5 days in Budva: city sights and day trips

Mogren consists of two small coves linked by a passage through the rock. The beach comes into view only after you follow the coastal path past Avala from the Old Town: high cliffs screen off the town behind you, leaving open sea ahead.

The walk from the wider central area to the beach takes about half an hour. If you set off around 9:30, there are four hours for swimming and relaxing on the beach, until about 14:00.

In southerly winds and heavy waves, the path to Mogren is unsafe.

The walk back from Mogren along the same path towards the Old Town and harbor takes about 20 minutes. Lunch can start around 14:20, with another hour and a half to rest after the meal before returning to the Old Town.

The harbor and nearby center suit a lunch stop without another car journey. Where to eat in Budva can help you choose a restaurant.

From the walls, you can see how tightly packed the old town is: rooftops sit close together, with small courtyards and narrow lanes between the houses. Reliefs of the winged lion of Saint Mark survive on the walls, a reminder of the Venetian rule that shaped much of the fortification seen today. Steps lead up to the wall walk, for which about 40 minutes are allowed.

The lanes then lead to the square between the churches. Santa Maria in Punta dates from 840, while the Church of the Holy Trinity was built in 1804. Beside Saint John are the remains of an early Christian basilica, and in summer the space between the churches becomes a stage for Grad Teatar.

The approach from the center takes 15 minutes, and the lanes and square take about an hour after the walls. The Citadel is viewed from outside on this itinerary, while a visit to its interior would be a separate stop.

Museums and Galleries of Budva lists the walls as open daily from 10:00 to 20:00, April to November. The walls come before the longer walk through the lanes so that the visit stays within opening hours.

Leaving the Old Town towards the harbor brings you to the town walls facing the quays and moored boats. A short walk along the waterfront reveals the outer edge of the fortified town after exploring its interior lanes.

The waterfront and the walk back to nearby accommodation in the center take half an hour in total.

The King Nikola Museum is arranged as a reconstruction of the royal palace interior. Alongside objects belonging to the Petrovic-Njegos family is the royal library.

From Budva, the main road through Brajici leads to Cetinje. With a start around 9:00, the drive, parking at Trg Umjetnika and the walk to Dvorski Trg take 55-70 minutes. A total of 75 minutes is set aside for the museum and a short look around the square.

The National Museum visitor page gives daily summer opening hours of 9:00-17:00. The museum is the first visit, before continuing to Lovcen.

From Cetinje, the road through Ivanova Korita leads to the parking area below the mausoleum. That drive takes 45-55 minutes. From the parking area, 461 steps lead to the summit, partly through a tunnel. Going up and down takes about 45-55 minutes in total, with a separate short rest.

The mausoleum is the work of Ivan Mestrovic. Two stone caryatids stand at the entrance, while inside a large figure of Njegos sits beneath a vault decorated with gold tiles. Behind the monument, a stone path leads out to a circular stone platform. In clear weather, distant mountains including Orjen and Rumija can be seen from Jezerski Vrh.

The mausoleum and viewpoint take 45-50 minutes to visit.

The Njegos Mausoleum is open 9:00-18:00 from April 15 to November 15. Fog can obscure the view, and the stairway is an unavoidable part of the approach. National park admission and the mausoleum ticket are charged separately.

Ivanov Konak has a restaurant serving local food, a terrace and parking, making lunch possible here before continuing down the mountain road.

Driving from the parking area and reaching the restaurant takes 20-25 minutes. Lunch can start between 13:55 and 14:40, with another rest after the meal.

The return road runs from Ivanova Korita towards Cetinje and then along the main road through Brajici to Budva. The drive, parking and final approach to nearby accommodation take 75-95 minutes in total.

Lucice lies south of Petrovac, in a bay enclosed by two headlands. The pines and cypresses behind it give the cove a very different look from a long town beach lined with buildings behind a promenade. Its sandy shore and compact bay make it appealing for a morning devoted to swimming.

The approach from Budva follows the Adriatic Highway towards Petrovac, ending at the Lucice parking area above the beach. Driving, parking and the short descent take 50-65 minutes. Starting around 9:30 leaves four hours for swimming and relaxing on the beach, excluding the approach.

There are places to eat beside the beach, so you can stay in the cove for lunch and a rest after swimming. About 5 minutes is allowed for the short walk to a restaurant.

Lunch can start between 14:25 and 14:40. This longer break includes the meal and a rest before walking towards the Petrovac waterfront.

You can walk from Lucice to the Petrovac waterfront, whose western end reaches Kastio. The fort dates from Venetian rule and was built in the 16th century. There was also a lazaret, a former quarantine building, on this stretch of coast, preserving both the military and maritime past of the settlement.

Kastio is viewed from outside, from the shore. Offshore are the little islands of Katic and Sveta Nedjelja, with a small church on the rock.

The walk from Lucice and back takes 45-55 minutes, with another 45-60 minutes for the waterfront and the exterior of the fort.

The car stays at the Lucice parking area while you explore Petrovac on foot. Once back at the parking area, the drive follows the same main road to Budva.

Driving, parking and reaching nearby accommodation take 50-65 minutes, with extra time for longer delays in summer traffic.

The journey from Budva through the Vrmac tunnel, including parking at Riva and walking through the Sea Gate to the museum, takes 70-100 minutes. Starting around 9:00 puts the museum in the morning, when it is open on weekends too.

The museum occupies the Baroque Grgurina Palace. Collections of weapons, traditional dress, paintings and model sailing ships show the bay as a maritime region: behind the grand stone houses were ships, trading connections and the lives of captains’ families. An hour is allowed for the displays.

After the museum comes an hour’s walk across Saint Tryphon’s Square and the neighboring squares. The cathedral dates from 1166, with later Baroque bell towers built after earthquakes. The older church and rebuilt facade reveal different layers of the same town. This part covers facades and squares, without treasuries or the climb to the fortress.

The Maritime Museum lists weekday hours of 9:00-18:00 from May 1 to October 1, and 9:00-13:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Adult admission is 5 euros. Keep the museum visit in the morning even if traffic lengthens the rest of the day.

From Kotor, the road through Dobrota follows the shore towards Perast. Stone settlements and the palaces of seafaring families line the space between the bay and steep mountainsides. The drive offers a different view of the bay from Kotor’s narrow lanes before reaching the palaces of Perast.

The car stays at the parking area by Perast’s eastern entrance. Driving, parking and walking to the middle of the waterfront take 50-65 minutes. After a short rest, lunch can start between 13:30 and 14:15. Restaurants are on the waterfront and nearby.

After lunch, about 45 minutes remains for a walk beside the sea. The stone houses of seafaring families face the bay, with little space between their facades, the shore and the hillside. The square with Saint Nicholas’s Church and its bell tower breaks this line of palaces and opens a view towards the little islands.

Our Lady of the Rocks is an artificial island built up around a rock, linked to the votive traditions of the bay’s seafarers. During the crossing, you see neighboring Saint George with its cypresses and stone monastery walls, while from the terrace of Our Lady of the Rocks, the Perast waterfront and Saint Nicholas’s bell tower face you across the water.

A short return crossing from Perast suits this day. Perast Boat Tours describes a 7-10 minute ride each way, with return boats every half hour. About 20 minutes is allowed for the two crossings, plus half an hour on the island. Another 15 minutes is included for boarding, along with up to 30 minutes waiting for the return boat.

Arrange a return to the same landing place in Perast and confirm the time with the operator. This stop covers the island and the outside of the church. Going inside the church and museum is not part of this short stay.

The return from the Perast waterfront goes on foot to the same parking area at the eastern entrance. The walk takes about 15 minutes, and the drive through Kotor and the Vrmac tunnel to Budva takes another 70-100 minutes.

Including the final parking in Budva, the whole return stage takes 95-125 minutes. Longer traffic delays add further time.

Kamenovo has areas of coarser pebbles as well as sand. Olives and other Mediterranean plants grow behind the beach, with the main road and parking above it. Daytime parties are also held here in summer.

The approach from Budva follows the main road towards Przno to Kamenovo parking. Driving, parking and reaching the beach take 25-40 minutes. If you start around 9:30, four hours for swimming and relaxing finish around 14:00, depending on arrival.

There are cafes and restaurants beside Kamenovo, so there is no need to head straight back onto the main road for a meal. The walk from the beach to a restaurant takes about 5-10 minutes.

Lunch can start between 14:00 and 14:20. A total of two hours is left for the meal and a rest before continuing towards Sveti Stefan.

Sveti Stefan is a former fortified settlement converted into a hotel island. Stone houses with terracotta roofs cluster behind the walls, and a narrow causeway connects them to the shore. The mainland view takes in the fortified edge of the island and the sea on both sides of the causeway.

The drive from Kamenovo to Sveti Stefan parking takes about 10-20 minutes. Another 20-30 minutes is allowed for parking and the short walk to the shore and back, with 35-45 minutes for looking around.

The return follows the main road towards Budva. Driving and the final parking take 30-45 minutes, with extra time if traffic is slow.

The visit stays on the mainland shore beside the causeway. Aman manages the hotel island. Free access among the island houses is not part of this itinerary.