Where to stay in Kotor
The old town puts the walls and the cathedral at the door; Dobrota and Prčanj hold the same bay without the evening cruise crowd.
- For a first visit
- The old town
- For quiet evenings
- Dobrota and Prčanj
- Hostel
- €10–27 for a dorm bed
Kotor doesn't have a dozen areas to weigh up. The town is small, and the real choice is just one, the walls or the bay. The old town keeps everything a few minutes' walk away, but also the cruise crowd from ten until four. Dobrota and Prčanj share the same bay without that crowd, at the cost of a longer walk back in the evening.
The old town — the walls at the door
Sleeping inside the walls means everything is a few minutes' walk away, St Tryphon's Cathedral, the squares, the way up to the ramparts. The cost of that is the cruise crowd. The old town is full of ship passengers roughly from ten until four, and it carries through into the room. Anyone who picks this area counts on the morning before ten and the evening after six as the quiet hours.
Dobrota and Prčanj — the same bay, without the crowd
Dobrota and Prčanj run along the water north of the old town, on the same stretch of bay. Cruise ships don't dock here, so the evenings are quiet in a way the old town isn't. The walk back after dinner is a bit longer than inside the walls, by car or on foot along the waterfront.
The price of a bed
A hostel dorm bed is €10–27, the same in both areas. A three-star room runs €47–141, but listings under that label in Kotor are mostly apartments, not proper hotels, because the town has few of the latter.
Before you book a room
- Check what type of place it actually is. A three-star listing in Kotor is more often an apartment than a proper hotel, so the description matters more than the star rating.
- Distance is measured from the walls. An address billed as 'central' can sit in Dobrota, several kilometres from the old town.
- There's no parking inside the walls. Arriving by car means parking outside the old town and walking the last stretch. Dobrota and Prčanj don't have that drawback.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Which area is better for a first visit to Kotor?
The old town; every main sight is a few minutes' walk away, at the cost of the cruise crowd from ten until four.
Is a three-star hotel in Kotor a proper hotel?
Rarely. Listings under that label are mostly apartments; €47–141 is the per-person price for that kind of stay.
Is staying in Dobrota actually cheaper than the old town?
The bed price isn't necessarily lower; the saving is quieter evenings, and the walk back into town is longer.
Ready for Kotor?
Where to next
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How well does Kotor suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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