Skadar Lake by taxi
The biggest lake in the Balkans is an hour inland from the beaches and a different country: reeds, water lilies, pelicans and stone villages. The way in for almost everyone is Virpazar, where the boats leave. This page explains the ride from Podgorica and the coast, where drivers stop, the other side of the lake at Rijeka Crnojevića, and the one thing to plan: the way back.
6 min readUpdated
- Licensed local drivers
- Drop-off at the Virpazar bridge for the boats
- Return scheduled from a village with few cars
How do I get to Skadar Lake without a car?
Book a MonteGO taxi to Virpazar, the lake's main village, from Podgorica, Podgorica Airport, Budva, Bar or Petrovac. The driver drops you by the bridge in the centre, where the boat trips leave. Boats run through the day in season and take you into the reeds and open water. Because few cars are based in Virpazar, schedule the return in the app when you book the outbound ride, or agree the full round trip as one offer.
- Virpazar: the boats, the bridge, the cafés
- Rijeka Crnojevića: the stone bridge and the viewpoint above
- From the coast through the Sozina tunnel; from Podgorica across the plain
- Return scheduled or agreed as a round trip
How to book this ride
Book to Virpazar or Rijeka Crnojevića
Set the village as the destination. For a boat trip, Virpazar; for the famous viewpoint and the river, Rijeka Crnojevića.
Take a boat from the bridge
Boats of every size leave from the centre of Virpazar; you choose the length of the trip with the boatman.
Have the way back settled
Schedule the return when you book, or make one offer for the round trip. Pay the driver directly at the end.
Virpazar: where the lake starts
Virpazar is a small village at the edge of the marsh, built around a bridge over a lake channel, and it is the base for almost every visit to Skadar Lake. The boats leave from the water right by the bridge, the cafés and konobas are within a few steps, and the national park visitor centre is at the entrance to the village. A MonteGO driver drops you in the centre by the bridge; nothing in Virpazar is more than a short walk from there.
Boat trips range from an hour in the nearby channels to half a day out to the monasteries and the open lake; in season boatmen wait at the bridge and you agree the trip on the spot. Morning light is best for birds, late afternoon for the water lilies; midday in August is hot on the water, so take a hat.
Rijeka Crnojevića and the viewpoint
On the western side of the lake, Rijeka Crnojevića is a stone village where a river winds into the lake under an old bridge, and the viewpoint on the road above it is one of the most photographed places in Montenegro. It is reached from Cetinje or from Virpazar along the lake road, and the two villages combine well: boat at Virpazar, lunch on the river at Rijeka, the viewpoint on the way out. Ask the driver to stop at Pavlova Strana, the bend where the view opens up.
From Podgorica, the airport and the coast
From Podgorica and its airport the ride crosses the plain south of the city and reaches Virpazar quickly; it is the easiest half day from the capital and a natural stop between the airport and the coast if you are heading to Bar or Ulcinj. From Budva, Bečići and Petrovac the road goes through the Sozina tunnel and drops to the lake; from Bar it is the same tunnel from the other side. Every one of these is a comfortable day trip with the return arranged.
The way back from a quiet village
Virpazar has very few cars based in it, and after a boat trip in the late afternoon the village empties. Do not rely on finding a ride at the bridge. Either schedule the return in the MonteGO app when you book the ride out, with a pickup time that leaves room for the boat and lunch, or agree the whole excursion as one offer with a driver who waits or comes back for you. For Rijeka Crnojevića and Murići the same applies with more force.
Other ways to reach Skadar Lake
Honest comparison. The Bar–Podgorica railway stops at Virpazar and is the cheapest way from either end if the timetable suits; the station is a short walk from the bridge. Buses along the Podgorica–Bar road stop near the village. Organised tours from Budva and Podgorica include a boat and lunch on a fixed schedule. Driving yourself is easy to Virpazar and awkward beyond it, on the narrow lake roads. For a day with a boat and a fixed return, a taxi in and a scheduled taxi back is the simplest combination.
Common questions
Book a MonteGO taxi to Virpazar. The road runs through the Sozina tunnel and down to the lake, and the driver drops you at the bridge where the boats leave. Schedule the return in the app when you book, or agree the round trip as one offer.
From the water beside the bridge in the centre of Virpazar. In season boatmen wait there and you agree the length of the trip on the spot. Taxis drop you right by the bridge.
Yes. The lake is a short ride across the plain from the airport and a natural stop on the way to Bar or Ulcinj. Put Virpazar as the destination and, if you are continuing to the coast, agree the whole trip as one offer.
Plan it before you go: schedule the return in the app when you book the outbound ride, or make one offer for the round trip with a driver who waits. Few cars are based in the village, so a ride found on the spot is not guaranteed.
Yes. The stone bridge, the river restaurants and the Pavlova Strana viewpoint above the bend are the lake's other classic sights, easily combined with Virpazar in one day by taxi.
Yes, the Bar–Podgorica line stops at Virpazar, a short walk from the bridge. It is the cheapest option when the timetable fits; a taxi covers the times it does not and the villages beyond.
Related pages
To the boats, and back before dark
Install MonteGO, set Virpazar as the destination and schedule the return before you step onto the water.
Free to download. No booking fee. Pay the driver directly.