one day at Kotor?

@helene.dubac, I wonder if you might want to post this question on the "Montenegro" page, as I suspect your cruise port is actually Kotor (Montenegro).

I wonder if we're on the same one? Celebrity Constellation, Venice (Oct 10) to Athens?

I was at the Kotor cruise port 3 years ago (similar itinerary), and the highlight is the actual sail in, and the sail away. The scenery is stunning. I climbed the walls of the old town ( a couple of hours - did the whole thing) and had great views of the bay. This year, we intend to just enjoy the old town, and wander down the road to the newer area. We'll have a spot outside, at the Sunset Bar for sail away, that's for sure!

I'm sorry -- I can't speak to your actual question, though.

Happy sailing!

Cheers,
Vivian (& Bryce)
Kingston, Ontario, Canada

This website provides some information on the bus schedule from Budva to Sveti Stefan, but it says you can't go onto the island itself unless you're staying at the resort. I have no idea how accurate that is, or whether the bus schedule changes from month to month.

I haven't been to Sveti Stefan, but I visited Budva on a day-trip from Kotor last year. Both towns are very nice, though full of tourist shops. The medieval core of Kotor felt larger, and Kotor has the wall you can walk on. I found it more interesting, though I was glad I had a chance to see Budva as well. But I had several days in Kotor, not just one. Kotor itself will be mobbed by your fellow cruisers if your ship is large, but if you keep walking away from the entrance gate, you'll find quieter areas.

Budva, though not a big cruise port, had quite a lot of tourists when I was there, though the season was winding down around the beginning of October. There's pretty frequent bus service between Kotor and Budva by a number of different companies. The Kotor bus station is a bit of a walk from the main gate of the old town. The Budva bus station is considerably more of a hike from the medieval area, which (being on the waterfront) is downhill. You'll likely need a map to find your way back to the Budva bus station for the return trip unless you opt for a taxi. Allow plenty of time, and don't plan to take the last bus back to Kotor that will get you to your ship.

In sum: I don't think I'd bother with Sveti Stefan. You can certainly see Budva and some of Kotor in one day, but I'd be inclined not to do that since they are fairly similar and there's more to see in Kotor. The bus ride is nice, though, and one might say that any opportunity to see the Montenegrin countryside should be seized.

Other options from Kotor are the boat ride to Perast (tourist info booth just outside the old town probably has the schedule) or a bus to Herceg-Novi (looks different from Kotor and gets far fewer tourists). I especially liked the inland city of Cetinje, a former capital that has a number of tourist sights, but it's more like 90 minutes away, and on a one-day cruise stop you're probably better off just enjoying Kotor. This is assuming you don't want to pay for a bus tour of some sort. If you don't have to fiddle around with public-bus schedules, you can obviously pack more in.

With respect to the bus schedules, I recommend checking them at every opportunity. The info you get at the bus station should be reliable, but I'm never totally confident about online info for buses. The good news is that all the likely destinations are reasonably close to Kotor, so a taxi wouldn't break the bank if you had to resort to that.