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.
- Bečići and Rafailovići
- About ten minutes away
- Sveti Stefan and Pržno
- Five kilometres south, quiet
- Petrovac
- About 12 km south as the crow flies
In Budva you choose where to stay by noise more than by distance from the sea, because everything is on the sea: the old town is loud until dawn in summer, Bečići and Rafailovići are two to three and a half kilometres east and quieter, and Petrovac is a small town of its own, about twelve kilometres south as the crow flies.
Four areas, four different stays
The difference is noise, not distance — everything is on the sea and within a bus ride
The old town at night
The music in the old town is not a fault but a reason to come to Budva, yet a room inside the walls in August means sleeping only from dawn, rather than hearing music in the distance. Cars do not go into the old town, so the case is dragged over the cobbles from the car park or the taxi. If you want the town in the evening and sleep at night, stay in Bečići or Rafailovići and come back by bus or taxi; at night you hear the sea there.
The beach and the room
The beach changes the choice of room in only one case: if you want to step out of the room straight onto the sand, take Bečići, where the hotels stand right behind the beach. From the old town you walk to Slovenska and Mogren, while from Petrovac and Sveti Stefan you swim in front of the house and come into Budva only for the evening or a trip.
What not to choose
- A room above a bar in the old town in August. The walls are stone and narrow, and sound is not muffled inside them.
- Sveti Stefan without transport. It is quiet, but every trip into Budva is a bus or a taxi — it only makes sense if you rarely go into town in the evening.
- Accommodation without checking the sunbeds. Some beaches in front of hotels are under concession and sunbeds are charged per item; ask before booking a 'hotel on the beach'.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Is it worth sleeping in the old town?
It is if you came for the nightlife and sleep easily: in summer the old town is loud until dawn, and stone does not muffle the sound.
Where is quieter but still close?
Bečići and Rafailovići, about ten minutes by bus. The same coast, a longer beach, and at night you hear the sea instead of music.
Are sunbeds charged?
On most managed beaches yes, and per item. Ask the price before sitting down — and before booking a 'hotel on the beach'.
Ready for Budva?
Where to next
Front row for the next trip
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