Where to stayBy Clever Tourists · Published
For a first visit, stay inside Kotor's walled Old Town, near Trg od Oružja, the Square of Arms. It is the only base where you can walk out of the door at 7am and be on the steps to St. John's Fortress before the heat and the cruise passengers, and back in the lanes after 6pm when they have gone. Pick Dobrota, the waterfront strip just north of the walls, if you want a sea view and a swim from the rocks; Muo or Prčanj on the opposite shore for quiet; and Perast if you want the prettiest town on the bay and will give up nightlife and the fortress at dawn. Budva is a different trip, a beach resort on the open coast, not a base for Kotor. We spent 3 days in Kotor, 20 to 23 August 2023, arriving from Dubrovnik, at the height of cruise season.
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• First visit, 2 to 3 nights: the Old Town. The fortress, the cathedral and every restaurant on foot.
• Sea view and swimming: Dobrota. Stone captains' houses and small hotels on the water, a flat walk along the bay into town.
• Quiet, couples, longer stays: Muo or Prčanj, the villages facing Kotor across the inner bay.
• Romantic, one or two nights: Perast, with Our Lady of the Rocks offshore.
• Beaches and nightlife: Budva, accepting that Kotor becomes a day trip.
• Budget or a car: Škaljari and the streets just south of the Old Town walls, where apartments are cheaper and parking is easier to find.
What it's like: a small walled triangle of marble lanes between the bay and the cliff, entered through the Sea Gate onto Trg od Oružja, with the clock tower, the Cathedral of St. Tryphon and the Maritime Museum a few minutes apart. Our Kotor guide recommends staying inside the walls near the Square of Arms, and that is where we would book again. The whole town is about ten minutes end to end on foot.
Who it suits: almost everyone on a short stay. The fortress climb is about 1,350 steps with almost no shade and costs €15 (≈ $16.7) for foreign visitors in the paid season; the gates open at 7:00 from May to September, and being able to walk there in five minutes is the whole point. Details are in our Kotor fortress guide.
Downside: no cars inside the walls, so you carry your bags over polished stone, often up steep stairs in old houses. Rooms are small and the main squares have bars and church bells. From mid-morning to late afternoon in summer, when cruise passengers fill the lanes, the Old Town is the most crowded place on the bay. Ask for a room on a back lane, not a square.
What it's like: a long, narrow settlement running north from the Old Town along the shore road, lined with old stone sea captains' houses, small hotels and apartments, many with their own jetty or bathing platform. There is no real beach on the inner bay; people swim off the rocks and concrete platforms.
Who it suits: couples and families who want a terrace on the water and a swim before breakfast, and still want to walk to dinner in the Old Town along the bay. It is also easier for drivers than the Old Town, with more places offering parking.
Downside: the far end of Dobrota is a long walk from the walls, so check the distance to the Sea Gate before you book. The shore road is narrow and busy in summer, and rooms on the road side hear it.
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What it's like: two small villages on the western side of the inner bay, below the Vrmac ridge, looking straight back across the water at Kotor and its walls. Muo is the closer of the two to town; Prčanj, further along, has a large baroque church and a row of old captains' houses on the waterfront.
Who it suits: longer stays, return visitors and anyone who wants the view of Kotor rather than the noise of it. Evenings here are a terrace, the water and the lights of the Old Town.
Downside: fewer restaurants and almost no shops, and you depend on a car, a taxi or the local bus for every trip into Kotor. It is the wrong base if the 7am fortress climb is a priority.
What it's like: a single baroque waterfront street of palaces and churches, about half an hour from Kotor along the bay, facing the two islets including the man-made Our Lady of the Rocks. Short boat rides from the waterfront reach the island church. Our Balkans guide calls it a quieter, more scenic base nearby.
Who it suits: couples and photographers who want the bay at dawn and dusk, when the tour boats are gone. One or two nights here at the end of a Kotor stay works well.
Downside: parking is tight, and the town fills with day visitors around midday. There is little to do after dinner, and Kotor's fortress is a drive or a bus ride away. Our day trips from Kotor explain how to see Perast as a morning visit instead.
What it's like: Montenegro's main resort town, over the mountains on the open Adriatic coast, with a small walled old town, long beaches, big hotels and the country's busiest nightlife. Sveti Stefan and quieter Petrovac are further down the same coast; see our Petrovac guide.
Who it suits: travelers who want a beach holiday and will visit Kotor once. If swimming in the open sea matters more to you than the bay, Budva or Petrovac is the honest answer.
Downside: you lose the early fortress climb and the evening Old Town, and summer traffic on the coast road can turn a short trip into a long one. For a Kotor-first trip, stay in Kotor and do Budva as a day out.
Season. July and August are the most expensive and fully booked months; book the Old Town and Dobrota well ahead. Our Kotor guide's pick for the best time is late May, June or September, when the bay is warm enough to swim and the crowds are thinner.
Cruise ships. They dock right outside the Old Town walls. On busy days the lanes are full from mid-morning to late afternoon, so plan sightseeing early and late wherever you stay.
Tourist tax and registration. Expect a small tourist tax, reported at about €1 (≈ $1.1) per adult per night on the coast, usually added at the property, which also registers you with the authorities. Our Montenegro tourist tax guide has the details.
Rooms. Check for stairs, air conditioning (August nights are hot inside stone walls), and where the nearest drop-off point is if you arrive with big cases. Tivat airport is the closest; for a Dubrovnik arrival, see Kotor to Dubrovnik and the border.
Book 2 to 3 nights. Two covers the Old Town, the fortress and Perast; a third adds the serpentine road to Lovćen and Cetinje. Our how many days in Kotor guide has the day-by-day plan, and our Montenegrin food guide covers what to order.
On a short stay, one base in the Old Town or Dobrota is best. With four or more nights, splitting into Kotor plus one night in Perast, or Kotor plus a few beach nights on the coast, gives you two different trips. Coming from Croatia, compare with where to stay in Dubrovnik, and if you are deciding between the two countries, read Croatia vs Montenegro.
Inside the Old Town if you want the 7am fortress climb and the lanes in the evening. Outside, in Dobrota, if you want a sea view, a swim and parking, still within walking distance along the bay.
Kotor for a first visit, because the fortress, restaurants and transport are there. Perast is quieter and prettier and best for one or two nights, but it empties after dinner and fills with day visitors at midday.
Kotor if the Old Town and the bay are the point of the trip. Budva if you want beaches and nightlife on the open coast and are happy to visit Kotor as a day trip.
Two to three. Two covers the Old Town, the fortress and Perast; a third adds Lovćen and Cetinje. We spent 3 days in Kotor in August 2023.
The main squares have bars and church bells, and stone houses carry sound. Ask for a room on a back lane rather than a square, or stay in Dobrota.
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