come the Katič islets off Petrovac, the cruiser SMS Zenta at around 73 m, the destroyer Dague in Bar and the wrecks and islet of Stari Ulcinj. Three marine nature parks – Platamuni, Katič and Stari Ulcinj – were declared in 2021.

Facts

Best season: May – October; Budva centres open roughly April to October, Adriatic Blue in Herceg Novi dives year-round
Water and visibility: About 20–27 °C in season and 10–18 m visibility around Budva according to Budva Diving; wrecks off Bar and Ulcinj often have poor visibility
Getting there: Airports: Tivat (TIV) for the Bay of Kotor and Budva, Podgorica (TGD) for Bar and Ulcinj; Dubrovnik (DBV) in Croatia is close to Herceg Novi
Diving permit: No state recreational diving permit or diving law could be found: in 2024 the head of the state underwater demining centre said Montenegro has no diving law and no permit is needed. Centres check your PADI/SSI/CMAS card and set minimum levels per site. Rules may change – check current rules
Organised diving: No law was found that makes diving with a centre mandatory, but sites are unmarked, boat traffic is heavy and the centres strongly recommend a local guide; protected areas and military or port zones are off-limits without permission. Check current rules
Protected wrecks and heritage: Underwater cultural goods are state property under the 2010 Law on Protection of Cultural Goods (fines EUR 400–16,000). Protected underwater sites such as Risan Bay, the royal yacht Rumija, the galleon off Cape Kabala and Bigovica cove are for research only, and a 2017 study notes clubs have no permission to dive archaeological sites. The Zenta is not on the protected list, but taking anything from any wreck is illegal. Check current rules
Marine nature parks: Platamuni (April 2021), Katič (2021) and Stari Ulcinj (December 2021) are managed by JP Morsko dobro. In their zone II only controlled visits in designated parts are allowed, anchoring is restricted (banned outright at Stari Ulcinj), boats are limited to 10 knots and activities need a nature-protection permit; no diving fee was found. Katič's zone rules could not be checked. Check current rules with JP Morsko dobro
Fees: No state diving fee and no marine-park diving fee were found. A municipal tourist tax is charged per night (set locally). Check current rules
Lake Skadar: Lake Skadar is a national park (entry EUR 5 per day) and Ramsar site; neither the park's price list nor its fee decision mentions diving, and no legally dived site was found, so the lake is not mapped. Ask the park administration (JP Nacionalni parkovi Crne Gore) first
Hazards: Several wrecks (Dague, Suleiman's Ship) still hold old ammunition – never touch it. Military and port areas in the Bay of Kotor may be restricted; respect posted signs and ask the harbour master or your centre

Season

Best months: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep
Acceptable: May, Oct
Poor: Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Water temperature: 14–26 °C

Most dive centres open in June once the water warms up: about 18 C in May, 26 C in August, 22–24 C in September and about 20 C in October. The Bay of Kotor is rainy and humid; visibility about 8–15 m. Most centres are closed in winter.

Dive sites (37)

Budva Riviera

Azzuro Caves – 5–18 m, beginner
Fisherman Boat Wreck (Budva) – 21 m, beginner
Galiola – 5–30 m, intermediate
Maria Pompei – 75 m, advanced
Mogren Cove – 3–18 m, beginner
Oreste Wreck – 32 m, advanced
Platamuni Wall – 65 m, advanced
Podkaplje Krekavica Cave – 4–32 m, intermediate
The Lighthouse (Sveti Nikola) – 5–40 m, intermediate
The Pyramid – 3–22 m, beginner
The Tunnels – 4–14 m, beginner

Bay of Kotor (Boka Kotorska)

Blue Cave (Plava špilja) – 7–25 m, beginner
Cliff Veslo (Rt Veslo) – 70 m, advanced
Golešnica (Torpedo Boat 76T) – 35 m, advanced
Gorgonija (Boka entrance) – 24–33 m, advanced
Higins Wreck – 30–32 m, advanced
Kumbor Wreck – 18–22 m, intermediate
Mamula Island (Lastavica) – 5–40 m, beginner
Parobrod Cetinje – 40–41 m, advanced
Patrol Boat (Žanjic) – 17–25 m, intermediate
Remorker 38 (Perast tug) – 5–18 m, intermediate
Spitfire Mk IX (Kabala) – 32 m, advanced
Submarine Tunnel (Rose) – 18 m, beginner
Tihany Wreck – 40–42 m, advanced
Well of Souls (Veslo) – 2–30 m, advanced

Bar & Ulcinj

Dague Wreck (Volujica) – 15–18 m, beginner
Junkers Ju 88 (Čanj) – 54 m, advanced
Mikovića Cave – 4–7 m, advanced
Queen's Beach (Kraljičina plaža) – 5–25 m, beginner
Quinto Wreck – 32 m, advanced
Spiridon Trawler – 26 m, intermediate
Stari Ulcinj – 5–25 m, intermediate
Suleiman's Ship (Port Milena) – 16 m, intermediate
The Cannon Ship (Volujica) – 50 m, advanced

Petrovac & Katič

Donkova Seka – 1–30 m, beginner
Katič Islets (Mali Katič) – 30 m, beginner
SMS Zenta – 73 m, advanced

Operators (5)

Budva Diving Center – dive centre, Slovenska obala, Budva
Diving Montenegro (Budva) – dive centre, Sports centre (indoor pool), Slovenska obala, Budva
Adriatic Blue Diving Club – dive centre, City port Škver, Herceg Novi
Pro Diving Montenegro – dive centre, Hotel Maestral, Pržno (Sveti Stefan)
Peoples Diving Club – dive centre, Šetalište Pet Danica 8 (Milašinović beach), Herceg Novi

Routes (6)

Site positions are approximate unless marked otherwise and are for orientation only — never for navigation. Many Montenegrin sites have no published position; always dive with a local centre, respect protected areas and wrecks, and check current rules.