Food & cultureBy Clever Tourists · Published
Montenegro's best souvenirs are edible: a bottle of Vranac red wine, Njeguški pršut (the smoked ham from the village of Njeguši above Kotor) with its matching cheese, olive oil from the old groves around Bar and Ulcinj, and homemade loza rakija. Skip the magnets and keyrings in the old towns and spend the money on food and wine instead. Below are six things worth carrying home, where to buy them, and the one rule that matters: check that your own country lets the ham in. Prices are tiers: $ is small change, $$ a considered purchase.
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• Vranac wine ($ to $$). Montenegro's signature red grape. Plantaže, the big winery near Podgorica, makes the best-known bottles; its premium ranges are better than the entry-level ones and still inexpensive. Supermarket bottles are good value.
• Krstač white wine ($ to $$). The local white grape, and something you are unlikely to find at home.
• Njeguški pršut ($$). Dry-cured, smoked ham from Njeguši in the mountains above Kotor; saltier and smokier than Italian prosciutto. Sold vacuum-packed in supermarkets, but read the customs section first.
• Njeguški sir ($$). The hard cheese from the same village, usually sheep's milk and often kept in oil, eaten with the ham.
• Olive oil ($). From the old groves around Bar and Ulcinj on the south coast. Our Stari Bar and Ulcinj guides cover the area.
• Loza rakija ($ to $$). Grape brandy, often homemade. A sealed supermarket bottle is the safest choice for a suitcase.
More, including the beer and the mountain shelf, in what to buy at a grocery store in Montenegro.
• Supermarkets (Voli has the widest coverage): wine, vacuum-packed ham and cheese at local prices.
• Green markets (pijaca): olive oil, cheese and rakija. Prices are fixed in shops; at markets you can ask for a little off when you buy several things, but this is not a haggling culture.
• The mountains: pršut and hard cheeses are best and cheapest inland; Njeguši, known for its smoked ham, sits at the top of the 25-hairpin serpentine road from Kotor on the way to Cetinje. See day trips from Kotor and our Kotor guide.
Montenegro uses the euro, so there is no exchange to think about. Cards work in supermarkets; markets and village shops want cash.
• Generic trinkets. Magnets and keyrings say little about Montenegro; buy something edible instead.
• Ham, if your country bans it. The US and Australia, for example, do not let travellers bring in Njeguški pršut. Check your own country's meat and dairy rules before you buy a whole ham.
• Unsealed homemade spirits in hand luggage. Pack bottles in checked bags, wrapped in clothes.
• No EU tax refund. Montenegro uses the euro but is not in the EU, so EU Tax Free forms do not apply here.
Restaurant cover charges and tips are covered in kuver and tipping in Montenegro. For 19 other countries, see the best souvenirs to buy by country.
Food and drink: Vranac wine, Njeguški pršut and Njeguši cheese, olive oil from Bar or Ulcinj, and loza rakija.
It depends on your country. The US and Australia, for example, do not let travellers bring it in. Check your own country's meat rules before buying.
Supermarkets. Plantaže's Vranac is on every shelf, and the premium ranges are still inexpensive.
Not through the EU system: Montenegro uses the euro but is not an EU member, so EU Tax Free forms do not apply.
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