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Bay of Kotor & the Budva Riviera

Montenegro · Europe · northern hemisphere

SwimmingLakes & CoastlineHikingCity & Culture

Bay of Kotor & the Budva Riviera is at its best for hiking in May to June and September to October. Good but not prime in April, July and August. Crowds peak in July and bottom out in December.

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Crowds

Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.

primegoodpossibleoff-seasoncrowds, on this place’s own scale

The short version

A drowned river canyon that looks like a fjord, with mountains rising 1,700m straight out of it — and a cruise-ship problem in Kotor that makes the difference between nine in the morning and six in the evening extreme

What the walking is like

Steep stepped ascents from sea level and ridge walking above. No guide needed.

When not to come

Kotor old town between ten and five in summer. It is small, walled, and takes several thousand cruise passengers at once — early morning and evening are a different town entirely.

Busiest

July and August, and any day a cruise ship is in Kotor — which is most days from April to October

With children

The bay is sheltered and calm, which is easy, but the beaches are mostly concrete platforms and pebble. The ladder up the Kotor fortifications is 1,350 steps with unprotected drops.

Where to stay

Kotor itself is priced for the cruise trade. Herceg Novi is the cheaper base on the bay with the same water; Perast and Tivat are dearer than Kotor, not cheaper.

Dates that matter

  • Boka Night, Kotor (Aug) — decorated boats on the bay
  • Kotor Carnival (Feb)
  • Cruise season (Apr–Oct) — the single biggest factor in how the old town feels on a given day

Walks

  • Kotor fortifications — 1,350 steps up the walls above the town, best at first light
  • Ladder of Kotor — the old switchback mule track to the plateau above, longer and far emptier than the walls
  • Lovćen National Park — ridge walking above the bay, with the mausoleum at the top

The wall climb and the Ladder both start from the old town and both are unshaded limestone. In July and August they are only sensible before eight in the morning.

Crowds, month by month

951643729110097743820

0 is this destination’s own quietest month and 100 its busiest. The scale never compares one destination to another. Source: Wikipedia — Kotor

See everything else at its best in May

Elsewhere in Europe

ChamonixZermattThe DolomitesJungfrau RegionZakopane & the TatrasChianti & TuscanyDouro ValleyRioja