5 days in Tivat: city and day trips

The naval collection in the northern part of Porto Montenegro preserves the history of the military shipyard that preceded today’s marina. Inside the restored sawmill are ship equipment and machinery from its maritime past, while the large submarine Heroj is displayed outside.

You can start the walk from central Tivat around 09:00, following Arsenalska Street towards the collection. The walk takes 15-20 minutes, with 45 minutes for the exhibits and an outside view of the submarine. The Naval Heritage Museum lists opening hours of 09:00-17:00, Tuesday to Saturday. Going inside the submarine is outside the scope of this visit.

From the collection, follow the Seljanovo promenade to Ponta, the pebble beach recognisable by its lighthouse. The walk takes 10-15 minutes, leaving four full hours for swimming and relaxing.

Ponta occupies a headland along the northern side of Porto Montenegro. You can reach the beach on foot from town, so the first beach day does not require moving a car.

After the beach, there is time for lunch in Seljanovo and a rest before walking back towards the marina. The short walk takes 10 minutes, with an hour for the meal and another hour and a half for changing and resting. Lunch starts between 14:20 and 14:30 in this schedule.

From Seljanovo, walk back along Porto Montenegro’s berths towards Pine. The walk takes 35-40 minutes, with another 45-60 minutes to stop around the marina and town waterfront. The superyachts and modern waterfront buildings occupy the former Arsenal site, whose equipment you saw in the morning collection.

Continue along the public promenade to Pine, where the marina meets the town waterfront, then return to the centre where the morning walk began.

The journey from Tivat towards Herceg Novi crosses on the Lepetane-Kamenari ferry, then follows the coastal road to Savina. With a start from central Tivat around 09:00, allow 20-25 minutes to drive to Lepetane, 10 for boarding, 15-20 for the crossing and five for disembarking. After Kamenari, add 25-30 minutes of driving, 10 for parking and five on foot to the monastery. Ferry queuing has a separate allowance of 0-30 minutes.

Savina lies among Mediterranean greenery east of Herceg Novi. Visit the two Dormition churches and the monastery buildings. The larger church combines Byzantine and Baroque influences among the styles that reflect the meeting of eastern and western cultures in the bay. You have 45 minutes to explore the lower complex. The climb to the upper Church of Saint Sava is outside this itinerary.

The ferry carries the car too. The published summer departure interval is 15-20 minutes. A longer vehicle queue can exceed the allowance. Ferry timetable.

Return to the car at Savina, drive to the Opstina garage on Marsala Tita Square, then approach the old town on foot. Returning to the car, driving, parking and walking into the town together take 35-45 minutes. The walk through the squares takes another hour.

From Nikola Djurkovic Square, pass beneath the Clock Tower towards Belavista and the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel, then continue to the square by Saint Jerome’s Church. Stone squares linked by stairways give Herceg Novi a very different appearance from Tivat’s level waterfront. This part of the visit covers outdoor spaces.

Parking in Herceg Novi.

The stop for lunch in Herceg Novi leaves an hour for the meal, with a 45-minute rest beforehand. A short five-minute walk comes before the rest. Lunch starts between 13:40 and 14:35, depending on the ferry and town approaches.

From the old town, approach Forte Mare and explore its terraces. From the walls above the sea, you can see the entrance to the bay, the harbour and the coast towards Igalo. The fortress’s position explains how the town guarded its approach from the sea, while Skver harbour, which you descend to next, shows the walls from a different angle.

Reaching the fortress takes 10 minutes, with 45 for the visit, another 10 to descend to Skver and 25 to spend by the harbour. A 25-minute climb back to the garage completes the visit. HercegFest publishes main summer opening hours of 09:00-21:00 and individual admission of €4.

Steps lead to the fortress, waterfront and back. This afternoon visit also fits within the shorter spring opening hours, which run until 19:00.

From the garage, allow 35-40 minutes to drive along the coast to Kamenari. Add a separate 0-30 minutes for the ferry queue, 10 for boarding, 15-20 for the crossing and five for disembarking. From Lepetane, allow 20-25 minutes of driving, five for parking in Tivat and five on foot in the centre.

Lepetane-Kamenari ferry timetable.

Plavi horizonti is in Przna cove on Lustica, about half an hour’s drive from Tivat. Sand, shallow water and greenery behind the beach make a change from the town’s pebble shores. The beach retains the name of the former hotel.

With a start from the centre around 09:00, allow 30-40 minutes of driving, 10 for parking and five on foot to the shore. Once there, you have four full hours for swimming and relaxing.

Walk back from the beach to the car in 5-10 minutes, then drive 10-15 minutes to the visitor parking above Lustica Bay marina. After five minutes for parking, allow about 15 minutes on foot to the promenade.

Lunch starts between 14:20 and 14:40. The plan leaves an hour for the meal and another hour to rest. Along the marina, there are places serving lunch throughout the day.

Marina Village is a newer settlement with stone streets and buildings inspired by old Adriatic towns. Its promenade follows the berths, sheltered by two breakwaters. This is the shore of Traste Bay, on the opposite side of the peninsula from the inner bays of Kotor.

Walking along the waterfront takes 10 minutes, with another 45-60 minutes to stop and look around. The walk stays within Marina Village.

Walk back uphill from the promenade to the same car park. This uphill walk takes 15 minutes. Then allow 25-35 minutes to drive to Tivat and 10 for parking and the final approach to the centre.

You can leave Tivat around 09:00, drive through the Vrmac Tunnel to Kotor and park at Benovo outside the walls. Driving, parking and the approach on foot together take 50-65 minutes. This leaves two hours in the old town: one for the Maritime Museum and one for the surrounding squares and streets.

The museum is in the Grgurina Palace, where ship models, weapons, costumes and paintings tell the stories of local seafarers and captains’ families. The streets towards the Square of Arms and Saint Tryphon’s Cathedral then reveal the town where that maritime history left its palaces and churches. The cathedral is viewed from outside. The climb to Saint John’s Fortress is outside this day’s itinerary.

From 1 May to 1 October, the Maritime Museum lists 09:00-18:00 on weekdays and 09:00-13:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. This morning visit finishes before noon.

From Kotor, follow the coastal road towards Perast, between the sea and the steep slopes enclosing the inner bay. Stone houses and small settlements line the shore, so views of the bay are part of the drive itself. Returning to the car, driving, parking at the entrance to Perast and walking to the waterfront together take 55-70 minutes.

In Perast, spend 45 minutes along the waterfront by the captains’ palaces and Saint Nicholas’s Church, followed by a half-hour rest before lunch. Lunch starts between 14:00 and 14:30, with an hour for the meal. The short crossing to Our Lady of the Rocks follows the meal.

Leave the car at the entrance to Perast. Parking in Kotor and Perast explains the access and parking arrangements.

Take a short return boat crossing from Perast’s waterfront to Our Lady of the Rocks. From the island, you can see Perast’s stone waterfront against the bay’s high slopes, with the natural island of Saint George, its monastery and cypresses nearby. Our Lady of the Rocks is an artificial island with a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, patron of seafarers.

The two crossings take 20 minutes in total, plus 15 to arrange the trip and board, 30 on the island and a separate 0-30 minutes to wait for the return. The short-crossing operator publishes return departures every 30 minutes. This visit covers the outside areas. The church museum and a landing on Saint George are outside the itinerary.

Confirm the short return crossing and the return boarding point in advance. Sailings depend on the weather. Our Lady of the Rocks location.

Walk back from Perast’s waterfront to the car, then follow the coast to Kotor and the Vrmac Tunnel to Tivat. Reaching the car park takes 15 minutes, with 45-60 for driving and another 10 for parking and the final walk in the centre. The Lepetane-Kamenari ferry is unnecessary for this return.

Longer queues around Kotor can extend the drive beyond the stated range.

Belane is a pebble beach beside Kalimanj’s small harbour, south of the main town waterfront. Small boats and the neighbourhood shoreline remain close by, so the final beach morning stays in Tivat itself. Four full hours are left for swimming and resting at the beach.

The walk from central Tivat takes 15-20 minutes. Starting the walk around 09:30, the beach visit ends between 13:45 and 13:50. A short look around the summer residence in the centre follows, then lunch and a longer rest before Gornja Lastva.

Walk from Belane to Culture Square in 10-15 minutes. Spend half an hour by the tower and gate of the Buca-Lukovic summer residence, viewing the complex from outside. The stone estate and Saint Michael’s Chapel belong to an older Tivat shoreline, when noble families from Kotor had summer homes here. The museum and gallery displays are outside this short exterior visit.

The walk from Culture Square to a place for lunch in central Tivat takes five minutes. The meal starts between 14:30 and 14:40. There is an hour for lunch and another hour to rest.

A local paved road climbs from Tivat to Gornja Lastva, a stone village about 300 metres above the sea. Returning to the car and getting ready takes 10 minutes, with 20-25 for driving and five for parking and the approach into the village. Lanes between houses and dry-stone walls lead to the Church of the Nativity of Mary and viewpoints across Tivat Bay towards Lustica.

Walking through the village and stopping at the views takes 45-60 minutes. Old houses, gardens and traces of olive growing reveal a coastal hinterland barely visible from the waterfront. The church and former mill are viewed from outside. The return along the same road includes five minutes to the car, 20-25 minutes of driving and 10 for parking and the final walk in central Tivat.