A first timer's guide to Skadar Lake

Most visitors meet Skadar Lake at Virpazar, get on a crowded boat for two hours and drive on to the coast. That is a shame, because the lake is 391 square kilometres and Virpazar is one small corner of it.

Come in spring or autumn

May, June, September and October are the best months. The water is warm enough to swim in from late May, the light is long, and the heat has not yet turned the middle of the day into something you sit out indoors. July and August are beautiful but hot, and everything is busier.

Get on the water early

The lake is at its best in the first two hours after sunrise. The water is flat, the birds are active, and the reed channels are quiet. If you only do one boat trip, do it early rather than at midday.

Do not skip the north shore

The northern shore, where the Zeta plain runs into the reeds, is the flat, quiet, unphotographed side. It is also where the fortress of Zabljak Crnojevica sits, the old Montenegrin capital, on a rock two kilometres from our village.

Bring binoculars

Around 280 bird species have been recorded here, and this is one of the last European strongholds of the Dalmatian pelican. Winter and early spring are the best times, which is another reason not to treat this as a summer destination.

Give it more than a day

The lake rewards slowness. One day gets you a boat trip. Three days get you the boat, the hills behind it, a monastery, a swim off a rock somewhere, and an evening you did not plan.