A bay that looks like a fjord with a Venetian walled town at the end of it, mountains rising straight from the sea, and prices below Croatia's. Small enough to cross in three hours.
Kotor's bay is spectacular. The swimming is better on the open coast.
The Bay of Kotor is a flooded river canyon, not a fjord, and it's the most dramatic stretch of the Adriatic — Venetian towns at the water's edge under 1,700-metre limestone. But the bay water is enclosed and cooler, and the beaches are small and pebbly. The open coast at Budva, Petrovac and Sveti Stefan has the proper swimming. The best trips do both: a few nights in Kotor or Perast for the setting, then the coast for the sea.
A walled town, a bay, and mountains an hour inland.
A Venetian walled town under a mountain, with 1,350 steps up the fortifications. Go at seven — it's exposed and it fills by ten.
A baroque village of stone palaces, and a church on a man-made island offshore. Quieter and prettier than Kotor.
A fifteenth-century island village, now a hotel — you can't go in, and the view from the road is the picture anyway.
A national park of peaks and glacial lakes, two hours inland, with the Tara canyon — the deepest in Europe. Rafting in summer.
A mausoleum at 1,600m above the bay, up 25 hairpins, and the old royal capital below it. The best view in the country.
A walled peninsula with a citadel, and the country's liveliest resort strip behind it. Two different things side by side.
The bay for scenery, the open coast for swimming.
Venetian towns under the mountains. Spectacular, and the bay water is cooler and enclosed.
The main resort coast. Sandy and pebble beaches, and the busiest nightlife in Montenegro.
South of Budva. Smaller, calmer, and where families and couples do better.
Two hours inland. Peaks, lakes and rafting. A completely different country.
May to June and September. July and August are hot and Kotor is crowded.
May and June give warm days, comfortable walking and space in the old towns. September has the warmest sea and the crowds thin after the first week. July and August bring 31°C, cruise traffic and peak prices. Winter is mild on the coast and snowy inland — Durmitor is a small ski area.
3 hours to Tivat (TIV) or Podgorica. Dubrovnik (DBV) is often cheaper, with a two-hour transfer and a border crossing.
20 minutes from Tivat to Kotor or Budva. Two hours from Dubrovnik, with a queue at the border in summer.
Euro, despite Montenegro not being in the EU. Cards widely accepted.
Worth it for Lovćen and Durmitor. The bay road is narrow and busy in season.
We'll split the bay and the coast, and write the payment plan out in full.
Montenegro is cheaper with arguably more dramatic scenery in a smaller area. Croatia has better beaches and more islands. Many people do both.
For two or three nights, for the setting. Then move to the open coast for the swimming — the bay water is cooler and enclosed.
Often cheaper, and it's a two-hour transfer with a border crossing that queues in summer. Tivat is 20 minutes. We price both.
Petrovac and Bečići are calm and sandy. Kotor's steps and narrow lanes are harder work with young children.
Flights, accommodation and transfers as one package. Every one can be reshaped — different dates, different board, a different airport, or a stopover on the way.
Guide prices, per person, based on two sharing, including return flights, accommodation and transfers. They indicate what a holiday of this type has typically cost and are not an offer or a quotation. Your price depends on dates, party, board basis, departure airport and availability, and is confirmed in writing before any payment is taken.
Ready-built itineraries with flights, transfers and internal hops booked as one package, ATOL protected. Every one can be reshaped around your dates.
11 nights · May–Jun, Sep · from £1,149pp
10 nights · May–Jun, Sep–Oct · from £1,449pp
10 nights · Mar–May, Sep–Nov · from £849pp
11 nights · Nov–Apr · from £2,199pp
13 nights · Nov–Mar · from £2,099pp
15 nights · Dec–Apr · from £2,399pp
