Virpazar and Lake Skadar – Everything You Need To Know

Discover The Best Things to Do, Attractions and Resteraunts in this Montenegro Travel Guide

Virpazar is a small town on the edge of Lake Skadar, also known as Lake Shkodra. This area is a real gem of Montenegro and one I would highly recommend visiting. In general, Montenegro is such an underrated country, but I predict this will soon change. In this guide, we’re going to tell you everything you need to know about Virpazar and Lake Skadar.

We’ll cover the best things to do in Virpazar, the top attractions, where to eat and other useful tips such as where to park. This really is a complete guide to Virpazar and the Skadar Lake. Grab yourself a drink and let’s dive in!

We visited Montenegro as a family in April 2024, our children were 4 years old and 14 months old at the time. Lake Skadar is a perfect place to enjoy both with and without kids. I will include some family-friendly tips below as well! We spent two weeks exploring Montenegro and had the best time.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

FAMILY-FRIENDLY BOAT TOUR ON LAKE SKADAR
A PERFECT MONTENEGRO ITINERARY
TIPS FOR VISITING MONTENEGRO

OR READ ABOUT OTHER PLACES IN MONTENEGRO WE VISITED:

TIVAT – KOTOR – BUDVA – NIKSIC – TARA CANYON – DURMITOR NATIONAL PARK – ZABLJAK

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Is Virpazar & Lake Skadar Worth Visiting?

You may be wondering if Virpazar and Lake Skadar are worth visiting. While these areas are often overlooked by tourists in favour of the Kotor Bay area, Lake Skadar offer something completely unique. The beautiful, tranquil vibes of a boat tour on the lake were a highlight of our trip and a very memorable experience.

I’m so glad we made the journey here!

Where to Stay to Visit Lake Skadar

The best place to stay to visit Lake Skadar is the tiny town of Vipazar. I would recommend staying in, or as close to Vipazar as possible. The town is just one street, but it has a couple of hotels and holiday rentals centrally. There is a big area of free parking in Virpazar however, it can get busy, so leave plenty of time to find a spot.

We stayed in an Airbnb. It was less than a five-minute drive away, but it wasn’t walkable due to a steep hill on a main road with no pavement.

How Many Days to Stay in Virpazar?

We stayed for three nights (two full days), and this felt like plenty of time. While you could do almost everything in one day, we made a conscious decision not to rush this trip.

If hiking is your thing, you could spend extra time here. (I’ll discuss that further below.)

How to Get to Virpazar, Montenegro

Virpazar was our second stop on our two-week Montenegro itinerary. We drove here from Tivat (stopping at Budva en route). In total, the drive was about 3 hours and totally worth it.

While Virpazar has a train station, public transport in Montenegro is not the best. It is possible to come from Podgorica to Virpazar by train, but you would most likely need to take a taxi to your accommodation. If, like us, you’re not coming from Podgorica, your best option is to drive. Living in the city, we usually always take public transport; however, in Montenegro, we hired a car to explore properly.

We searched for the best deals on RentalCars.com, and on this trip we used Enterprize. We had no issues with them!

CLICK HERE TO SEARCH RENTAL CAR OPTIONS.

While there are a few great things to do in Virpazar (which I will talk more about below), the highlight for us was taking a boat trip on the beautiful Lake Skadar. Tour companies offer packages with day trips to Lake Skadar, while I haven’t tried one personally, to recommend it, a day trip from Kotor to Lake Skadar is something you could consider.

The Best Things to Do in Virpazr & Lake Skadar

Below are the best things to do in Virpazar and the Lake Skadar area.

Take a Boat Trip

Taking a boat tour on Lake Skadar is one of the top attractions when visiting Virpazar. Doing this excursion was the highlight of our trip. Many boat tours operate in the Lake Skadar National Park. Our Airbnb hosts recommended the company we used, and it was incredible. I’d definitely recommend you check them out.

THE BOAT TOUR WE DID IS LINKED HERE.

This tour is excellent value for money at only €15 per adult (kids go free) and includes a glass of wine! It’s a relaxing journey and is particularly great for birdwatching, so be sure to pack binoculars!

The Skadar Lake boat tour was our favourite thing to do in Virpazar with kids. We enjoyed this tour so much, I have written a full review of it (linked below), which will tell you everything you need to know about what to expect from your tour.

Mountain scenery surrounding Lake Skadar, Montenegro during boat tour

Visit This Breathtaking Viewpoint

If you want to see the most stunning Lake Skadar viewpoint, head to the The Pavlova Strana Viewpoint. Google Map Location here. This location offers the best view of the lake. The drive is beautiful but windy and about 45 minutes from Virpazar.

After so much fun on the boat trip, both kids were exhausted, so we timed this drive for nap time.

Viewpoint overlooking Lake Skadar from Pavlova Strana, Montenegro

Couple enjoying panoramic views at the Pavlova Strana viewpoint near Virpazar

Go Hiking

There are lots of hikes you can do from around Virpazar. So many blogs I read recommended starting at the small town of Dupalo and hiking to the waterfall and beautiful blue pool it falls into. The only problem? None of them tells you how to get to Dupalo or find the waterfall.

I’m going to be completely honest. The reason they don’t tell you is that it’s extremely difficult. Opposite the turning into Virpazar is another road which heads into the mountains. After a few minutes, there is a very small sign to Dupalo, and you then follow this winding road for around 15 minutes. We eventually found the start of the trail, and from there it was easy to follow these markings for the route.

Signposted route to the Dupalo hiking trail from Virpazar, Lake Skadar National Park — At this sign, go left.

Trail markers guiding the way to the Dupalo hike near Lake Skadar — At this sign, go left.

It was not an easy hike as we’d been led to believe. At one point, my husband had to carry the kids over a stream! The hike ended up being a loop and took us around 3 hours to complete. We didn’t find the waterfall, but we did find the bridge that was supposedly right next to it.

Of course, we were visiting Virpizar with young kids, so we weren’t the fastest walkers! I’ll happily admit, I’m a city girl, and hiking isn’t really my thing. Unless you’re really into hiking, I would give this one a miss! Or book onto a guided tour such as this one linked here.

Family crossing the stone bridge at the end of the Dupalo hiking trail in Virpazar

Mother carrying baby during hike with kids near Lake Skadar, Montenegro

Where to Eat in Virpazar, Montenegro

The only places to eat are on the main street in Virpazar. There were a few restaurants, all with very similar menus. We ate at a few of them, and none of them were amazing, but eating at a ‘pirate ship’ was novel, and the kids really enjoyed it.

All the restaurants are cash only, so make sure to take some Euros.

There is also a small grocery store in Virpazar, which has most of the essentials you might need.