A drive that used to take all day
Before the motorway opened, getting to Zabljak meant three hours grinding up the Moraca canyon, which is one of the most dramatic roads in the Balkans and one of the most tiring. The Smokovac to Matesevo section cut that to about two hours flat and turned Durmitor into a realistic day trip from the airport. You can land mid-morning and be standing at the Black Lake by early afternoon, which is the strongest argument there is for car hire podgorica airport over the coastal alternatives.
What has not changed is the climb. You start at 33 metres above sea level and finish at 1,465, and that is a bigger altitude gain than any other airport-to-town drive in the region.
The engine matters more than anything else here
This is the one route out of Podgorica Airport where what is under the bonnet decides how the day feels. A naturally aspirated small-capacity petrol engine loses a noticeable slice of its power at Zabljak altitude, enough that hill starts need more revs than you expect and overtaking stops being an option. Turbocharged and diesel engines barely register the difference.
So if Durmitor is on the itinerary, look at the engine on the listing rather than the badge on the car. It is also where a guaranteed model earns its keep: every car carries one, so the engine you chose is the engine that climbs. The breakdown of what each class handles goes through it properly.
The route
North out of the airport, past Podgorica on the bypass, and onto the motorway at Smokovac. Fuel on the Podgorica ring road before you commit, because this is the last cheap fuel and the mountain stations are both dearer and further apart than you would like.
The motorway climbs steadily to Matesevo through a series of tunnels and viaducts. At Kolasin you leave it for the mountain road to Zabljak, which is two-lane, well surfaced and slower, winding up through forest and open plateau for the final stretch.
The canyon alternative
The old Moraca canyon road is still there and still spectacular: narrow, carved into the rock face, with the river a long way below. It adds around an hour and demands a lot more concentration, and it is worth doing once in good weather with time in hand. It is not worth doing on arrival day with luggage and an unfamiliar car, and it is not worth doing at all in fog or after fresh snow.
Zabljak and the plateau
Zabljak is the highest town in the Balkans and functional rather than pretty: a handful of hotels, a couple of supermarkets, and petrol. The reason to come is the national park around it, and the standard first stop is the Black Lake three kilometres from the centre, which has a small park entry fee collected on the access road.
Weather on the plateau is changeable and local. It can be dry in Podgorica and snowing here in late October, so check the forecast for Zabljak specifically rather than for Montenegro generally.
The descent
Coming back you lose 1,400 metres, and that is a long way to ask of the brakes. Hold a low gear and let the engine take the work rather than riding the pedal down. Both gearboxes will do it, but know before you set off how to hold the car in a lower gear.
Winter kit comes fitted through the cold months, which is what makes this trip reasonable then at all. The winter driving guide covers which routes close and when.
