Sailing in Montenegro: the Bay of Kotor and the coast
Montenegro is the quiet end of the Adriatic. The Bay of Kotor, the Boka, is a fjord that runs twenty miles inland between mountains, with the walled town of Kotor at its head, Perast and its two islets halfway, and Tivat, where the charter fleets are, by the entrance. Outside the bay the coast runs south-east past Budva, Sveti Stefan and Petrovac to Bar and Ulcinj, with sandy beaches and a handful of harbours.
This guide covers a week that mixes the bay with the open coast, says how a crossing to Dubrovnik is done, and what the papers are. The fleet here is small next to Croatia’s, so the figures beside it, live from the operators’ booking systems, matter more than usual.
When to go
The season runs from May to October. June and September are the months to choose: warm, settled and quiet. July and August are hot, with Kotor’s cruise-ship days crowded ashore and the bay calm and busy with day boats; prices are highest then, though still below Croatia’s. May and October are quiet, green and cheap, with more rain in the mountains.
Charters run Saturday to Saturday from Tivat and Kotor, with check-in on Saturday afternoon and check-out by nine the following Saturday.
The winds
Inside the bay the wind is light and variable, with an afternoon breeze from the sea that rarely passes force 3; the mountains flatten everything else, and much of the bay is motor-sailed. The Bura, the cold north-easterly from the mountains, can blow hard in the Boka in spring, autumn and winter and occasionally in summer, and the forecast gives warning. On the open coast the summer pattern is the Maestral, the afternoon north-westerly of force 3 to 4, and the Jugo, the south-easterly that brings cloud and a sea in spring and autumn.
Where the boats leave from
Porto Montenegro in Tivat is the base for most of the fleet, a large modern marina with everything ashore, ten minutes from Tivat airport. Kotor’s town quay and the marina at Prčanj host a few boats; Bar, down the coast, is the other base, and Budva’s marina a small one. Dubrovnik airport, across the border in Croatia, is an hour and a half away and the one most crews fly into.
Licences and papers
Montenegro requires the skipper to hold a recognised licence and a VHF radio certificate, as Croatia does. An ICC, an RYA Day Skipper or a national equivalent is accepted; the operator checks both at check-in. Every boat in Montenegrin waters carries a cruising permit, the vignette, which the operator holds for a charter boat; the crew list is registered with the harbour master before departure.
The obligatory extras here are inside every price on this site: the final cleaning, the tourist tax and sometimes the vignette itself.
Crossing to Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is thirty miles up the coast from the bay’s entrance and a tempting night. It is a border crossing: the boat clears out of Montenegro at Zelenika or Herceg Novi, clears into Croatia at Cavtat, and does the same in reverse. The operator must permit it in writing, the crew list and the boat’s papers must be in order, and the formalities take an hour or two at each end. Some operators allow it; many do not. Ask before you book, not at check-in.
Harbours and money
Mooring is cheaper than in Croatia. Town quays in Kotor, Perast, Herceg Novi and Budva charge by length; Porto Montenegro charges marina rates. The bay has anchorages at Rose by its entrance, in the bays below Perast and at Bigova outside; the open coast has fewer, so the coastal nights are harbour nights. Water and fuel are at Tivat, Kotor, Bar and Budva.
A week from Tivat
Three nights in the bay and three on the coast, with the longest leg to Bar on a settled day. Rose and Bigova are the anchorages to add; Dubrovnik replaces the coast if the operator allows the crossing.
| Day | From | To | Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Tivat | Kotor | 10 nm | Check in, provision, and motor-sail up the bay through the Verige narrows to the walled town; the quay under the walls. |
| Day 2 | Kotor | Perast | 5 nm | A short leg to the baroque village opposite its two islets; a night on the quay or at anchor below the town. |
| Day 3 | Perast | Herceg Novi or Rose | 12 nm | Back down the bay to the entrance; the town at Herceg Novi, or the anchorage at Rose on the Luštica side. |
| Day 4 | Rose | Budva | 16 nm | Out of the bay and south-east along the Luštica peninsula to the old town of Budva and its marina. |
| Day 5 | Budva | Bar | 20 nm | Past Sveti Stefan and Petrovac to the port of Bar; the longest leg, with the Maestral on the beam in the afternoon. |
| Day 6 | Bar | Bigova | 22 nm | Back north to the fishing village in its bay on the Luštica peninsula, a night at anchor before the bay. |
| Day 7 | Bigova | Tivat | 12 nm | Round the peninsula into the bay and back to the marina; the boat in its berth by the afternoon. |
Questions people ask
Do I need a licence to charter a boat in Montenegro?
Yes: a recognised skipper’s licence (an ICC or an RYA Day Skipper is accepted) and a VHF radio certificate, as in Croatia. Without them, book a skippered charter.
Can I sail from Montenegro to Dubrovnik?
Only with the operator’s written permission and customs clearance at both ends, at Zelenika or Herceg Novi and at Cavtat. Some operators allow it and many do not, so ask before booking.
Is the Bay of Kotor good sailing?
It is extraordinary to look at and mostly motor-sailed: the mountains leave little wind inside the bay. The sailing is outside, along the coast, where the afternoon Maestral blows force 3 to 4 in summer.
Which airport do I fly into for a Montenegro charter?
Tivat, ten minutes from Porto Montenegro, when there is a flight; otherwise Podgorica, an hour and a half away, or Dubrovnik in Croatia, also an hour and a half with the border.