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Spectacular scenery from the Belgrade-Bar train. See route map. |
From Belgrade to Montenegro by train
If I had to name Europe's most spectacular train ride, it'd probably be the journey from Belgrade to Podgorica and Bar in Montenegro. It's one of my favourites, a marvel of engineering with 254 tunnels and 435 bridges on the 296-mile journey from the Serbian capital to the Adriatic. Construction of the line started in the 1950s but it was only completed in 1976, opened by President Tito of Yugoslavia. Yet it costs only €24, watch the video below and you'll see it'll be perhaps the best €24 you'll ever spend. There's more detailed & historical information at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgrade-Bar_railway.
Train times 2026
Notes for timetable
Read downwards, each column is a train you can take.
 Green = scenic Reproduced from the European Rail Map with kind permission of the European Rail Timetable people. Buy the map at www.europeanrailtimetable.eu. |
Lovcen = sleeper train, runs every day all year with 6-berth couchettes, 4-berth couchettes and 1, 2 & 3 bed sleepers with washbasin, see the photos below. The Lovcen in fact starts/finishes at Zemun station, just west of Belgrade.
Day train = daytime train, summer only, 2nd class only, see the photos below. Starts/finished at Subotica on the Hungarian border. You need to switch trains at Bijelo Polje between Montengrin & Serbian trains.
How to check these times: You can check times and see timings for intermediate stations at the Serbian Railways journey planner w3.srbvoz.rs/redvoznje/en. For buses between Podgorica/Bar & Kotor/Budva, see busticket4.me.
How to check the train formation & car types / car numbers with photos: Go to www.vagonweb.cz/razeni, change cs to English. Then search by train number, or search for Lovcen.
Which station in Belgrade? Belgrade's historic original station closed permanently on 30 June 2018. The international trains to/from Montenegro then used Topcider station until 2021, since October 2021 they use the new Belgrade Centar.
How much does it cost?
Belgrade to Bar costs €23.80 2nd class, €35.60 1st class.
Belgrade to Podgorica costs €21.60 2nd class, €32.40 in 1st class.
For the daytime train, add a compulsory €3 seat reservation.
For the overnight train, add €8 for a couchette in 6-berth, €12 for a couchette in 4-berth, €16 for a bed in a 3-bed sleeper or €24 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper, all can be booked with a 2nd class ticket. A single-bed sleeper requires a 1st class ticket + €48 sleeper supplement.
How to buy tickets
It's finally possible! From July 2026, you can book Belgrade-Montenegro trains online, with either Srbijavoz (Serbian Railways) or ZPCG (Montenegro Railways).
Book in advance if you can as these trains can sell out, especially in summer with Serbians heading for the coast. Sleepers & 4-berth couchettes sell out first. 6-berth couchettes and seats on the daytime train sell out last.
Option 1, use the Serbian Railways phone app
The Serbian Railways phone app is the best way to book, as it's in English (unlike the Serbian Railways website) and shows 'live' availability of seats & berths (unlike the Montenegro Railways website).
Download the Srbijavoz app for iPhone or Srbijavoz app for Android.
Switch it to English, if it isn't in English already. Register for an account, it's easy.
Then book your train using the journey planner, booking opens 1 month ahead.
It'll book Beograd Centar - Prokop to Podgorica or Bar in either direction, showing how many seats, couchettes or sleepers are available. It automatically includes a reservation on these international trains.
Leave II class selected for the day train or for seats, couchettes or berths in double or triple sleepers. You must change it to I class if you want to book a single-berth sleeper.
Important: Although you can show tickets for seats on your phone, you must print out tickets for couchettes or sleepers as you need to hand the printout to the couchette or sleeper attendant when you board.
Tip: The Serbians use a separate allocation of seats/berths from the Montenegro Railways, so if the Serbian app or website show a train as full it's worth trying the Montenegro Railways website (option 3) as Montenegro Railways may still have seats or berths available.
Option 2, book at the Serbian Railways website srbijavoz.rs
You can also book at the Serbian Railways website webapi1.srbvoz.rs/ekarta/app/#!/home, though unfortunately it currently has no English version so you need to use it in Serbian with help from Google Translate. But it should work! If you use it, feedback would be appreciated.
Option 3, book at the Montenegro Railways website www.tickets-zpcg.me
You can also book these trains in either direction at the Montenegro Railways website www.tickets-zpcg.me.
Booking opens several months ahead.
Now listen up, as this is important. When it comes to seat, couchette or sleeper reservations, this is an online ordering system, not 'live' online booking. In other words, it will happily let you order anything regardless of whether it's actually available. You may think you've 'booked' a double sleeper, but you've only ordered it.
Immediately after booking you'll receive an automated email with the basic travel ticket. A few hours later, you should received another email sent by a member of staff at ZPCG (Montenegro Railways), showing your car number and seat/berth number. Only then is your accommodation confirmed.
For this reason, the Serbian app or website (options 1 & 2) are better as you can see what's available, but as Montenegro Railways have a separate allocation of places, you may find sleepers or couchettes available here when they're sold out with Serbian Railways. If you use this system, feedback would be appreciated.
You can show seats tickets on your phone, but you must print out tickets for couchettes or sleepers to hand to the couchette or sleeper attendant when you board.
Important booking tips:
1. Make sure you add a reservation, it's compulsory. Unfortunately, the system will let you buy a ticket without a seat reservation, a trap for the unwary.
2. It'll let you buy a 1st class ticket for the daytime train, but be aware that the Montenegrin train from Bijelo Polje to Podgorica & Bar is 2nd class only.
3. You need a 1st class ticket for a single-bed sleeper. A 2nd class ticket is all you need for 4 & 6 berth couchettes & for beds in double or triple sleepers. Unfortunately, the system doesn't tell you this, or stop you from buying the wrong class of ticket.
4. It can also book Montenegro Railways' local trains between Bar, Podgorica and the Serbian border at Bijelo Polje, if you wanted to do a scenic daytime round trip over the most scenic section, for example.
Option 4, buy at the station
At Belgrade Centar, Bar & Podgorica, cards & cash are accepted. There are often seats/berths available even on the day of travel, but the trains can get full in summer so book a few days ahead if you can.
If you're passing through Belgrade on your way south you can book a northbound ticket at Belgrade station, but only 11 days or more in advance. Between 10 & 0 days in advance Belgrade ticket office can only book southbound.
Option 5, Riva Travel (northbound from Podgorica only)
Email Podgorica travel agency Riva Travel (rivatravel.me) at rivamontenegro@gmail.com).
Remember to include ALL details in your email: From/to, date, train time, type of sleeper or couchette, number of people, names, ages. You can collect tickets from their office in Belgrade, see location map. Feedback appreciated.
If you have an Interrail or Eurail pass
The pass covers the ticket element, but you need a seat, couchette or sleeper reservation. Reservations cannot be made online, only in person at stations. You can, however, buy a regular ticket online with reservation included at the Montenegro Railways website as shown above. Given that a ticket only costs €24 (in other words, your pass is only saving you €24), you may find it easier to buy a regular ticket with reservation for this journey, instead of using up a pass day.
Which train is best for scenery?
The best mountain scenery is in Montenegro at the southern end of the line, between Bijelo Polje & Podgorica/Bar.
Southbound, if you take the the sleeper train Lovcen and get up early, you'll see much of the scenery in daylight at least in summer.. The southbound daytime train covers the best sections in darkness during winter.
Northbound, the day train is obviously best for scenery all year round, but the sleeper Lovcen is also good in summer when it's light late in the evening. In winter, you could take a local train from Bar or Podgorica to Mojkovac in daylight (Mojkovac is between Kolašin and Bijelo Polje), you can find times at www.tickets-zpcg.me), then book the sleeper from Mojkovac to Belgrade.
You can look up the hours of daylight at www.timeanddate.com. The best scenery is on the right hand side of the train going south, left hand side going north, although you can't choose sides when reserving seats, just move seats if necessary when you board, no-one minds!
Route map: See route map
This route map is courtesy of the European Rail Timetable - Definitely buy this map for your European travels! Buy online with shipping worldwide at www.europeanrailtimetable.eu. Also see this detailed zoomable map at OpenStreetMap.com.
What are the trains like?
The daytime train
Since 2024, the summer-only daytime train is actually two trains, with a simple change of train at Bijelo Polje on the Montenegro/Serbia border. The Serbian train between Novi Sad, Belgrade and Bijelo Polje is a modern air-conditioned electric unit built by Stadler with 1st and 2nd class, see the photos here. The Montenegrin train between Bielo Polje, Podgorica & Bar consists of a locomotive and 3 comfortable air-conditioned seats cars, 2nd class only. There's no catering on either train, so bring your own food & drink.
Above, the northbound daytime train about to leave Podgorica in June 2026. This is the Montenegro Railways train. Photo courtesy of Robert Bailey.
Below, changing trains at Bijelo Polje is a simple cross-platform interchange. On the right, the rear of the Montenegrin train arrived from Bar & Podgorica. On the left. the rear of the Serbian electric train to Belgrade. Courtesy of Robert Bailey.
The sleeper train Lovcen
The sleeper train Lovcen typically has (1) two or three second-hand sleeping-cars bought from France, each car has 12 compartments each configurable as 1-bed, 2-bed or 3-bed with washbasin, (2) Montenegrin 6-berth couchettes (second-hand German), (3) a Serbian 4-berth couchette car and (4) ordinary seats. Don't expect power sockets (always travel with a powerbank) or catering, so bring your own food & drink. You can see the train formation with photos and car numbers at www.vagonweb.cz/razeni. Change cs to English, then search by train number, or search for Lovcen.
Update: Serbian Railways have occasionally pressed into service the staff sleeping-car from President Tito's historic private train, see the staff sleeper photo here so you know what it looks like. Tito's private train was built in 1959 and used until his death in 1980. You will be honoured if you are lucky enough to travel in this museum piece! I know of no other instance of such a historic private car being pressed into regular service.
What's the journey like?
For the best scenery, sit on the right hand side of the train going south, the left hand side going north. You can't choose sides when reserving, so this may mean ignoring your reserved seat on a theoretically all-reserved train, but nobody seems to mind about seat reservations anyway. It's 296 miles from Belgrade to Bar, over a line started in the 1950s but only completed in 1976. It's a marvel of engineering, with 254 tunnels and 435 bridges between the Serbian capital and the Adriatic. For more information see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgrade-Bar_railway. See route map of locations mentioned below.
Above: Trains used to leave from Belgrade's historic main station built in 1884, but this sadly closed on 30 June 2018. For the record, the photos above show it in 2013. From July 2018 until October 2021 these trains used Belgrade's Topcider station.
1. From 1 October 2021 trains to/from Montenegro use Belgrade Centar station, just south of the city centre, see location map & see Belgrade Centar station guide. Photo courtesy of DiscoverByRail.com.
The station's new main hall opened in late 2023. Photo courtesy of DiscoverByRail.com.
Belgrade Centar platforms. Courtesy of Iain Henshaw.
2. After passing through Topcider station just south of Belgrade, look to the right for the shed in which Marshall Tito's deluxe private train is kept, followed by a yard of rusting graffiti-covered diesels that used to haul it (above left).
3. After Valjevo the hills begin. The train calls at Užice (above right), where in 1941 the 'Republic of Užice' was celebrated as the first territory liberated from the enemy, a small enclave liberated by Tito & the partisans, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Užice
4. In the hills. Shortly after emerging from the 6km-long Zlatibor Tunnel, the train meanders into Bosnia for some 9km, although there are no stops or border formalities so you probably won't notice!
5. You'll see the Potpec dam on the Lim River to the right of the train and the little monastery alongside the station at Vrbnica on the left hand side.
6. The train crosses from Serbia into Montenegro at Bijelo Polje (pictured above left). where Serbian & Montenegrin passport checks are carried out.
7. The scenery now becomes truly spectacular. The summit is reached soon after Kolašin, at over 1,000m above sea level.
8. The line then descends steeply towards Podgorica. See the video to appreciate this section!
9. The train emerges from a short tunnel and crosses the breathtaking Mala Rijeka viaduct. Until 2001 this was the highest railway bridge in the world, 200m or 660' above the Mala Rijeka river. You can see what it's like to cross the viaduct in the video. After the viaduct the line swings sharply to the right along the valley wall, with fabulous views back towards the viaduct on the right-hand side of the train, in between a series of short tunnels. The photo above was taken from the train just south of the viaduct.
10. The descent.
11. Podgorica station.
12. Between Podgorica & Bar, the train crosses the beautiful Lake Skadar, passing the ruined Lesendro fortress of 1843.
13. In the last few miles to Bar, the train runs along the Adriatic.
14. Bar station. Above right, the northbound Tara about to leave Bar, before it ceased being a loco-hauled train.
Video: Bar to Belgrade by train
A video guide to the scenery from Bar to Belgrade. Be warned, the video features the 'Uh-oh we've hit a horse' incident about 00:02:40 in. The video shows the old locomotive-hauled daytime train Tara, with arrival at Belgrade's old terminal station. Remember trains now use Belgrade Centar!
Suggested hotels
Hotel in Belgrade
Look no further than the famous Hotel Moskva, read more about it here. However, like most central hotels, it's a taxi ride from Beograd Centar station.
Hotels in Podgorica
Close to the station: The inexpensive Hotel Terminus gets great reviews and is a 3-minute 210m walk from Podgorica station.
Nearer the centre: Try the Ramada by Wyndham (a 9-minute 650m walk from Podgorica station) or Hilton Podgorice Crna Gora (an 18-minute 1.3 km walk) or Kings Park Hotel (a 12-minute 900m walk).
Hotels in Bar
The inexpensive Hotel Agape is probably the closest hotel to Bar station, it's a 23-minute 1.7 km walk away and gets very good reviews. You'll find various apartments such as the Apartment Ines that are much closer, but apartments sometimes have limited check-in arrangements that may not be ideal for late train arrivals, so check before booking.