Quite a small article about the time in Montenegro and all about it. You will learn not only that Montenegro is in the UTC +2 time zone, but also about the clock change, the opening hours of cafes and shops. I will also tell you about the punctuality of the locals. Read on, it will be interesting.

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time in montenegro
In every city in Montenegro, a clock is installed on the main square. They have been important since medieval times.

Time in Montenegro: time zone, clock change

The most important points briefly:

  • Montenegro is not a big country. It is located in the territory of one time zone.
  • Montenegro is in the UTC +2 time zone. And for example:
    • London: UTC 0
    • New York: UTC -5
    • Sydney: UTC +11
    • This means that the time in Montenegro is two hours ahead of London. And 7 hours ahead of New York. But 9 hours behind Sydney.

Important:

Today, 74 countries in the world change their clocks twice a year (for daylight saving time and vice versa). Among them are all European countries, including Montenegro, as well as the USA, Canada, Australia and many others.

The hands of the clock are always set at 3 am on the last Sunday in October and the last Sunday in March. Moreover, in October, the arrows are always set back an hour for winter time. And an hour ahead in March.

After switching to winter or summer time, the time difference with countries that do the same does not increase or decrease. But with some countries, the time difference in winter increases by 1 hour. For example, with Russia – in this country, there is no clock change

Time in Montenegro: opening hours of shops and restaurants

If you look in general, then Montenegro is a country for “lark” people. Everything opens up pretty early. Below are a few points for general understanding:

  • There are a large number of bakery shops in every city, they start working from 5-6 a.m. in the morning.
  • Grocery stores, supermarkets and malls from 8am or 8:30am
  • Markets start working from 6-7 a.m. in the morning. And at 3 p.m almost all of them are already closed.
  • Taverns and restaurants usually open no earlier than 1-2 p.m.
  • But the cafes where they drink coffee with a cigarette are open in the morning.

Important point:

Throughout the country, all grocery stores, shopping centers, clothing stores, supermarkets are closed on Sundays and holidays.
opening hours of shops and markets in Montenegro
This are opening hours of the market. It is closed at 3 p.m.

On Sunday you won’t be able to buy anything. But at the same time, all bakeries, taverns, restaurants and cafes work on Sundays.

How locals relate to time: everything about punctuality

There are legends about the fact that time in Montenegro is an empty phrase for the locals, that they are not punctual, lazy and slow. This is partly true, but everything is greatly exaggerated.

In this Balkan country, there are 10 Montenegrin commandments. Once upon a time it started as a joke, but now these commandments are a national feature. I will not list everything, you will read about them in the article: facts about Montenegro. But here are two of them that well show the attitude of the locals to work:

  • When you accidentally want to work, sit down, rest, you will see it will pass.
  • You see a place where people eat and drink, join. You see a place where they work, go away, don’t bother.

This is how Montenegrins treat their work. I don’t know when the locals work, but all the cafes are always busy with people drinking coffee. Morning coffee flows smoothly into lunch, and after lunch they definitely need to go to drink coffee, but after three in the afternoon they can already go home.

Good to know:

In general, you can negotiate something with the locals and do business with them is also normal. They keep their promises, and there are no big problems with punctuality. When they tell you that it is normal for Montenegrins to be late for an hour, this is not true. But 5-10 minutes late is really not considered late here.

Therefore, to summarize, they do not really like to work, Montenegrins even have a word – sutra, which translates literally – come tomorrow. But at the same time, if they promised, they will do it. And if your question: “when?”, you hear “sutra”, it means “come tomorrow and we’ll figure it out.”

In conclusion: now you know all the main points about the time in Montenegro, how locals relate to it and the opening hours of various shops and cafes.

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