The town that only became a town in 2018
Tuzi sits about 15 km south of central Podgorica on the road toward the Albanian border. It is the main settlement of the Malësia (the Highlands) region — historically a cluster of ethnic-Albanian tribal villages on the Montenegrin side of the mountains. Until 2018 it was part of Podgorica municipality; since then it has been its own municipality, the only one in Montenegro with an Albanian majority population and with Albanian as a co-official language.
It is close enough to the capital to be a half-day trip, and different enough to feel like a real change of scenery.
The drive from Podgorica
Take the main E762 / E80 south toward the Albanian border. The road is dual carriageway for most of the short stretch, then single carriageway as it approaches Tuzi. The town is on the right of the main road. Drive time from the centre of Podgorica: about 20 minutes, traffic dependent.
The landscape changes fast. North of Tuzi the Zeta plain is flat and intensively farmed; south and east, the land rises sharply toward the Prokletije — the Accursed Mountains — and on a clear day you can see the 2,500 m wall of peaks that marks the Albanian border to the south-east.
What to see in Tuzi itself
Tuzi is modest — a single main street with shops, a few cafés, a mosque, a Catholic church, and a small town square. Don't come expecting an old town. What to do instead:
- Eat. Several excellent Albanian-Montenegrin bakeries sell fresh burek, flija (layered Albanian pancake), and trahana. Prices are noticeably lower than in Podgorica.
- Coffee. The café culture is the same as the capital but less polished and cheaper.
- Markets. The Wednesday and Saturday morning pijaca (market) at the edge of town sells produce from the Malësia villages — honey, dried herbs, home-pressed olive oil, sometimes rakija.
Into the Malësia villages
The real reason to drive here is to continue east into the Malësia — a series of stone villages strung along the approach to the Prokletije. Names to look for on road signs: Dinoša, Milješ, Gurec, Vladne. These are rural, Catholic-Albanian in population, and more or less ignored by the tourist circuit. You drive, you look at the mountains, you stop at a kafana for a rakija and coffee, you drive back. The roads are paved, narrow, and empty.
Skadar Lake access
Tuzi also puts you close to the eastern shore of Lake Skadar — less visited than the Virpazar side. The village of Vranjina and the Skadar Lake National Park visitor centre are on the main road south, a short drive onward. The water here is reed-fringed and full of birdlife.
Crossing into Albania — Hani i Hotit
The main border crossing for Albania on this route is Hani i Hotit, about 10 km south-east of Tuzi. It is the busiest Montenegro–Albania crossing and is open 24 hours. From the border, it's a further 30 minutes into Shkodër — the largest city in northern Albania, around 45 minutes' driving from Tuzi in total, 1 h 15 min from Podgorica.
To take a rental car across the border you need a Green Card covering Albania. Tell us at booking and we will issue it — don't show up at the border without it. Passports are required, not ID cards; an EU or UK driving licence is sufficient to drive on the Albanian side. Border checks are usually quick but can queue for 20–30 minutes on peak summer Saturdays.
Practical notes
- Half-day trip from Podgorica is realistic — leave after breakfast, back for a late lunch.
- Carry cash in euros (Montenegro) and small amounts of Albanian lek if you're crossing the border. Many small places in the Malësia are cash-only.
- Fuel prices are the same in Tuzi as in Podgorica; in Albania they are typically a little lower, but don't cross the border just to refuel.
Pair with
Tuzi pairs well with a Plantaže Šipčanik tour on the same day — both are south of the centre. For the mountain scenery Tuzi only hints at, plan a separate day for the Komovi mountains road east.
