15 Things To Know Before Driving in Montenegro — ALONG DUSTY ROADS

… And Doubt Google Maps Diversions

Now, if we’d done what we usually do and relied on Google Maps instead of the in-built satnav, that closure would have been flagged up and we’d have saved a lot of time.

This may make you put all your trust and faith into Google Maps on your own Montenegro road trip?

Bad move, amigo.

Due to the volume of road closures, lack of signs, and no official diversion routes, you’ll need to freestyle.

In certain countries, this really wouldn’t be a big issue, but in Montenegro it can, quite literally, lead you down the garden path.

Whilst there are lots of good, normal roads, there are also many unsealed, rocky, potholed countryside tracks that would really only be passable by rugged 4×4 (or a local in a VW Golf). Google Maps is quite terrible at recognising and distinguishing between these two roads when coming up with alternative routes, and the problem is that you often won’t know whether it’s taking you down a passable road or not until you head down it and the tarmac runs out.

This results in a lot of wasted time, confusion, and potential arguments.

One day it led us on quite a comedic series of diversions down roads that would almost definitely have resulted in us getting in trouble, and it was pretty obvious to see the other road trippers and motorbikes following it blindly. When the main road from Komovi to the Grebaje Valley was shut, it literally suggested that we go on an a mountain bike trail instead.

When we shared this on Instagram Stories, one follower got in touch to tell us her daughter had similar issues on her road trip, where she drove down a back road and her car got stuck. The tow truck sent to help then got stuck, then the farmer had to pull them both out with his tractor! The farmer said it happened quite a lot, purely because of people following Google Maps down there.

So, if you’re diverted or in doubt, just take a moment to look at the alternatives offered and always opt to take the route via a main road – this will almost always get you there quicker, more reliably, and with less chance of needing a farmer and a tractor.

Main roads are your best friend when diverted, always prioritise them over whatever ‘shortcut’ Google recommends.

More generally, Google Maps often underestimated our driving times in Montenegro, and a follower messaged us to tell you that it can often direct you to closed border crossing points in the Balkans!

Despite this, we still wholly recommend using it as your go-to navigation app over there!

Know // You’ll see lots of brown and white signs for the ‘Panoramic Roads’. As you’ll see in this post and the rest of our Montenegro Guide Series, most of these wholly justify the moniker. Most road trip itineraries will naturally encompass these, but there’s a handy PDF tourism board map detailing the 800km network referred to as the ‘Crown of Montenegro’.