ULCINJ is situated on the very south of the Adriatic coast and on the same latitude as Barcelona and Rome. It is recognized for its biggest number of sunny days on the Adriatic Sea along with Hvar.
Since the ancient Illyrian settlement dating back to the Bronze Age (which can be proved by many archeological sites) through the first written monuments, after the Illyrian-Roman war and up to the present, Ulcinj has always been a target for the Greeks, Romans and a significant episcope centre with 365 churches (as many as days in a year), in the episcope town Svatch (Shas), then the Turks, the pirate nest defying all the sea empires on the Mediterranean of the time, until the arrival of tourists from all over Europe and the world. Ulcinj is a historical-tourist mosaic.
With approximately 20 km of beaches, 15 km of them being fine sandy beaches, with over 6,000 ha of fertile soil, with its olive grove counting 88,000 trees, the healing effects of the sand, mud and mineral sulfur water (which were highly evaluated by both domestic and foreign experts and institutions), Ulcinj presents a respected economic-tourist potential for developing of every kind of tourism (elite, nautical and health), as well as of agriculture as a comparing branch.
Ulcinj is located on the very south of the Adriatic coast. This area streches between 19*22’30”and 19*8’30” and 41*5’6” of the northern latitude and it belongs to the edge of the subtropical European Mediterannean climate. With its southern part it borders along 30 km with the river Bojana. In its central part there is Lake Shas and in the hinterland of this area there is the mountain massif of Rumija. The total area of 255 sq km is a unique example of beauty: the never-ending sandy beaches , the sea, the river, the lake, the mountains, the lush vegetation…

Climate

The area of Ulcinj belongs to the Adriatic kind of the Mediterannean climate and it is known for its subtropical vegetation. Ulcinj has got an extremely pleasant climate, so that in this way it can be compared to the most known Mediterranean tourist centres. Ulcinj is both an excellent summer and winter resort. The average annual temperature is 16C and thus it is waremr than a lot of other coastal towns. Although summers are hot, there are not many overheated days due to the constant air flow. The coldest month is certainly January with the average temperature of 8.6C, and the hottest is July with 26.3C. The daily average temperature taken at one o’clock is 18.5C.
The average temperature during the four seasons would be as follows: winter 9.6C, spring 14.5C, summer 24.4C, autumn 17.5C. The absolutely highest temperature is 38.5C in July, and the absolutely lowest temperature is 8.4C in January. The temperature in Ulcinj is convenient for sunbathing and swimming which can be done during 6 months, from May to October , and during that time the sea temperature is also very convenient.
Insolation. Ulcinj belongs to the sunniest places on the Adriatic coast. The average level of annual insolation in Ulcinj is 218 days, and this is approximately 2,706 hours per year or 7.4 hours /day. During summer Ulcinj has got the biggest number of sunny hours – 11 hours per day. The southern coastline, with Ulcinj as part of it, is considered to be the clearest area of the Mediterranean.
The most frequent winds here are „bura“ (tempest), „jugo“ (south wind), and „maestral“ (light wind coming from the sea). „The Bura“ blows from north-east during late autumn and winter and it is considered to be a cold wind. „The Yugo“ blows in autumn, winter, spring and it brings rain, and on the sea it makes huge waves. „The Maestral“ comes from west and south-west, it is a pleasant wind as it brings refreshment after the heat during the hottest summer hours. It is most intensive between 2 p.m and 3 p.m. when it reaches the speed of 10m/sec. Thanks to „The Maestral“ there are not many sweltering and overheated days. The average amount of precipitation is 1344mm/sqm and it is made of just rainfalls.

Vegetation

Three vegetation belts have been created under the influence of such a climate: the first belt with permanently green vegetation (up to an altitude of 300 m) dominated by trees like the olive tree, the fig tree, the citrus (tangerines, oranges, lemons), almonds, kiwis.
The second belt consists of: chestnuts, pommegranates, vine and grains and the third belt is made of: pears, apples, plums etc. The coastal belt is decorated by pine trees, agaves, palm trees and other beautiful plants. Ulcinj is widely recognized on the tourist market for its huge areas of agricultural land, a clean and unpolluted environment that no industry or anything else has ever spoiled, being exploited by the hard-working residents, who produce ecological food.
The Ulcinj agricultural products (water melons, tangerines, oranges, kiwis, figs, pommegranates, then greenpeppers and tomatoes) used to fill up the markets of the Yugoslav republics such as Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia. When these products are combined with various fish caught in the sea, the river Bojana or lake by the hands of industrious Ulcinj fishermen, as well as with the home-made brandy and wine, the Ulcinj cuisine is made recognizable through the hands of the skillful chefs with their domestic specialities to which nobody can stay indiferent, especially when served by experienced waiters.

Natural beauties

An attempt to describe the natural beauties of Ulcinj will remain just an attempt. Nature has been very generous towards this part of the Adriatic coast, by creating a colourful mosaic of magnificent contrasts in a unique way. As if nature had long ago examined the variety of wishes and demands of modern people to keep in touch with its unspoiled existence, so it awarded this area with: the dark-blue clean sea, the green-eyed river Bojana and the island Ada on its delta, the rich lake Shas, the long-living olive grove, the beautiful Valdanos bay, the healing springs, the pine wood with its enchanting smell and the well known sandy beaches.
Charmed by the beauty of this town a lot of artists got inspired for their works of art, and so they transferred this exotic nature onto the sreen like the famous directors Živko Nikolić, Dušan Vukotić in the films „Long Ships“, „The Seventh Continent“, „The Beauty of the Sin“ and others.
The charming sandy beaches are a token and symbol of Ulcinj’s excellence. The biggest among them, about 13 km long and about 50 m wide, is the Long Beach streching from north-west towards south-east and having the shape of an arch from Porta Milena to the Bojana delta. It is only 4 km away from the city centre. With the construction zest especially after the earthquake in 1979 the narrow part of the town was connected to this beach as well as to Shtoj, by building modern houses representing a huge accommodation potential for all kinds of tourists. The whole beach consists of fine sand – white and greyish granule from 0.1 to 0.5 mm. The same granule make the bottom of the shallow swimming area, so that swimming here can be of great pleasure, especially convenient for older people, and for little children a real enjoyment.

Health tourism

Due to its extraordinary factors, the clean and clear sea, the curing sandy beaches, the sulfur mineral water, the curing mud, the sea salt and its stem alkalis, the mild stimulative coastal climate, Ulcinj is a natural spa with perfect qualities, well known all over the world. Prof. Not (Noht), the manager of the Institute for Tropical Diseases in Hamburg, made the following statement as he was staying in Ulcinj in 1925: “I have never seen a place filled up by stars as it is Ulcinj“. The value of this area is great and versatile for a human body, and professor Dr. Lemoh (Lemoch), president of the European League for Rheumatism, while staying in Ulcinj in 1964 said: “In a therapeutic sense Ulcinj has got a great future“. A scientist of a worldwide reputation Mihailo Pupin demanded in June 1919 through his deputy from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kingdom of Montenegro a license for opening a sanatorium for treating certain conditions and diseases. All this contributed to the fact that in 1929 Ulcinj was claimed to be „a spa and climatic resort“ by the decree of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The advantages of the Ulcinj climate are most significant for its living conditions, and the sea temperature ensures the possibility for sunbathing during 6 months, from May till October. In summer the sea transparency reaches 38 m and on the open sea in front of Ulcinj it measured even 56 m which was the highest level on the Adriatic Sea.
The sand on the beaches is actually providing these long healing effects since it is so clean, so fine and it contains no impurities like soil, mud, organic materials or others due to the fact that Ulcinj is surrounded by an unpolluted environment, with no industry at all. From the chemical composition the Ulcinj sand has about 30 mineral ingredients which are biologically very active. It is slightly radioactive which makes it suitable for medical use, especially when it comes to diseases with organs used for movement as well as spine problems, rheumatism, discopathy, sciatica and all the consquences if these organs get hurt.