Cycling is a great way to explore the coast of Montenegro and inland Albania. Montenegro’s coast during the summer shines on the beautiful Ada Bojana island, a place famous for kite-surfing activities.
Albania’s roads in the area close to Shkoder are well-paved and less busy, which creates a great cycling experience.
This guide presents a 4-day itinerary cycling in Montenegro and Albania. It starts from Bar in Montenegro, passing by Shkoder and Theth National Park in Albania, and returning to Podgorica in Montenegro through another road. This guide was created based on my experience cycling in these two countries.
Table of Contents
Quick facts about this adventure
- Distance: 316km
- Time: 4 days
- Elevation gain: 4318m
Why this Itinerary?
If you want to explore a bit of Montenegro and Albania without being very sure where to go, this guide is for you. It covers a bit of the seaside in Montenegro and the area around the Shkoder lake in Albania. This itinerary also includes a visit to Theth National Park.
In total this itinerary consists of 4 days. For the first day, you will mostly explore Montenegro starting from Bar, passing by Ulcinj and Ada Bojana. At the end of the day, the final destination will be Shkoder.
Unfortunately, the roads in Montenegro were busy and not well-maintained in some spots, mainly on the road between Shkoder and Podgorica. From Bar to Ada Bojana, we managed to find an alternative route and skip a bit of the traffic.
For the other days, you will spend most of the time in Albania, close to the Shkoder lake and Theth. Road quality in the northwest part of the country was good, with new, well-paved roads.
The end of this itinerary is in Montenegro’s capital: Podgorica. From there, it’s possible to catch a train and return to Belgrade or any other destination operated by the local train lines.
Day 0: Belgrade - Bar
There are multiple ways to start this cycling tour in Montenegro and Albania. One of the options is to reach the city of Bar through the Belgrade-Bar railway line. It’s a line that operates twice per day. The first ride is in the morning, and the other is a night train that allows you to sleep in a cabin for an extra fee. We chose the latter option. If you need to double-check the time of the trains, you can do it here.
A night train is a good option because you can sleep on the way and wake up fresh to start cycling the next day. The train ride is a bit noisy, so it’s a good idea to bring earplugs and a sleeping eye mask.
The train tickets cost 24 EUR, and you need to pay an extra 6 EUR to get a place in one of the cabins if taking the night train.
The railway train and the central bus station worked in the same location for many years. Years ago, the railway station location changed, which is why some work is still in progress. However don’t worry because the railway station is working, you can find the new location here.
Once on the train, you will need a proper space for your bicycles. A solution is to go to the first wagon and put your bikes there. The person responsible for the tickets will charge a fee of 200 RSD (1.5 EUR) p/ bicycle.
This fee applies per country. Since the trip is from Serbia to Montenegro, they will likely charge you twice as soon as the train crosses the border.
Day 1: Bar - Ada Bojana - Shkoder
If booking the night train, you will arrive in Bar the next day in the morning. Sleeping in the cabin allows having a proper rest before starting this adventure. After leaving the railway station, we found the Portofino restaurant spontaneously. There we had a good breakfast and started our ride.
We have decided to start slowly, cycling 38km from Bar to Ada Bojana. Once in Ada Bojana, we would be chilling on the island and enjoying the sun. Later in the day, we would go to Shkoder, cycling 54km more.
The roads to Ada Bojana were quite busy, so we took alternative routes to avoid traffic.
Ada Bojana is a very diverse place, famous for kitesurfing and parties. Its waters and wind are perfect for kitesurfing and windsurfing.
It’s also lovely only to relax and appreciate nature in Ada Bojana. On the right side of the island, there’s a moment where the river Buna meets the ocean. This part of the island is also a nudist settlement.
Once you are done exploring the island, it’s time to move to Shkoder. Before reaching the city, you will cross the border between Montenegro and Albania.
After crossing the border, it was clear the differences in the road. The roads in Albania were brand new and vast, mainly when getting closer to Shkoder.
Day 2: Shkoder - Theth
There are plenty of options to explore the region in Shkoder. It’s the fifth-most-populous city in Albania, and finding accommodation spontaneously at the last minute wasn’t a problem.
After discussing our next steps, we decided to visit Theth National Park. Our goal was to combine cycling with hiking the next day, visit the Blue Eye, and return to Shkoder.
The road was empty, and the weather was good in July. Once inside the national park area, plenty of trees covered the road. You will pass by several villages, so use the opportunity to refill your water.
The second day is challenging: 77km with 1869m elevation gain. A good breakfast is required because you will burn many calories going to the top of the road before starting to go down towards the center of the national park.
A business owner saw that we were cycling to Theth and was kind enough to give us some chocolate bars to help us on the journey. I love Albanians! They are very lovely and warm people.
The first 20km are on the flat without any relevant elevation gain. After that, it will increase slowly on the next 42km until the highest peak of this route. It’s a beautiful sight, and you will see many viewpoints where you can take a break and appreciate the view.
Once you reach the highest part of the road, the road will continue downhill for 15km. It’s a steep road, so you will use your brakes often.
The downhill is mainly covered by trees, so sun exposure won’t be an issue. Enjoy your final km until the destination for today.
Day 3: Theth - Shkoder
Now that you are in the National Park, you will see a couple of places to explore hiking. Valbona and Blue Eye are the famous ones in the area, and our choice was the Blue Eye. After a good night of sleep, we decided to hike to Blue Eye in the morning and return to Shkoder after lunch.
If you feel like resting a bit more, it’s a good idea to hike and leave Theth the next day. The hike to Blue Eye is 21km long, 10.5km one way and another 10.5km to return to Theth on the same trail.
You will go on the same road as the previous day to return to Shkoder. The first 15km will be mostly uphill. After that, it gets easier, I promise 🙂
Day 4: Shkoder - Podgorica
On the last day of this tour, you can explore Shkoder a bit more before going to Podgorica. The Rosafa Castle is at the hilltop and provides a great view of the city, and it is definitely worth visiting.
When leaving Shkoder, you will leave the Buna river and meet Shkoder lake. Most of the time, you will be a few km away from the lake in Albania. When crossing the border with Montenegro, the lake touches the village of Drume.
As soon as you cross the border with Montenegro, the road quality decreases, and it can be tough at some spots due to the lack of space and bumps. From the border crossing, it’s a 27km ride to Podgorica. And there it’s the last step on the cycling tour in Montenegro and Albania.
If you have one or two more days, check the city of Budva, it’s a 65km ride. After that, you can ride 58km to Bar the next day and take the train back to Belgrade if that is your starting point.
More useful information
Food
The food in Albania was great!! We found places to eat spontaneously, and they were good choices. In Shkoder, our host gave us some tips about places for breakfast and dinner. These are the places where we had great meals that I want to recommend:
We were mainly on the road or chilling in Ada Bojana in Montenegro. Our food consisted mainly of fruits and nuts to keep us going during the day.
Accomodation
It was super easy to find accommodation spontaneously in Shkoder and Theth. We decided each day about the next steps, and at the end of the day, we booked a place to sleep. Prices in Albania are very cheap so you won’t have any issues finding suitable accommodation for an affordable price.
Conclusion
This itinerary was created spontaneously, and we decided on our next steps after finishing the current day. If you have more days to explore, there are several options to increase your trip.
To extend this itinerary and explore more of Albania, you could go down to Tirana and Durres after Shkoder (that was the initial plan before we changed and decided to go north to Theth).
If Montenegro is your wish, you can extend this itinerary by visiting Budva, Tivat, and Kotor after reaching Podgorica. This will increase your trip to 2-3 days, depending on how you return home.
I hope this post will inspire you to go cycling in Albania and Montenegro. Leave a comment if you have done a similar itinerary.
See you all on the next adventure!!!
