Boat trip in Kotor

Most of the boat tours do Our Lady of the Rocks and the Blue Cave and to do that in 3 hours they have to move at a pretty good clip. Check out Viator and see if any of it looks doable for you.

WAIT: https://www.viator.com/tours/Kotor/Whole-Boka-Bay-Cruise-with-Ship-Knez-Lipovac/d23078-422249P1 Of course its 9 hours LOL. Here is their main booking site: https://www.bokabaytours.com/index.php/en/

If your ship is docking at Dubrovnik, then I would rather spend a day doing this than I would walking around Kotor.

Thank you that is super helpful

Another idea is a tour. Maybe you can find a packaged one, if not private tours aren’t terribly expensive in Montenegro. The reason I say if your ship stops at Dubrovnik, I would rather do something other than walk around Kotor is that Kotor is like a lesser version of Dubrovnik so that’s sort of a repeat. But there are plenty of unique things to see and do, but depends on how much time you have.

If you did want to shell out for a private tour, you could see some of this (maybe 1, 2 or 3 from the list). How much depends on how much time you have:

• Ostrog Monastery https://youtu.be/ixrJu6qv46M?si=WML9Hs2hOQCsKZwE
• AND Hotel & Restaurant Sokoline https://youtu.be/miNV1FVK7qI?si=iZC_lViMUEk6JGI
• P1 Mountain Road https://youtu.be/QSz5hZVNxQ8?si=kAUpMBWDbSSztzt5
• AND Prosciutto at Zora https://youtu.be/08il6EXog3o?si=PkQ6Rrueu6c_-U98
• Perast, https://youtu.be/q2nckBnc7_M?si=CohK_4nsI6l7chEB
• AND Hotel Conte https://youtu.be/zYJcm2zlXA8?si=w7VstV-oLoVEQLr7
• Budva https://youtu.be/GF7hyxB8Xq4?si=re2lmDTm5pRNpioH
• Stari Bar, https://youtu.be/OBU56OT78fw?si=tzF65lSmOXSEpWKZ
• Herceg Novi https://youtu.be/nNtT4Mh2ZTc?si=E8XAPiylEc7xlH0m
• Cetinje https://youtu.be/_373xg9vi6c?si=f4DNGEjkBu9GwF9P

Where does your ship actually dock? In Kotor or in Dubrovnik or somewhere else? I ask this because if your ship docks in Kotor, you will already sail a large part of the Bay of Kotor. Plus you will be tendered to shore, since Kotor doesn’t have a proper cruise pier. So a boat trip might feel a bit redundant.
If your ship docks in Dubrovnik, you’ll need to take into account that in order to get to Kotor and back you will need to deal with border formalities. This can take quite some time, depending on how busy it is.

Thanks we dock in Kotor, I did wonder about how much of the Bay we might see on the way in.

Is the Blue Cave just outside Kotor, the same one that people visit from Dubrovnik?

May I suggest you look up Kotor on a map? You’ll then see that your ship will have to sail the entire Bay of Kotor in order to reach Kotor. And back again on the way out.
Personally I wouldn’t do a boat trip there in this case. I stayed in Kotor for three days earlier this year and I really liked the city itself.

So, the cruise ship enters and leaves the bay in the daylight hours? That does make some of the cruise tour redundant except for the swimming, the cave, the time in Herceg Novi and the time at Our Lady. Then maybe you want a ground tour. Kotor is a great town, but with so many one off sort of experiences so close I think its a compromise to spend too much time in Kotor. But maybe the ship only docks for 3 hours? So, with out knowing your arrival and departure times its darn near impossible to suggest anything.

We go in May, I think we arrive at 7am and leave at 7pm. Recommendations for things to do in Kotor welcome.

Okay, here is what I would do if I were returning with someone I wanted to impress (I will be back in 2026).

The morning before arrival in Kotor I would raid the ship breakfast buffet for croissants and fruit and cheese.

At 5:30am the morning of arrival in Kotor I would be sitting in a nice deck chair on the port side with coffee and smuggled food. I suspect that the boat will enter the inlet to the bay between 5:30 and 6:00am. From the port side you can see Our Lady of the Rocks and Perast as you make the turn for Kotor.

So, it drops anchor at 7:00 am but given you need to dingy to get to shore let’s say that you meet your guide at 8:30. Maybe you can have a little breakfast first that way too.

Start with a 2.5-hour tour of Kotor. With a guide you will get the most out of the time and learn as well as see.

Then head up the P1 road to my favorite prosciutto house. The bar with the hams hanging from the rafters is quite a sight. Then lunch of homemade cheese and prosciutto and maybe wash it down with a Nikšićko beer.
About 1pm, after lunch, drive through Cetinje the old capital of Montenegro, then on to visit a Winery about 30 - 45 minutes away. There are a handful to choose from between Cetinje and Podgorica. If you aren’t into wineries, then it’s off to the Lipa Caves for spelunking.

Now head back to Kotor on the lower road that takes you through Budva where you can stop and poke around for about an hour. Small old town on the coast, but very interesting. The goal is to be back at 5:30pm so you don’t miss your boat.