Day trips from Budva
Sveti Stefan and Kotor by bus, the island by boat, Lovćen and Ostrog by car, each with its own travel time.
- Sveti Stefan
- 10 minutes
- Kotor
- A 25–40 minute bus ride
- The island of Sveti Nikola
- A water taxi from town, in season only
Day trips from Budva divide by transport: buses run to Sveti Stefan and Kotor, a water taxi from town goes to Sveti Nikola island, and Lovćen and Ostrog take a car or an organised tour. Everything is there and back the same day, because Budva sits in the middle of the Montenegrin coast.
Sveti Stefan — ten minutes and one view
An island hotel joined to the mainland by an isthmus, ten minutes south of Budva. From the road above it looks exactly as it does in the photographs, and that is the whole trip. Below it is Pržno, a small place with a cove and taverns. Half an hour for the view, half a day if you stay for the beach and lunch.
Kotor — half an hour along the bay
25–40 minutes by bus, depending on traffic, with departures all day, so there is no timetable to watch. Half a day is enough for the old town; a full day only if you also climb the walls to the fortress.
The island, Lovćen and Ostrog
Sveti Nikola island is reached by water taxi from town, in season only; there is no timetable, so the return is agreed when you set out. Cetinje is fourteen kilometres away as the crow flies, but over the mountain on a serpentine road, so Lovćen with Cetinje takes half a day. Ostrog is a monastery cut into a vertical cliff, 47 kilometres north as the crow flies and an hour and a half to two by car; it is the most important shrine in Montenegro and takes a full day.
Time needed, trip by trip
None of these trips need a night away — a car is needed only for Lovćen and Ostrog
Before you set off
- Sveti Stefan from inside. The islet cannot be entered without a hotel booking. What you came for is the view from the road above, and that is free.
- Kotor on a cruise day. When a ship is in port, the old town is full before noon. The Port of Kotor publishes its schedule of arrivals in advance, so pick your Kotor day by it.
- Ostrog and its rules. It is a working monastery, so you go in with shoulders and knees covered — dress for it when you leave Budva.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Can you go inside Sveti Stefan?
Not without a hotel booking. What you come for is the view from the road above, and that is free; below it is Pržno with its taverns.
How long is the bus to Kotor?
Twenty-five to forty minutes, depending on traffic; departures run all day.
How do I get to the island of Sveti Nikola?
By water taxi from Slovenska beach or from in front of the old town, during the season. The return is agreed when you set out — there is no timetable.
Ready for Budva?
Where to next
Where to stay in Budva
→In Budva you do not choose by distance from the sea — everything is on it — but by how late the music runs.
Sveti Stefan · 6 km
→The fishing village that became a hotel overnight
How well does Budva suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
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