- When to go
- October 18° · 10 rainy days
- Per day
- €€€price 3 of 5
- How many days
- 3days
- For you
- 6 questions →
- Nearest airport
- 16 km Tivat · 60 km Podgorica
- Right now
Herceg Novi is built on a slope, and that decides everything: several hundred steps run from the seafront promenade to the upper town. They are why the town is green, and why the daily climb takes both legwork and patience. Three days here covers both the bay and the border.
The town was founded in 1382 by the Bosnians under King Tvrtko, then passed through Ottoman, Venetian, Austrian and French hands — three fortresses remain from that. Forte Mare stands by the sea, Kanli Kula above it and is now a summer stage, and Španjola is highest, reached on foot through the woods.
What Herceg Novi has that the rest of the bay does not is vegetation: an unusually rich mix of plants from all over the world, mimosa flowering in February, and a park of palms and agaves that began as a nursery for seafarers bringing cuttings home. The Mimosa Festival in February is a reason to come out of season.
There is little swimming in the town itself — the shore is mostly concrete with ladders. The real beaches are west, towards Žanjice and Mirište, reached by boat from the harbour; that is half an hour on the water and the only sensible way.
Guides for Herceg Novi
Shorter, practical pages for one concrete question each — how many days, how much money, where to sleep, where to escape the city.
Herceg Novi in 3 days
→Day one holds the fortresses, the stairs and Savina Monastery, day two goes by boat to the beaches, day three picks…
Day trips from Herceg Novi
→Kotor and Perast go by boat from the same harbour as the Blue Cave, and Dubrovnik by bus across the border — none of…
Where to stay in Herceg Novi
→In Herceg Novi the area is chosen by how many stairs it costs, not the hotel photo: the promenade is flat, the upper…
What to eat in Herceg Novi
→Fish and shellfish from the bay run the menu, the taverns sit mostly by the water, and the portion decides the price…
The best time to visit Herceg Novi
→Herceg Novi has no mountain that snow shuts down — the choice is between warm sea in summer and the mimosa in February…
What to see in Herceg Novi
Savina Monastery
An active monastery with three churches sharing one courtyard, two kilometres east of the centre. Free to enter, donations welcome.
free
Forte Mare and Kanli Kula
Two fortresses stacked above one another. Kanli Kula is now a summer stage overlooking the whole bay.
€4 (groups of 10+: €3)
The Pet Danica promenade
Six kilometres along the sea, from Igalo to Meljine. It is flat — the only flat thing in town.
free
Žanjice and Mirište
The real beaches west of town, half an hour by boat from the harbour. The drive takes longer and jams.
free (beach); boat €5 return
The Mimosa Festival
February, when the mimosa flowers, before the swimming season starts. The best window if you are not here for the sea.
free
Igalo and the mud
The institute using medicinal mud from the bay has run since 1949. A separate business from tourism, and it fills the town off season.
free (to walk through)
Two things you probably did not know
Herceg Novi changed hands seven times in six centuries: a Bosnian king, Ottomans, Spaniards, Venetians, Russians, the French, Austrians. Each left a fortress behind, so a small town has several.
The town climbs a slope, so you move through it by stairs. There are thousands of them and it is called the town of steps. Its mild climate supports over a hundred plant species brought from around the world, mostly on sailors' ships.
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