Bay of Kotor Cruise from Tivat: The Fjord That Isn't One

The Bay of Kotor is not really a bay at all. It is a drowned river canyon: four broad basins linked by narrow straits, with mountains climbing a kilometre and a half straight out of the water, no foothills and no warning. From a distance it looks Norwegian, which is why it is so often billed as Europe’s southernmost fjord. Geologically that is wrong — glaciers carve fjords, and this one was cut by a river. But once you are on deck, looking up at the almost sheer face of Mount Vrmac, the terminology stops mattering.

Tivat sits right in the middle of the system, which makes it one of the most practical ports to start from. Four hours are enough to reach Perast and come back; a full day takes you through the whole bay and out to the open sea. You hire the whole boat with a skipper: four hours from Tivat start at €390 per boat, a full day at €650.

What you see from the water that you miss from the road

A good road follows the shore of the bay, and nearly everyone drives it. The catch is that from the tarmac you only ever see the near side — the one you are driving along. The opposite shore stays hidden behind bends, tunnels and other people’s roofs.

On the water it is the other way round. About half an hour out of Tivat, the Verige strait opens up: the narrowest point of the bay, just over 300 metres across. The name comes from the local word for chains, and in the Middle Ages a chain really was slung across the gap on rafts to keep enemy ships out. Today it is simply one of the most striking moments of the trip — the mountains close in from both sides, the water turns darker, and the boat slides down what feels like a corridor.

Just past Verige lie the two islands off Perast, one of Montenegro’s best-known postcard views. St George’s Island is natural, with a 12th-century Benedictine abbey and a cemetery under the cypresses; nobody is allowed ashore. Our Lady of the Rocks (Gospa od Škrpjela), on the other hand, was built by hand. Legend has it that in 1452 sailors found an icon on a submerged rock, and from then on every crew returning from a voyage dropped a stone on the spot. Five hundred years of stones and scuttled ships produced an island, and on it a church whose walls hold around two thousand silver votive plaques. It also keeps an embroidered altar cloth that Jacinta Kunić-Mijović is said to have spent twenty-five years on, stitching in her own hair — dark at the start, grey by the end.

Further along the shore is Perast: sixteen palaces, not a single set of traffic lights, and a former nautical school to which Peter the Great sent Russian noblemen to learn seamanship. From the sea you take the whole town in at a glance, like a scale model.

What separates a motorboat from a catamaran, what the price covers and why you pay for the whole vessel is explained in a day on a boat.

Whether you can take a boat out without a skipper, and what you need to do so, is covered in skippered or bareboat.

Half day or full day: the routes from Tivat

There are two usual plans. Departure time and stops are agreed with the company when you book; most trips leave in the morning, while the bay is still calm.

• Four hours. Tivat — Verige — the islands off Perast — a swimming stop — back. Enough to see the highlights without wearing anyone out, and the right choice with children: the enclosed bay hardly moves.
• A full day. All of the above, plus Risan and its Roman mosaics, a run out to Herceg Novi, the fortress island of Mamula at the mouth of the bay and, if the swell allows, the Blue Cave (Plava špilja), where the water seems to glow from below.

Two things to know about the full day. Mamula is now a hotel and only guests may land, so you see it from the water. And since 2026 motor vessels have been banned from entering the Blue Cave: the boat stops at the mouth of the grotto, you go inside by kayak or swim in from the boat, and swimming happens at the entrance. The details are in the Blue Cave.

Some boats also do a one-way trip from Tivat to Kotor, without returning to the same port. Whether that is possible on your date is something to check with the company when you book.

How much a boat trip from Tivat costs

The price is for the whole boat, not per person — nobody outside your group comes aboard. Starting prices from Tivat:

• from €390 — four hours
• from €650 — a full day

Along the coast as a whole, by type of boat: a motorboat for up to 9 guests starts at €390 for three hours, a sailing yacht for up to 8 at €390 for three to four hours, a catamaran for up to 8 at €520 for four hours, and one for 12 guests at €780.

The skipper and fuel for the route are usually included; lunch ashore and harbour fees in other marinas are extra. You are welcome to bring your own food and drink — here that is the norm, not an exception.

For four people, a four-hour trip at €390 works out at about €98 each; for six, €65 each. For comparison, a seat on the group ship around the bay starts at €53. The exact figure for your date and group comes from the company that owns the boat.

Which boats sail from Tivat

Motorboats, sailing yachts and catamarans for 6 to 12 guests all leave from Tivat. Choose by how you want to spend the day rather than by prestige:

• A motorboat is quick: in four hours it reaches the islands and still leaves time for a long swimming stop.
• A sailing yacht is quiet, and you feel it lean. Inside the bay it runs under engine for most of the way; the sails go up on the open stretches.
• A catamaran is wider and steadier and does not heel. With children, or with eight or more people, it is the more comfortable choice.

Boats, prices and free dates are on the yacht charter page.

What to wear and bring

Only shoes with pale non-slip soles — black ones leave streaks on the deck, and the skipper will ask you to take them off. Beyond that: passports for everyone aboard (companies usually ask for them to register the trip), high-factor sunscreen, a hat and a windproof layer for the way back. The sun in the bay is deceptive: the air feels cool coming off the water, yet it takes about an hour to burn.

Boats stop for a swim once or twice, and every one has a ladder. The bay is 25–26 °C in July and August, but cold springs rise near the shore, and in places the water turns sharply colder.

When to go

The season runs from May to October, with most trips between mid-May and the end of September; in winter there are hardly any. July and August bring the warmest water and the fullest diaries — boats for weekends are booked a week or two ahead. June and September are more pleasant: fewer people, softer air.

The mountains keep the wind down inside the bay, so boats cover most of the distance under engine and set sail on the open stretches. If you want proper sailing, look at the routes along the open coast.

Getting to Tivat

The easiest way is by car: the marina is in the centre of town, with parking next to it, at around €0.60–1.00 an hour. From Budva it is 23 kilometres, about half an hour. How renting a car works and what gets checked at handover is covered in rental car pitfalls.

Other trips on the water

If you have already spent a day inside the bay, have a look at the cruise along the coast from Bar and Budva: open sea, the islets of Katič and Sveta Nedelja, and Sveti Stefan seen from the water. With eight or more people a catamaran is more comfortable: it is wider, steadier and does not heel. For something different altogether, every format is listed on the things to do page.

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Prices are indicative starting prices for the whole boat, checked in September 2026. The exact figure for your date is set by the company that owns the boat; booking and payment are made directly with them.