Bar-Bari-Bar ferry

There are only two international ferry lines, both of which link Montenegro to Italy: Bar-Bari-Bar and Bar-Ancona-Bar. Bar-Bari-Bar is the popular one. Both lines are operated by Montenegro Lines shipping company. The company owns two ferries: Sveti Stefan and Sveti Stefan II. Both are from the Yugoslavia era so are not modern. However they are maintained in a good condition even today.

To visit Italy on a regular trip, you need to book tickets for yourselves and a space for your car and do not forget about a Schengen visa. In 2010-2012, citizens of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus could visit Bari on a single-day trip without a visa. Entire Sveti Stefan II was chartered for this trip, so only those who acquired tickets for special dates and prices could be on board. However, the tour was discontinued in 2013.

For your information, these ships were evacuating Europeans from Libya on February 28, 2011.

The ferries are not as comfortable as cruise ships, but their passenger compartments are similar. Both ferries have several decks (Sveti Stefan II has nine). Car hangars are located at the lower decks; above them are restaurants, cafes, bars and duty free shops. Passengers reside in cabin suites of different classes, sit at comfortable airplane-like seats or long benches that are found all around the ferry. During the high season, many people even bring sleeping mats and lie on the floor.

Regular Ferries

Regular ferry tickets can be bought on the spot at the Barska Plovidba building in the harbor or booked online. If buying online, you have to visit the ticket office and print the tickets, using your booking confirmation. If the website is down (which happens), email online@barplov.com or call +38230311164.

Having acquired the tickets, please arrive to the ferry no later than 2 hours prior to the departure. You will see a queue of cars at the pier. When you exit the queue, by the ferry terminal you will meet the Montenegrin customs officer who will verify and stamp the papers. Then comes the ticket check and finally you can get on the ferry. Take everything you need during the trip with you before leaving the car and moving to the passenger facilities. As a rule, car hangars are locked during the trip.

Note that the top deck of the car hangar is filled first. It has no roof and is immediately adjacent to the exhaust pipes. To avoid these emissions do not try to be the first to enter the ferry, so you will be able to park on the lower decks…

After you arrive in Italy, you will need to go through the Italian customs office. The officer will confirm your papers and the Schengen visa. If everything is OK and you have your entry stamp, you are free to explore the wonders of Italy on your own.

The whole ferry trip between Bar and Bari takes 9 hours. The ferry travels about 200 kilometers between Montenegro and Italy.

Bar-Bari ferry price (departing from Montenegro)

ACCOMMODATION	BAR-BARI-BAR		BAR-ANCONA-BAR
Prices are in €/person	Sveti Stefan I	Sveti Stefan II	Sveti Stefan II
Airplane-like seating	50 / 55	-	-
4-person cabin, no windows	57 / 68	56 / 67	80
4-person cabin, no windows, WC	-	64 / 76	99
4-person cabin with windows	60 / 72	-	-
4-person cabin with windows, WC	74 / 88	69 / 82	110
2-person cabin, no windows	57 / 68	58 / 70	87
2-person cabin, no windows, WC	-	67 / 80	105
2-person cabin with windows	60 / 72	-	-
2-person cabin with windows, WC	80 / 96	76 / 91	115
2-person apartment with windows, WC	-	180 / 210	230
1-person luxury cabin with windows, WC	-	140 / 180	200
2-person luxury cabin with windows, WC	-	140 / 180	200
Cabin with a double bed and windows, WC	104 / 116	-	-
Deck (no seat reservation)	44 / 48	44 / 48	60
VEHICLES
Car	68 / 78		90
Motorcycle/scooter	30 / 36		41
Caravan up to 3 m long	35 / 41		43
Caravan up to 6 m long	105 / 120		138
Minivan	114 / 144		145
Bus (no passengers)	225 / 238		250
Bus (50% seats occupied)	171 / 190		200

 
Harbor fee: €12 per passenger or vehicle.

Prices are shown for high/low season. High season: 01.07-15.09, low season: rest of the year.
Cabin types and fees vary by ferry. Ferry timetable is detailed in the schedule.

DISCOUNTS:
-20% for the return ticket, if you buy a round trip;
-100% for the car, if you pay for 4 tickets and a cabin;
-75% for the car, if you pay for 3 tickets and a cabin;
-50% for the car, if you pay for 2 tickets and a cabin;
-50% for the car, if you pay for 4 tickets and airplane seats.

Bari to Bar ferry timetable

Bar-Bari:
Thursday, Sunday, 10 PM.

Bari-Bar:
Wednesday, Friday, 10 PM.
The trip takes 9 hours in any direction.
Cabin types and fees vary by ferry. Details are in the fee chart.

Bar-Ancona-Bar ferry schedule

The ferry line operates from 01.07 to 10.09 only

Bar-Ancona: Wednesday, Friday, 4 PM.

Ancona-Bar: Thursday, Saturday, 4 PM.

The line is serviced by Sveti Stefan II.

Schedule and fees are also available at the official website of Montenegro Lines.

Bar to Bari ferry crossing (without visa)

From 2010 to 2012, R-Tours offered single-day Bar-Bari-Bar visa-less trips to Montenegro. On the evening of the first day, the ferry left Bar for Bari. The tourists spent the whole next day in Italy (in bus tours around Bari and Alberobello) and took the return ferry the same evening. By the morning of the third day, they returned to Bar.

The trip was considered ‘visa-less’ only nominally. R-Tours employees collected the tourists’ passports and held them until the departure from Bari. Instead, the visitors were handed copies of their own passports, verified by the Italian police. That was called a shore pass or a police visa. There was no stamp in passports.

Since the entire ferry was chartered for the trip, only passengers with such ‘visa-less’ tickets were aboard. There was no option to buy a single ticket or to enter the ferry with a car.