Kotor in 2 days
Two days arranged around the cruise ships: the walls and the town before the passengers land, the bay while they are in, the old town again once the ships leave.
- Crowds in town
- Cruise passengers roughly from 10 to 16
- The walls
- €15
- Our Lady of the Rocks
- The boat from Perast runs constantly
A Kotor plan is arranged around the cruise ships: they dock early in the morning, their passengers fill the old town from roughly ten until four in the afternoon, and most ships leave after six. So the walls and the town come before ten, the bay and Perast while the passengers are in town, and the old town again in the evening — the same pattern holds on both days.
The walls and the town before the ships, Perast while they are in
The walls as the ticket office opens, up to the fortress of St John. The side of the hill facing the bay sits in the shadow of the mountain behind it in the morning, so you climb out of the sun; stop at the little church of Our Lady of Remedy halfway and you are down by eight.
The old town, while it holds mostly the people who slept in it. The cathedral of St Tryphon and the squares behind it in an hour, before the first groups off the ships.
Out of town as it starts to fill: by car or bus along the bay to Perast.
Perast, then a boat from the waterfront to Our Lady of the Rocks, then an hour on the island and in Perast.
Lunch in Perast or in Dobrota on the way back, then a break during the hours when the old town is fullest.
Back into the old town as the ships get ready to sail; dinner inside the walls happens now, instead of at midday.
The serpentine in the morning, the bay loop after
By car up the serpentine towards Njeguši and Lovćen. Go first thing, before haze gathers over the mountain; you are back in half a day.
Back in Kotor, lunch outside the walls.
The bay loop: Risan, then the Kamenari–Lepetane ferry across the bay and back by way of Tivat. The ferry closes the loop, so no stretch of road is driven twice.
The old town once more, or the waterfront in Dobrota in the evening.
What costs you an hour here
In July and August, the climb up to St John's after ten is in full sun, with a wave of passengers off the ships going up and down the same steps — the route that takes an hour in the morning takes longer and is worth less. If you missed the morning, go after five, when the ships are boarding for departure.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
How much are the Kotor walls, and when does the ticket office open?
€15 per person. The office opens at 7 from May to September and at 8 out of season.
What if I only have one day in Kotor?
Then just day one of this plan: the walls and the town before ten, Perast while the passengers are in town, the old town in the evening. Lovćen and the bay loop drop out, and Lake Skadar wants a day of its own anyway.
Ready for Kotor?
Where to next
Day trips from Kotor
→Lovćen up twenty-five hairpins, Budva in half an hour, Lake Skadar in an hour and twenty — and one trip that…
Perast · 9 km
→Two hundred and thirty-seven residents, twenty baroque palaces and an island people built by hand
How well does Kotor suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
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