Kotor is a small, pleasant and charming town but already very touristy. Expect high prices (much more expensive than the city of Budva). The closest you get to the border of Croatia and Dubrovnik, the highest prices are.

What to visit in Kotor ?

Kotor is known for its bay. Climb the fortress to have a great view on the bay. You’ll need to be brave because it takes more than one hour to climb it, but it is well worth it! Prefer to climb at night when high temperatures are over, around 7pm-8pm, or in the early morning. There is some lights and it’s free during the night, but still a bit dangerous. Take a torch!

There is a small market just outside the fortified walls at the entrance of the city, with local products but it is very expensive. You can find half-sausages for 4.5 € and 1/6 of cheese for 5 €! But the good thing is that merchants let you taste the products. This is a good place if you feel a bit peckish and want to taste local delicisous cheeses, hams and local sausages.

Best Value restaurants in Kotor ?

Piazza is a snack with tables outside on the square opposite the Montenegro Hostel. You can enjoy sweet and savory pancakes. The savory crepes are served in a terracotta pot. They are super good !
We tested the Piazza savory pancake with sour cream, mushrooms, ham, cheese, olives for 4.5 € only !

Delicious burgers at Papalada … for only 2 € ! The caravan selling these burgers is located outside the walls to the left of the main gate (to the beach and parking) .

The restaurant Bastion had been recommended to us, the setting is very nice. The tables are set in a small square inside the ramparts of the city. But the food is very expensive and not plentiful. It’s a gourmet restaurant where you can eat almost exclusively fish.

All the restaurants offer more or less the same thing without large price differences. We have been to “L’As“, where you can find pasta for 7-8 €. The setting is nice.

Which hostel to stay in Kotor ?

We were at Old Town Hostel, one of the best hostels of our trip in the Balkans. It is located in the old town within the walls (it is a little more expensive than other hostels but well worth it).
The rooms are beautiful and very spacious. There is a common room quite alive in the evening, everyone ends up there for a drink. You can buy drinks at the small supermarket a few houses away. There are activities and pubs crawls organized in the evening. Sometimes in the evening, they offer snacks (cheese, appetizers). The hostel also organizes tours for visiting Montenegro and a rafting trip in the Tara Canyon. The staff is really friendly and always ready to advise you on the town, going out, etc.

THE NIGHTLIFE IN KOTOR

The hostel we had chosen (Old Town Hostel ) offers animation every night. The staff took us to the busiest bars in the city and we got discounts, free shots with the purchase of each beer! The best bars are Evergreen and Havana. They are open until 1am. Then people go to the big club in town : Maximus. It is the largest in Montenegro. We have not tested because when we had the opportunity to go there it was a special evening where the entrance was exceptionally to 15 €.

A Day-trip in the Surroundings of Kotor

visit Perast

Take a trip to Perast, this is a small village 20 minutes by bus from Kotor. The bus stop is just outside the entrance to the city (expect to pay 1.5 € each way). It is a postcard landscape, there are two small islands in the middle of the bay and mountains in the background. To swim, there is a small private beach belonging to a bar and a concrete promontory where we can lie down for free.

Day trip to Lovcen National Park

It is a bit more complicated to get there as there is no direct bus, but it is possible. Meet at the large bus station just outside the city and take a bus to Cetinje (4.5 to 6 €). Then take a taxi to the park (there is no bus).
Taxis offer you the return + an hour on up for 20€. Remember to negotiate even if the price is displayed (we got for less after negotiation). Consider asking people who want to do the national park to share a taxi with them.
There are mountain hikes to do (but you’ll need more than an hour on site). Don’t forget your sneakers.
Climb as high as possible to have a beautiful view, you will be surrounded by mountains. You have to climb a lot of stairs to get to Moseley where they charge you 3€ for adults and 1.5€ for students. The view is worth it but inside the building there is nothing to see except a large statue without interest. At the time we were there, they were building a cable car so, in the future, you don’t have to climb the stairs anymore to the Moseley.

Peckish ? At the bus station in Cetinje, on your left, there is a small typical restaurant. The cevapi is 1.5€ ! And they are very good. For toilets, ask the key… and good luck. The city is not exceptional, it is not particularly worth seeing. There is a small monastery.

Day-trip to Tara Cayon for rafting

Read our article about rafting in Tara Canyon to get more information.

Transport from Kotor to Dubrovnik

The bus from Kotor to Dubrovnik is 20€, there are 3 or 4 buses daily : 7:10 (some days) , 8:30, 14:45 16 -17h. The journey takes 2:30 hours.
The bus ride from Herceg Novi to Dubronik costs 15€ . There are twice daily at 9am and 3:40 p.m. . The trip takes 1:30 hours. The bus to Dubrovnik was an hour late and you have to pay 1€ per bag baggage.

We hitchhiked from Kotor to Herceg Novi, it’s pretty easy to find cars. But it’s much more complicated from Herceg Novi to Dubronik, we gave up and took the bus. It’s pretty difficult to cross the Croatian border by hitchhiking, we waited nearly two hours without success.