Virpazar is a small, very small, town on the shore of the big, very big lake Skadar, which is shared with Albania. The biggest part of the lake is in Montenegro however, and I enjoyed visiting the Montenegrin part of the lake more than the Albanian side. To make the most out of your trip to Lake Skadar (or Shkoder in Albanian) and really get a feel for its size, history, and diversity, I recommend staying 3 days. Below is a suggested itinerary of how to exactly fill those days with the best things to do in Virpazar.
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Table of Contents - The Perfect Virpazar Itinerary
How to get to Virpazar
You can reach Virpazar by bus or train from the Montenegrin coast, or Podgorica. The train is generally cheaper than the bus, but it’s also slower. There is only one train track, which is shared by passenger and cargo trains going both ways. Trains are only able to pass each other at stations, meaning they often have to wait for another train to pass leading to big delays. Busses are therefore generally faster. However, during the high season traffic at the coast is horrible and can lead to even bigger delays. So if you have to travel in the high season, pack plenty of food and water for your trip and be prepared for long travel times.
The train runs between Bar on the coast and Podgorica across the lake. Busses going to Virpazar will either go along the coast or depart from Podgorica. The closest airport is Podgorica, but it’s only small. You might want to look into flying to Dubrovnik instead. Just make sure to plan an extra day if you are flying out of Dubrovnik during high or shoulder season, as traffic can get really, really crazy. It took us 15 hours to travel from Kotor to Dubrovnik (instead of 2.5 hours) and people on our bus missed their flight because of it. So, you have been warned 😉
Tip: If you’re traveling between Dubrovnik and Virpazar, without visiting any other places on the way, it’s easiest to connect in Podgorica. There is the most frequency of transport this way. The train station and bus terminal are right next to each other, so it’s also easy to connect between trains and busses.
Where to stay in Virpazar
As I mentioned, Virpazar is only small, with not so many options in the center itself. There are options in the next towns as well though. Just know that there is no public transport in Virpazar itself. So if you’re picking accommodation outside of the center and you don’t have your own transport, make sure it’s within walking distance to the places you need to go. Hitchhiking is quite common in this area as well, but you don’t want to have to rely on it every time you want to go somewhere.
We stayed at Hoopoe Glamping, as we volunteered there for a couple of weeks. It’s a really nice place if you’re looking for something different, but pricy for Montenegrin standards.
The perfect 3-day itinerary for Virpazar
Day 1 - Arriving + Sunset at viewpoint
I would try to plan your arrival around check-in time. That way you can immediately drop your stuff, freshen up and get lunch if you haven’t eaten yet. If you have eaten already, just drop your stuff and get exploring! Make a round around town and lock in a kayaking tour of the lake for tomorrow morning. There are plenty of rental places as well if you want to go out and explore on your own.
There is also a really nice viewpoint you can hike up to. From town, just follow the zigzag road up. It’s about 1 hour and it’s especially worth it for sunset.
Day 2 - Kayak on Lake Skadar + Hike to beach
Rent a kayak or join a kayaking tour in the morning and explore the lillies, birdlife, and islands of the lake. If you’re going on your own, there is a really nice way you can do to the Kom Monastery. Go under the bridge and turn into the canal on the right behind the big island.
If you prefer a boat tour over kayaking, there are plenty of operations offering these as well. You can get a private tour of the lake for € 25. Shared tours differ a bit in price, but I’ve seen them for € 5. (Prices accurate in 2022.)
Once done, grab some well-deserved lunch, stock up on energy, and hike to the beach. The beach just past Godinje is about 7 km one way, so we decided to hike there and hitchhike back. Which was really easy! If you’re low on energy after your kayaking adventure and just want to chill, you can of course try to hitchhike both ways. The views along the way are nice though, so I would recommend walking at least one way.
Day 3 - Horseshoe bend viewpoint and/or Dupilo waterfall.
With your own transport, you can visit both the horseshoe bend viewpoint and the waterfall today. If you don’t have your own transport, I would pick one of them. If you want to do both, you can stay an extra day or organize your trip in such a way that you arrive in the morning on your first day so you can do one of them on your first day already and the second one of your third day already, before leaving.
You can hike to the waterfall, from the center of Virpazar, so this is a safer bet for your last day here than the horseshoe bend. There are 2 routes you can take to the waterfall. We hiked there one way, and back the other way. I usually don’t like going the same way back, but in this case, I would recommend taking the path marked in blue on the map both ways. This route is flat and easy. The other way has a lot more elevation and the path is not very well maintained. For me it wasn’t worth it, but if you’re feeling adventurous, you can take this route one way.
For the horseshoe bend viewpoint you will need to have transportation, hitchhike, or join a tour. If you’re leaving relatively early today, I recommend going to the waterfall, as tours take all day and hitchhiking is of course not very time conscious. We opted for the waterfall as well, the viewpoint did look really cool, but we thought it would potentially be a lot of hassle to just spend a little time there taking pictures and taking in the view. Whereas we got some time to enjoy the waterfall, swim, chill, and play some cards.
This was The Perfect Virpazar Itinerary – How to Spend 3 Days in Virpazar
For more things to do in Montenegro, check out my travel guide for Montenegro. If you’re traveling to Albania from Virpazar, you can find tips in this travel guide for Albania or this hiking itinerary for the Albanian Alps.
