Pelicans on open water, Crmnica wine straight from the cellar, ukljeva fried at the lakeside, a medieval village on a hill above the vineyards, and a boat moving slowly through the reeds at dawn. Taxi Podgorica to Virpazar from 35€ — just 40 km from the airport.
Virpazar is a small town on the shore of Skadar Lake — the largest lake in the Balkans, shared between Montenegro and Albania, and one of the most important freshwater ecosystems in all of Europe. The town sits at the point where the Rijeka Crnojevića river meets the lake, below the ruins of a medieval fortress and surrounded by the terraced vineyards of the Crmnica wine region. The taxi Podgorica to Virpazar — the private airport transfer from TGD to Virpazar — covers approximately 40 km and takes around 40 minutes, making it one of the most time-efficient and most rewarding day trips from the capital. The road from Podgorica follows the Skadar Lake shore through the old village of Rijeka Crnojevića and along the water before reaching Virpazar — the lake is visible for most of the journey. TTM has been driving this route since 2003.
The lake itself is a national park of extraordinary richness. Dalmatian pelicans — one of the rarest birds in Europe — breed here in the largest remaining colony on the continent. Cormorants, herons, egrets, pygmy cormorants, and dozens of migratory species fill the reed beds and the open water throughout the year. The wetland margins of the lake are home to water buffalo, otters, and the particular stillness of a landscape that functions on a different timescale from anything on the coast. Boat tours from Virpazar explore the lake's inner channels, island monasteries, and reed-enclosed coves — moving slowly enough to watch the birds feeding in the shallows and the tortoises sunning on the banks. An hour on the lake in a small boat at dawn is one of the most memorable experiences available within 40 km of Podgorica Airport.
But Virpazar is not only the lake. The hillside behind the town is the heart of the Crmnica wine region — Montenegro's most important wine-producing area, where the indigenous Vranac grape produces full-bodied red wines of genuine quality on terraced vineyards that have been cultivated for centuries. The village of Godinje, perched on a rocky ridge above the lake, is one of the best-preserved medieval wine villages in Montenegro — its stone houses, narrow lanes, and ancient wine cellars representing a way of life that the vineyards around it have sustained for generations. For wine lovers, food lovers, and anyone curious about the Montenegro that exists away from the coast, the Virpazar and Crmnica area is one of the most rewarding discoveries in the country.
The largest lake in the Balkans and one of Europe's most important freshwater ecosystems — Dalmatian pelicans, cormorants, pygmy cormorants, herons, egrets, and dozens of migratory species in the reed beds and open water. A UNESCO candidate landscape of extraordinary natural richness, just 40 km from Podgorica Airport.
Small wooden boats depart from Virpazar to explore the inner channels, island monasteries, and reed-enclosed coves of Skadar Lake. A dawn tour — when the light is low and the birds are active — is the finest way to experience the lake. Boat operators in Virpazar offer both guided and self-guided tours. TTM drops guests at the Virpazar waterfront from Podgorica Airport at a fixed price.
The terraced vineyards of Crmnica above Virpazar are Montenegro's most important wine-producing area. The indigenous Vranac grape produces a full-bodied, deeply coloured red wine with a particular character shaped by the lake microclimate below and the limestone terraces above. Crmnica wine is not well known outside Montenegro — which makes tasting it here, in the village where it is made, one of the more genuine pleasures of visiting this part of the country.
The village of Godinje on the rocky ridge above the Crmnica vineyards is one of the most remarkable and least-visited medieval settlements in Montenegro — stone houses, vaulted wine cellars cut into the rock, narrow lanes, and a view over the lake and the terraced hillside that has not changed materially in centuries. The old village is partially inhabited, partially abandoned, and entirely authentic. A short private taxi ride from Virpazar.
Skadar Lake hosts the largest remaining colony of Dalmatian pelicans in Europe — one of the rarest and most impressive birds on the continent, nesting on the lake islands and feeding in the shallows. Alongside the pelicans, the lake supports pygmy cormorants, glossy ibis, ferruginous duck, and more than 280 recorded bird species. A serious destination for wildlife and birdwatching visitors from across Europe.
The ukljeva (bleak) — a small silver fish caught in vast quantities in the shallows of Skadar Lake — is the defining local ingredient of the Virpazar table. Fried simply in oil and eaten with bread and local wine on a terrace above the water, it is one of those combinations of place, food, and atmosphere that belongs entirely to this lake and nowhere else. Every restaurant in Virpazar serves it; none of them serve it badly.
The restaurants around Skadar Lake and the Crmnica wine region are among the most distinctive in Montenegro — their identity shaped entirely by what the lake and the hillside produce. Fresh fish from the water below, wine from the terraces above, and the particular hospitality of a region that has been feeding and receiving visitors on its own terms for a very long time. TTM provides private taxi to all restaurants around Skadar Lake from Podgorica and from all coastal destinations at fixed prices.
Plantaže 13. Jul on the island of Vranjina — accessible by the causeway road across the lake — is one of the most celebrated wine restaurants in Montenegro, operated by Plantaže, the country's largest wine producer and the dominant name in Montenegrin viticulture. The restaurant sits directly on the lake, with a terrace above the water and a wine list that includes the full Plantaže portfolio from barrel to bottle. The combination of fresh lake fish, Vranac wine, and the extraordinary setting of Vranjina island makes this one of the essential dining experiences in Montenegro. TTM arranges transfers from Podgorica Airport and from all coastal hotels to Vranjina at fixed prices.
De Andos is one of the most consistently praised restaurants in the Virpazar area — a lakeside restaurant with a serious approach to the local ingredients of the Skadar Lake region. Fresh carp, eel, and ukljeva prepared with care and served with Crmnica wines from the hillside above. The terrace position above the lake, the unhurried service, and the quality of the food combine into exactly the kind of experience that makes Virpazar worth a dedicated trip from anywhere in Montenegro. TTM drops guests at De Andos from Podgorica Airport at a fixed price.
Dimidžana is a well-regarded konoba in Virpazar with a long-established local reputation for honest lakeside cooking — the ukljeva fried in the traditional manner, carp from the lake, lamb from the surrounding hills, and the wines of Crmnica on every table. A warmer, more intimate setting than some of the larger restaurant operations around the lake, and consistently well-reviewed by guests who make the short taxi from Podgorica to Virpazar specifically to eat here.
The Virpazar area hosts several seasonal festivals that draw visitors specifically for the food and wine: the Skadar Lake Fish Festival celebrates the lake catch with communal cooking, music, and wine from the Crmnica cellars; the Festival vina Crmnice (Crmnica Wine Festival) brings the wine producers of the region together for tasting, competition, and the particular festivity of a wine village in harvest season. TTM arranges transfers for festival visitors at fixed prices from Podgorica Airport and from the coast.
The Crmnica valley — the hillside above Virpazar and Skadar Lake, between the Sozina tunnel road and the lake shore — is Montenegro's most important wine-growing region and one of the most historically significant wine landscapes in the western Balkans. The vineyards here have been producing wine since at least the medieval period; the cellars of Godinje village, cut directly into the limestone rock of the ridge, predate the modern wine industry by several centuries. The combination of a lake microclimate, south-facing limestone terraces, and the indigenous grape varieties that have evolved here over generations produces wines of genuine character.
Vranac — the signature red grape of Montenegro — produces its finest expression on the Crmnica terraces: a deeply coloured, full-bodied wine with a particular mineral character derived from the limestone soils and the proximity of the lake. Plantaže produces the most widely known Vranac under the 13. Jul label; the smaller estate producers of Crmnica produce wines of greater individuality and rarer availability.
Kratošija is the second major indigenous red variety of the region — lighter, more aromatic, and historically the everyday wine of the Crmnica table. It is rarely exported and seldom found outside Montenegro; tasting it in Virpazar or Godinje is tasting something genuinely local in the fullest sense of the word.
Krstač is the indigenous white variety of the region — a dry, aromatic white wine with a distinct character that reflects the limestone terroir. It pairs naturally with the lake fish — particularly the ukljeva — in a combination that belongs entirely to this landscape.
Visiting the family wine estates of Crmnica — tasting directly from the cellar, eating in the garden above the lake, and buying wine that will never appear on a restaurant list anywhere in Europe — is one of the most distinctive and most personal experiences available in Montenegro. TTM arranges transfers to the Crmnica wine estates from Podgorica Airport and from all coastal destinations at fixed prices.
Godinje is one of the most remarkable and least-known villages in Montenegro — a settlement of stone houses on a rocky ridge above the Crmnica vineyards, with wine cellars cut into the living rock below the village lanes and a view over Skadar Lake that extends from the Albanian mountains to the Montenegrin coast. The village has been inhabited for at least several centuries; the wine cellars below the houses are older still, their stone-arched interiors cool even in the height of summer, their walls stained with the residue of vintages that predate any living memory.
The old village is partially inhabited and partially abandoned — some houses are lovingly maintained, others are slowly returning to the hillside — but the whole retains an authenticity of character that the more visited historical sites of Montenegro often lack. Walking the lanes of Godinje in the morning, with the lake visible below and the smell of the vine leaves and the old stone around you, is walking through a form of Montenegrin life that the coast has largely lost. The village is a short private taxi ride from Virpazar and a natural pairing with a lakeside lunch at De Andos or Dimidžana. TTM covers transfers between Virpazar and Godinje at fixed prices — contact us via WhatsApp for the combined Skadar Lake and Crmnica day programme.
A medieval stone village on a limestone ridge — arched gateways, carved lintels, and the particular quality of old Crmnica domestic architecture that combined functionality with the kind of craftsmanship that takes generations to develop and generations to lose. Some houses are still inhabited; all are worth the walk.
The wine cellars of Godinje are cut directly into the limestone below the village — stone-arched, cool, and dark in the manner of wine storage that has no need for modern refrigeration because the rock itself provides what the wine needs. The best cellars are still in use, stocked with the wines of the most recent harvest alongside bottles that are several years older.
The view from the ridge of Godinje — south over the lake to the Albanian mountains, west toward the Sozina gap and the distant coast, and down over the terraced vineyards immediately below — is one of the finest panoramic views in the Montenegrin interior, and entirely unknown to the vast majority of visitors who spend their time on the coast.
The taxi Podgorica to Virpazar — the private airport transfer from TGD to Virpazar — covers approximately 40 km and takes around 40 minutes, making Virpazar one of the most easily accessible day-trip destinations from both Podgorica Airport and the capital city. There is no comfortable public connection from Podgorica Airport to Virpazar. TTM drops guests at the Virpazar waterfront, at Vranjina (Plantaže 13. Jul restaurant), at specific wine estates in Crmnica, or at the village of Godinje — 24/7 at a fixed price. For guests combining Virpazar with a coastal stay, TTM also covers transfers between all coastal destinations and Virpazar at fixed prices.
~40 km · ~40 min · Fixed price · Waterfront & restaurant drop-off · Godinje & Crmnica wine estates · Day trip & overnight · 24/7
Taxi Podgorica to Virpazar from 35€ · Vranjina, Godinje & Crmnica wine estates · Day trip & overnight · 24/7