We'll be stopping at Kotor on a cruise in July. Will likely take a walking tour of Kotor and spend time on our own seeing the town. Some excursions allow for tour/time in Kotor as well as Budva. I've read Budva more about the beaches, and the Old Town is fairly small. We don't feel like we need to be out all day, but if Budva is worth the time, then we'd consider adding that to the itinerary. Is it worth trying to see both on our short day? Or time better spent just seeing Kotor in a more relaxing way?
Posted by
Ashburn VA
793 posts
We had several days in Montenegro and went to Budva, but to me it wasn't much. There's a nice enough little Old Town, but no more interesting than Kotor, plus a bit of a beach. As best we could tell, it was more about vacationing Russians, clubs and restaurants than anything else. Nearly all ships calling on Kotor require tendering. Depending on the size of your ship, that could add an hour for the wait and transit times. More isn't always better. I'd suggest you stay in Kotor, and enjoy seeing it as best you can. As you'll be there with a couple thousand other cruise passengers, it will be a tight fit. (You can find out the port schedule on a number of websites; yours might not be the only ship in port that day.) If anything, I'd find a way to go up the mountain to view the Bay from above. It is spectacular, and well worth the effort.
Posted by
Atlanta
5131 posts
Since you will be on a cruise, there is an excursion that some cruise lines offer that will take you to the towns of Njegusi and Cetinje. The road to get there is one you may or may not want to travel. The views of the Bay of Kotor from various points along the road are spectacular. But not if you have a problem with heights or are prone to motion sickness. We took the tour to Njegusi and Cetinje on what is know as the P1 road. It goes up (or down) the side of a mountain and has about 25 numbered 180 degree switchback turns and probably 75 other sharp turns. There's a rock wall on one side and nothing on the other. But, large tour buses do travel this road. Although it's probably a rare occurrenc, we saw several folks throwing up on the side of the road. You can go to bing.com, use the map feature, and see aerial views of the road. Googlemaps.com. will also allow you to check it out. On 12 Mar. 2017 there was a thread on this forum titled "Greece Montenegro Croatia". One person included a link to a good map that shows the road. Another person had a link to a video made along parts of the road. Just food for thought so you wont inadvertently find yourself in a bad situation.
Posted by
OP
Maryland
38 posts
Thanks for the info! @Wanderlust58 - what ways are there to get to the mountain top you write of?
Posted by
Washington DC
27591 posts
You can walk on top of the town wall in Kotor. It isn't your typical wall walk; that wall goes right up the side of the hill, zigzagging back and forth. Views and photos must be great.
Go to Google Maps and search for Kotor. Zoom in a bit until you see two sort of zigzaggy paths southeast and east of the built-up town. The zigzags on a white background are the walk up the wall, I think. The zagzags on a green background may be a road that would take you to the top. I can't say for sure; I only gazed at the Great Wall of Kotor from a distance.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
19373 posts
If they have a tour that includes Perast, that is worth the effort. Closer than Budva too.
Posted by
Ashburn VA
793 posts
To reach the top of the mountain to look down on the bay, we had a driver and guide, but I think there were taxis available in town, too.