Trips in Cities, Towns, and Beaches in Southern Montenegro
In Montenegro, it is recommended to rent a car which provides great flexibility during your trip. You can choose the beach you want rather than the one closest to the hotel, visit many more destinations in a given time frame including more distant and less-touristy towns, and drive to and from the airport comfortably without needing expensive taxis. Also, you will not find a taxi or convenient public transport everywhere.
Below are several nice destinations you can travel to along the coast of Montenegro, spending more or less time in some, taking a break for a swim at a good beach, strolling leisurely through an old town, or stopping for a nice meal in a beautiful place.
You should of course not miss a visit to the major cities along the coast:
Kotor
Charming Kotor, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the most-visited city in the southern part of the country, mainly because it has a port where many cruise ships arrive. Much information about it, including recommended tours, can be found in the article Guided Tours in Southern and Central Montenegro.
Guided Tours from Kotor via Viator:
♦ Booking a private airport transfer to Kotor via Viator:
Private Transfer from Tivat airport to Kotor
♦ Private walking guided tour in Old Town Kotor:
Private Kotor Old Town Walking Tour
♦ Private tour and boat cruise booking via Viator:
Montenegro Private Tour: Kotor, Perast, Our Lady Of The Rock, Budva
Recommended Hotels in Kotor
A 5-star boutique hotel with a private beach 3 km from the city center
The hotel features pools, a hammam, a gym and spa, a restaurant, a bar, and a minimarket. Free parking and internet are provided for guests.
A 4-star hotel with a private swimming beach located at the end of the Kotor Bay. Rooms overlook wonderful views of the bay. The hotel features a restaurant, bar, and spa with a jacuzzi and sauna. Free internet and free parking.
A 4-star hotel a 6-minute walk from the beach, situated in a renovated and preserved 600-year-old building. The antique furniture is about 150 years old. The hotel offers a shared guest kitchen, bicycle rentals (for an additional fee), free parking, and free internet.
An apartment hotel offering one-bedroom and living room apartments as well as two-bedroom and living room apartments. Each apartment has an equipped kitchen. The hotel has a private swimming beach and is located 3 km from the city center. Free internet, free parking.
Apartments Residence Portofino
A high-quality, luxurious apartment hotel with a swimming pool and free bicycle rentals for guests. Each apartment has an equipped kitchen. The penthouse accommodates up to 6 guests. Free internet, free parking.
Budva:
Budva, a historic city founded about 2,500 years ago, is considered today the tourism capital of the country. It is located in the center of Montenegro's coastline. Budva is considered a true pearl, set between green mountains and red city roofs; the sea water looks particularly clear and the beaches are wonderful. The Mediterranean climate is pleasant most of the year, and in the summer months, the beaches are extremely crowded.
Guided Tours from Budva via Viator:
Budva has a charming old town on the coastline with narrow streets, 7th-century churches, 15th-century ancient towers, and plenty of shops, restaurants, and cafes. The best view of the city is from the Budva Citadel, which is also a museum/library for a modest fee. From the heights of the citadel, there is a panoramic view of the entire surroundings, the beaches, the old town, and even further—highly recommended.
Paid parking lots are located near the old town. The city is surrounded by walls. Right next to the walls is also a swimming beach called Old Town Beach with a pier from which you can descend into the clear water.
Budva's most famous and popular swimming beaches are:
Slovenska Plaza Beach
This is one of Budva's largest beaches, about a kilometer and a half long, extending from the old town marina eastwards to the Dukley Hotel & Resort. Umbrellas and chairs can be rented on-site.
Becici Beach
East of Budva - located east of the old town after Slovenska Plaza. This beach is also about a kilometer and a half long and reaches the recommended Meridian Hotel. This beach is packed with rental umbrellas and chairs, featuring a long promenade rich with restaurants and shops serving the many tourists.
Plaža Kamenovo Beach
This beach, located east of Becici Beach, can also be reached on foot from the Becici beach promenade through a tunnel in the mountain separating them. This is a slightly less crowded beach with clearer water than Becici.
About five kilometers from Budva, when driving towards Tivat, another successful swimming beach is located:
Jaz Beach
A large swimming beach about a kilometer long where the water is clear, clean, and considered one of the best in Europe. The beach is very popular. In the water, there are various inflatable and floating water attractions, ideal for families. On the beach, there are rental umbrellas and lounge chairs, restaurants, and showers. The beach is not sandy, but rather has small pebbles that are comfortable to walk on. The eastern part of the beach is less crowded because it is further from the parking lot.
Recommended Hotels in Budva:
A high-quality 4-star boutique hotel with 8 spacious rooms, most of which offer views of the bay and the sea. The hotel features private parking, a swimming pool, and excellent personal service. The hotel is close to the beach (Becici) and a long promenade abounding with restaurants, stalls, and shops.
The view from Meridian Hotel to Budva's beaches:
A 4-star hotel in a central location near Slovenska Beach and the marina, and a short walking distance from the old town. The hotel features a pool, gym, spa, bar, and restaurant.
Splendid Conference & Spa Resort
A 5-star resort
in a central location on Becici Beach, featuring a private beach, a swimming pool, and a large, luxurious spa center with indoor heated pools and jacuzzis. The hotel has a bar and restaurant
The Marina of Tivat
The city of Tivat houses an international airport but also features a marina, which is famous for the luxury yachts docked there belonging to the wealthy and famous.
The marina is located in the Porto Montenegro port in Tivat and is one of the most luxurious yacht harbors in the world.
Many celebrities and wealthy individuals like Tom Cruise and Novak Djokovic arrive here with their luxurious yachts. It features tons of giant yachts alongside luxury shops, restaurants, and cafes. Even those without a yacht are welcome to drop by and be impressed by a meticulously maintained and designed place that completely differs in style and atmosphere from other places in Montenegro.
The marina has one pier where giant yachts are docked—veritable large, luxurious, and glittering ships. Smaller yachts are docked at the many other piers. You can stroll between the piers and admire the yachts.
Sveti Stefan Peninsula
This is basically a picturesque island connected to the shore by a narrow road, located about nine kilometers southeast of Budva.
The island houses an exclusive hotel named Aman Hotel Sveti Stefan, which is a favorite among the rich and famous who can vacation there in high privacy. Three notable past guests of the hotel are Sophia Loren, Sylvester Stallone, and the Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, who held his wedding at this hotel. In-season prices start from about 1500 euros per night for the cheapest room. It is wonderful to look out from the main coastal road at the picturesque island and especially to watch the sunset over it.
On both sides of the island are excellent swimming beaches. The right one is reserved only for hotel guests and those willing to pay over 100 euros per day for an umbrella and lounge chairs, while the left one is for everyone. In my opinion, they are the most successful ones in the Montenegro Riviera, which abounds with wonderful beaches.
The City of Bar
Bar is located about a 45-minute drive south of Budva. People mostly come here to visit the old town. Unlike other cities in Montenegro, the old town does not border the coastline at all, but is instead located on a mountain, whereas New Bar is a port city with a marina and a large military harbor. In the new city, you can visit King Nikola's Palace, which currently serves as a museum.
The new city also features two new churches with a completely different look from the ancient churches. One is brand new, with shiny gold and blue domes, and its interior is entirely decorated with paintings.
The second church is built in a modern style with straight rather than curved walls, in red and gray colors.
The beach in the new city is located north of the port and adjacent to it. The beach is equipped with rental umbrellas and chairs, a lifeguard, and showers. Here too, as in most beaches, there is no sand, just small pebbles.
Old Town of Bar:
The old town is located about five kilometers east of the new city up the mountain.
There is parking near the old town from where you walk up the old town street, which features many souvenir shops and restaurants for visiting tourists. At the upper end of the street, you reach the remains of a fortress, which requires a modest admission fee.
You walk around the fortress and climb its walls, which offer beautiful distant views: mountains to the east, and the city of Bar to the south and west. To the north, you can see an aqueduct that once supplied water to the fortress. In this area, you see more Muslim residents and, of course, mosques.
Beaches from Ulcinj to Bojana Island (Ada Bojana) in Southern Montenegro
South of the city of Ulcinj and all the way to the border with Albania stretches a long sandy beach strip of over 10 km. The sand is soft, clean, and light brown. This beach strip is divided into many organized swimming beaches, each featuring rental lounge chairs and umbrellas, and sometimes luxurious cabanas as well. All organized beaches have well-managed lifeguard services.
The coastline in this area is not indented like the Kotor to Bar region, and therefore the sea can be rougher, especially in the afternoon hours when winds pick up. At the southern end of this beach strip, near the border with Albania, lies Bojana Island (Ada Bojana), connected by a small bridge over the Bojana River which separates the island from the mainland. On Bojana Island, there are two organized beaches separated by a partition; the southern beach and its adjacent camping site are intended for naturists only, while the northern beach is for bathers wearing swimsuits.
Video about beaches in Montenegro: