Montenegro limits free beach chairs after 5 pm to its citizens

Montenegro's public‑sea‑property agency has introduced a new rule for the 2026 beach season: lounge chairs and umbrellas may be used free of charge after 17:00 only by Montenegrin citizens who present an identity document. In previous years the same benefit applied to all beach visitors, including foreign tourists.

The contract for sea‑property use obliges beach leaseholders to honour the free‑use provision for nationals and to display the rule on information boards. Operators who continue to charge after 17:00 face penalties, and complaints can be filed with the Service for Control of Sea Property and the tourist inspection, which are carrying out heightened checks along the coast. JP "Morsko dobro" director Mladen Mikijelj warned that any breach will trigger contractual consequences.

The change has provoked reactions from tourists and locals, with several reports of charges being levied after the cutoff hour and calls for clarification from the agency.