Kotor in 10 Days

Drive from your accommodation to Benovo Car Park and keep the car there while you visit the city. Cross the bridge over the Škurda, pass Kampana Tower and walk along the outer wall to the Sea Gate. Square of the Arms lies immediately inside the gate and is the starting point for the Old Town circuit.

Look first at the Clock Tower and Pillar of Shame on Square of the Arms, then take the lanes leading to St Tryphon Cathedral. When the cathedral is open, the Romanesque interior, stone canopy over the altar and treasury deserve time rather than a quick glance. Leave the cathedral towards Flour Square.

Grgurina Palace houses the Maritime Museum and its models, portraits, weapons and domestic artefacts from Kotor's seafaring past. From the museum, continue to St Luke's Square and enter the neighbouring churches of St Luke and St Nicholas. Take a break here before climbing the city walls.

Use the marked entrance to the city walls and follow the stone steps to the Church of Our Lady of Remedy. Its terrace gives a clear view over the tiled roofs, harbour and innermost part of the bay. Descend by the same steps and leave the Old Town through the River Gate beside the Škurda.

Continue from Benovo on foot along the Dobrota waterfront as far as St Matthew's Church. The nearby stone jetties give an unobstructed view back towards Kotor's walls and the mountains behind them. Walk back to Benovo, take the car if your accommodation is further away, and finish at the same address.

Set off from Kotor through Dobrota, Ljuta and Orahovac, then use the public car park at the entrance to Perast on the Kotor side. The historic centre is best covered on foot, so the car can remain here for the full visit. Before taking a boat, agree on the departure pier and the time of the return crossing.

The boat crosses to the man-made island and the Church of Our Lady of the Rocks in only a few minutes. Inside are paintings, silver votive plaques and gifts connected with generations of local sailors. Look from the stone edge towards the natural island of St George before returning by boat to Perast.

Begin the town walk at St Nicholas Square beneath its prominent bell tower. Pass Zmajević and Smekja palaces, then visit the Perast Museum in Bujović Palace for portraits of captains, weapons and equipment once carried on ships from the bay. Continue to the opposite end of the waterfront before walking back to the car.

Risan and its Roman Mosaics are about 10 minutes from Perast, with parking beside the archaeological site. The surviving floors show how the rooms of a Roman villa were arranged, while the Hypnos panel is the most recognisable mosaic. Finish with a brief walk to the Risan waterfront and return to the vehicle.

Retrace the shoreline through Perast, Orahovac and Ljuta to Kotor. Drive directly into the car park at your accommodation and leave the vehicle there. Spend the evening and night at the same address used on day one.

Leave the Kotor car park early and climb above the bay to Njeguši. Stop beside the birthplace of Petar II Petrović Njegoš and visit the modest stone house displaying objects connected with his childhood and the Petrović family. Taste Njeguši prosciutto and cheese in the village before continuing into Lovćen.

Use the parking area beneath the mausoleum and climb the 461 steps to its entrance. Inside, see Meštrović's caryatids, the monumental statue of Njegoš, the mosaic and the sarcophagus. Go on to the circular viewpoint behind the building, then return down the same stairway to the car.

Drive down from Jezerski vrh to the visitor centre at Ivanova Korita. Have lunch in the area, then take a half-hour walk through the meadow and beech woodland around the spring. Come back to the same parking area and continue downhill to Cetinje.

Park in the visitor area near Ćipur and explore the historic centre without moving the car again. Begin at King Nikola's Museum, cross to Biljarda and finish the walking loop at Cetinje Monastery and the Court Church at Ćipur. Return to the vehicle through Court Square.

Leave Cetinje towards Budva and continue to Kotor after the city visit. Put the car back in the parking place beside your accommodation and have dinner nearby. Njeguši, Lovćen, Ivanova Korita and Cetinje have all been covered without changing the overnight base.

Drive from the accommodation through Muo and follow the waterfront to the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Prčanj. Use the marked parking area by the church at the centre of the settlement. Leave the car there while visiting the church, waterfront and nearby palaces.

Start at the church's monumental façade and broad flight of steps facing the bay. Continue along the waterfront to the Ivo Vizin House and the stone residences of former Prčanj maritime families. Return to the church by the same shore and collect the car.

A short drive leads to Donji Stoliv and the marked car park near St Elijah Church. Walk among the stone houses, little jetties and camellia gardens, keeping the vehicle away from the narrow residential lanes. Complete the circuit at the church before setting off for Tivat.

Leave the car in the public garage at Porto Montenegro, then visit the Maritime Heritage Collection and the Hero submarine. Continue on foot through the marina to the Pine waterfront, Large City Park and the Buća-Luković Summer House. Together they show the former Arsenal, the modern marina and the older centre of Tivat.

Return directly from Tivat to the parking area at your Kotor accommodation. Leave the car there after visiting Prčanj, Stoliv, the Maritime Heritage Collection, Porto Montenegro and Pine. Spend the evening and night at the same address.

Drive from Kotor to the Stari Grad car park in Budva and leave the vehicle outside the pedestrian area. Enter through the Old Town gate and keep the same space until the walls, churches and Citadel have been visited. Arriving early gives you more time inside the fortified centre.

Thread through the lanes to the churches of St John, Holy Trinity and Santa Maria in Punta. The Citadel and accessible stretch of wall look towards Sveti Nikola Island and Mogren Beach. Cross the square outside the main gate on the way back to the car park.

Continue to the car park marked Parking Miločer and enter the former royal grounds on foot. Cypress and cedar trees line the path past Miločer Beach, the former royal villa and Queen's Beach before the fortified island of Sveti Stefan comes into view. Walk back through the park to the vehicle.

Use the car park beside Petrovac Bus Station and walk down to the beach. The promenade leads to Kastio Fortress, with Katič and Sveta Nedjelja islands lying offshore. Eat beside the water, then follow the same pedestrian route back uphill to the car.

After the waterfront walk, drive straight from Petrovac to Kotor. Park beside the same accommodation used on the previous four nights. Leave the car there and return to the same room for the fifth night.

Make an early departure from Kotor and use the car park near the Old Town Gate in Old Bar. Leave the vehicle there for both the fortified town and the old bazaar. The approach climbs through the bazaar directly to the main gate.

Within the walls, follow the old lanes between the Clock Tower, aqueduct and religious buildings from the medieval and Ottoman periods. The upper viewpoints look across the olive groves towards Mount Rumija. Come out through the original entrance and descend through the bazaar to the car park.

Drive from Old Bar to the enclosed Old Olive Tree site in Mirovica and park immediately beside it. Walk around the hollow trunk and living canopy, then read the displays explaining the olive tradition of the Bar area. Resume the southbound route from the same car park.

Leave the vehicle in the Skela car park beneath the walls and climb into Ulcinj Old Town. Pass the square traditionally called the Slave Market, see the history collection in the former church that later became a mosque, and continue to Balšić Tower and the upper Citadel. Look down towards Small Beach before retracing the lanes to Skela.

From Ulcinj, drive past Port Milena to the Miami Beach car park near the beginning of Long Beach. Walk on the wide sand and take a proper break beside the sea before the return journey. Come back along the same beach access and set off for Kotor.

Travel north from Long Beach through Bar and Budva to Kotor. Put the car back in its usual place beside your accommodation on arrival. The sixth night is spent at the same address where the morning began.

Start early from the accommodation in Kotor and drive to Lower Ostrog Monastery. Park beside the lower complex and walk into its broad courtyard. The car remains there until the church and monastery buildings have been visited.

See Holy Trinity Church, the monastery residence and the courtyard at Lower Ostrog. From the courtyard, look up at Upper Ostrog built into the pale cliff above. Return to the parking area and drive up to the point below the upper monastery.

Complete the last uphill section on foot from the upper car park. Within the cliff are the Church of the Presentation of the Mother of God, the Church of the Holy Cross, terraces and the shrine with the relics of St Basil of Ostrog. Walk back down by the same approach and continue to Nikšić.

Use the public car park on Novice Cerovića Street in Nikšić and begin on Freedom Square. Walk onwards to the Cathedral of St Basil of Ostrog and King Nikola's Castle, which contains the local history museum and art gallery. Return through the centre to the same car park.

Drive from the centre of Nikšić to the parking area beside Krupac Lake. Spend about half an hour walking along the shore, then stop by the water for a late lunch or drink. The return journey begins from this same lakeside parking point.

Leave Krupac and drive back to the car park at your Kotor accommodation. Keep the vehicle there and return to the same room for the night. The seventh day ends at that address after visiting Ostrog, Nikšić and the lake.

Leave Kotor early in the morning and travel through Nikšić and Šavnik to Žabljak. Pause briefly in town before driving onwards to the Black Lake parking area. Keep the car there until the complete lakeside walk is finished.

Take the forest path from the car park to the shore of Black Lake. The marked circuit passes both the Small and Big Lake basins and opens at several points towards Međed peak. Follow the loop back to the access path and finish beside the vehicle.

Drive back into Žabljak and use a central car park for lunch. Kačamak and cicvara are two local dishes to look for before a short walk to Durmitor Warriors Square. Pick up the car after the meal and continue towards the Tara canyon.

The drive from Žabljak to the bridge takes about 25 minutes and ends at the parking area beside it. View the five arches first from the roadside viewpoint, then cross the bridge on foot for the river and canyon walls below. Walk back over the bridge to the car.

Return through Žabljak, Šavnik and Nikšić after the bridge visit. Drive into the same parking space beside your Kotor accommodation. Leave the car there and spend the eighth night at the original base.

Set out early from Kotor, pass Podgorica and continue through the Morača Canyon to the monastery. Leave the vehicle in the visitor parking area beside the complex. The main gate leads straight into the courtyard in front of the Church of the Assumption.

Visit the Church of the Assumption, the smaller Church of St Nicholas and the enclosed monastery courtyard. In the principal church, find the fresco showing a raven feeding the Prophet Elijah, one of the best-known works in the complex. Return to the car and continue towards Kolašin.

Park near Trg boraca, Kolašin's central square, and stop for lunch in the centre. Cross the square to the Memorial House and its distinctive angular concrete roof. Come back to the car before driving to the national park entrance and the Biogradsko Lake car park.

Start beside the visitor centre and take the educational path around Biogradsko Lake. The circuit is a little over three kilometres and passes through old-growth forest, waterside rest points and displays about the park's wildlife and plants. It ends beside the same car park.

Leave the national park through Kolašin and return via Podgorica to Kotor. Drive directly into the parking area at the accommodation where the day began. Leave the car there and return to the same room for the night.

Drive from the Kotor accommodation to Lepetane and take the ferry across to Kamenari. Continue through Bijela, Kumbor and Meljine to the public parking spaces on Branka Ćopića Street near Savina. Keep the car there for the monastery and the woodland walk.

Visit the small and large churches dedicated to the Assumption, then cross the monastery courtyard shaded by old cypresses. Follow the path into Savina Forest towards the Church of St Sava, then retrace it to the monastery. Collect the vehicle on Branka Ćopića Street and drive towards the centre.

Use the Municipal Garage on Marshal Tito Square and walk along Njegoševa Street to Nikola Đurković Square. Pass under the Clock Tower into Belavista Square, visit the Church of Archangel Michael and descend by St Jerome Church to Forte Mare Fortress. After viewing the entrance to the bay, continue down to Škver.

At Škver, see the former railway station and the monument to King Tvrtko before turning along Pet Danica Promenade. Pass through the old narrow-gauge railway tunnel and continue as far as Rafaelo Beach in Topla. Walk back to Škver and climb from the waterfront to the garage.

Drive from Herceg Novi to Kamenari, cross by ferry to Lepetane and continue past Tivat into Kotor. Put the car in the same parking place where the first day began. The tenth evening and the complete itinerary finish at the original accommodation.