General European train travel information

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There are two ways to travel from the UK to Montenegro, both have their own appeal - feel free to go out one way and back the other.

• Option 1, travel all the way by train, using the spectacularly scenic Belgrade-Podgorica-Bar railway.

• Option 2, travel from the UK to Bari in Italy by train, then sail across the Adriatic to Bar on a Montenegro Lines ferry.

Option 1, London to Podgorica, Bar, Budva by train via Belgrade

This option involves comfortable modern trains all the way to Belgrade, then a ride on the famous Belgrade-Bar Railway, recognised as one of Europe's most scenic.

London ► Montenegro

• Step 1, travel from London to Belgrade as shown on the London to Serbia page.

  This takes 2 days, 1 night, with several good departures and exact routings.  Allow at least 2 hours to make connections in Belgrade in case of any delay, and if necessary, stop overnight in Belgrade - I recommend the classic, historic but affordable Hotel Moskva.  Visiting Belgrade.  Belgrade stations information.

  The Zagreb-Belgrade train remains suspended due to Covid-19

• Step 2, travel from Belgrade to Podgorica or Bar via the famous and scenic Belgrade-Bar railway, either the daytime train or the overnight sleeper.  The trains to and from Montenegro now use Belgrade Topcider station, see Belgrade Topcider location map.  See the Belgrade to Bar page for any updates to train times on this route.

  The daytime train Tara leaves Belgrade Topcider station at 09:00 arriving Podgorica at 18:55 & Bar at 19:56.  The Tara has comfortable 2nd class seats and a cafe car.  See the video below.  The Tara is named after a Montenegrin river.  See photos of the Tara.

  The overnight train Lovcen leaves Belgrade Topcider station at 21:10 arriving Podgorica at 07:06 and Bar at 08:08.  The Lovcen has 1, 2 or 3 bed sleepers, 4-berth & 6-berth couchettes, see the photos below.  The Lovcen is named after a mountain and national park in southwest Montenegro.  See photos of the Lovcen.

• The Belgrade-Bar railway one of the most amazingly scenic rail routes in Europe, so a daytime journey in at least one direction is highly recommended - the northbound daytime train does the best bits in daylight, the southbound train reaches some of the nice bits after dark, depending on the time of year.  For the best scenery you must sit on the right hand side of the train going south.  See the Belgrade to Bar page for video & photos of this amazing train ride.

• Onward buses to Budva or Kotor:  Buses link both Podgorica & Bar with other towns such as Kotor & Budva, see www.visit-montenegro.com/transport-bus.htm.  Buses link Podgorica with Budva every half-hour from 05:45 to 21:25, distance 65 km, expect to pay �€6 or so.  Buses link Podgorica with Kotor every hour or so.  Buses link Bar with Budva every hour or better, 39 km.  Buses link Bar with Kotor every hour or two from 05:45 until 20:00.

Montenegro ► London

• Step 1, travel from Bar or Podgorica to Belgrade via the famous Bar-Belgrade railway.

  The daytime train Tara leaves Bar at 09:00 & Podgorica at 10:00 arriving Belgrade Topcider station at 20:02.  The Tara has comfortable 2nd class seats and a cafe car.  See photos of the Tara.

  The sleeper train Lovcen leaves Bar at 19:00 & Podgorica at 20:05 arriving Belgrade Topcider station at 06:12.  The Lovcen has 1, 2 or 3 bed sleepers, 6-berth and 4-berth couchettes.  See photos of the Lovcen.

  Allow at least 2 hours for connections in Belgrade, preferably more, as you'll need to transfer between stations.  You may want to stay overnight in Belgrade - I recommend the classic, historic but affordable Hotel Moskva.  Visiting Belgrade.  Belgrade stations information.  See the Belgrade to Bar page for any updates to train times on this route.

• As the Bar-Belgrade line is so scenic, a daytime journey in at least one direction is highly recommended. For the best scenery you must sit on the left hand side going North.  See the Belgrade to Bar page for times, fares, video & photos of this amazing train ride.

• Step 2, travel from Belgrade to London as shown on the London to Serbia page.  This takes 2 days, 1 night.

  The Belgrade-Zagreb train remains suspended due to Covid-19

Fares & how to buy tickets

• Book your London-Belgrade journey online as shown on the Serbia page.

• Belgrade to Bar costs €21 one-way.  For travel by night train, add €6 for a couchette, €15 for a bed in a 3-bed sleeper or €20 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper.  A reserved seat on the daytime train costs €3.

• Book the train from Belgrade to Montenegro at the station.  The very limited reservation system www.serbianrailways.com seems to have been discontinued.

What's the journey like? 

See the Belgrade to Bar page for a full account of this journey and what to see on the way.

Option 2, London to Podgorica, Bar, Budva by ferry from Italy

Montenegro Lines used to sail from Bari in Italy to Bar in Montenegro, but ceased trading in 2017.  However, Jadrolinija (www.jadrolinija.hr) resumed once a week sailings (twice a week in high summer) between Bari & Bar, making this route possible once more.

• Travel from London to Milan by Eurostar & TGV, stay overnight in Milan, then take a morning train to Bari as shown on the London to Italy page.

• Then sail overnight with a cosy cabin to Montenegro.  Check ferry sailing dates & book online at www.jadrolinija.hr.

  You should arrive in Bari at least 3 hours before the ferry sails, to allow for transfer to the port and check-in.  In Bari it's a 25 minute walk via Bari's pleasant old town to the ferry terminal, or a 10 minute taxi ride.

• Trains link Bar with Podgorica and indeed with Belgrade on the spectacular Bar-Belgrade Railway.  Buses link Bar bus station with Budva & Kotor.

The former Montenegro Lines ferry to Bari at Bar ferry terminal.

Bar ferry terminal.		Bar ferry terminal, from across the marina.

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European Rail Timetable & maps

The European Rail Timetable (formerly the Thomas Cook European Timetable) has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency & climate information.  It is essential for regular European train travellers and an inspiration for armchair travellers.  Published since 1873, it had just celebrated 140 years of publication when Thomas Cook decided to pull the plug on their entire publishing department, but the dedicated ex-Thomas Cook team set up a private venture and resumed publication of the famous European Rail Timetable in March 2014.  You can buy it online at www.amazon.co.uk (UK addresses) or www.europeanrailtimetable.eu (shipping worldwide).  More information on what the European Rail Timetable contains.

Rail Map Europe is the map I recommend, covering all of Europe from Portugal in the west to Moscow & Istanbul in the east, Finland in the north to Sicily & Athens in the south.  Scenic routes & high-speed lines are highlighted.  See an extract from the map.  Buy online at www.europeanrailtimetable.eu (shipping worldwide) or at www.amazon.co.uk (UK addresses).

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To get the most from your visit, you should take a good guidebook.  For the independent traveller, I think this means one of two guidebooks, either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide.  Both series are excellent.  You can buy a guide covering all the countries in Eastern Europe.  Lonely Planet Eastern Europe.

Click to buy online at Amazon...

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Find hotels in Montenegro

Backpacker hostels

www.hostelworld.com:  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.

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Travel insurance & other tips

Always take out travel insurance

You should take out travel insurance with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover from a reliable insurer.  It should cover trip cancellation and loss of cash & belongings up to a reasonable limit.  These days, check you're covered for covid-19-related issues, and use an insurer whose cover isn't invalidated by well-meant but excessive Foreign Office travel advice against non-essential travel. An annual policy is usually cheapest even for just 2 or 3 trips a year, I have an annual policy with Staysure.co.uk myself.  Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed connection, see the advice on missed connections here.  Here are some suggested insurers, I get a little commission if you buy through these links, feedback always welcome.

  www.staysure.co.uk offers enhanced Covid-19 protection and gets 4.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot.

  www.columbusdirect.com is also a well-know brand.

  If you live in the USA try Travel Guard USA.

Get an eSIM with mobile data package

Don't rely on WiFi, download an eSIM with a European mobile data package and stay connected.  Most newer mobile phones can download a virtual SIM including iPhone 11 & later, see device compatibility list.  There's no need to buy a physical SIM card!  Maya.net is a reliable eSIM data retailer with a 4.5 out of 5 Trustpilot rating and a range of packages including unlimited data.

Get a Curve card for foreign travel

Most banks give you a poor exchange rate then add a foreign transaction fee on top.  A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month as I write this.  The money you spend on your Curve card goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards.  And you can get a Curve card for free.

How it works:  1. Download the Curve app for iPhone or Android.  2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to the UK and most European addresses.  3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app, you can link up to two cards with the free version of Curve, I link my normal debit card and my normal credit card.  4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, exactly like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance in your own currency onto whichever debit or credit card is currently selected in the Curve app.  You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.

I have a Curve Blue card myself, it means I can buy a coffee on a foreign station on a card without being stung by fees and lousy exchange rates, just by tapping the Curve card on their card reader.  The money goes through Curve to my normal debit card and is taken directly from my account (in fact I have the Curve card set up as payment card on Apple Pay on my iPhone, so can double-click my phone, let it do Face ID then tap the reader with the phone - even easier than getting a card out).  I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I recommend it here because I think it's great.  See details, download the app and get a Curve card, they'll give you £5 cashback through that link.

Get a VPN for safe browsing.  Why you need a VPN

When travelling you may use free public WiFi which is often insecure.  A VPN encrypts your connection so it's always secure, even on unsecured WiFi.  It also means you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geoblocking which a surprising number of websites apply.  See VPNs & why you need one explained.  ExpressVPN is a best buy with a 4.7 out of 5 Trustpilot ranking which I use myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using this link you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription.  I also get some commission to help support this site.

Carry an Anker powerbank

Tickets, reservations, hotel bookings and Interrail or Eurail passes are often now held on your mobile phone.  You daren't let it run out of power, and you can't always rely on the phone's internal battery or on being near a power outlet.  I always carry an Anker powerbank which can recharge my phone several times over.  Buy from Amazon.co.uk or Buy from Amazon.com.

Touring cities?  Use hill walking shoes!

One of the best things I've done is swap my normal shoes for hill-walking shoes, in my case from Scarpa.  They're intended for hiking across the Pennines not wandering around Florence, but the support and cushioning for hiking works equally well when you're on your feet all day exploring foreign cities.  My feet used to give out first and limit my day, now the rest of me gives up before they do!

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