Bay of Kotor Private Tour: Half a Day at Your Own Pace

The group tour of the bay takes a whole day and keeps you on somebody else’s schedule. The private version covers the same water in half a day, in a car with your own guide, starting when it suits you: in the morning from 09:00 to 14:00, or in the afternoon, setting off between 14:00 and 15:00 and finishing in the evening.

The difference is not the route. It is who decides how long you stand in each place. You pay per group rather than per head: private tours start from €90 for the car and guide, and the guide quotes the exact figure for your date. One thing to know before you book: the company runs its private tours, like its group ones, only with Russian-speaking guides.

The drive and the first hour

The guide collects you from your hotel or apartment. From Budva it is about half an hour to the bay, and along the way he talks about the coast and about the place you are staying in — not filler, but a normal part of what a private guide does.

The road then follows the water past coastal villages. About fifty minutes after leaving Budva, Perast opens up — a town of sixteen palaces with no traffic lights and no vehicles allowed in the historic core.

The two islands facing Perast

St George’s Island is natural, with a 12th-century Benedictine abbey and the graves of Perast captains under cypresses. It is called the island of the dead, and landing is not allowed.

Our Lady of the Rocks (Gospa od Škrpjela) was made by people. The legend says that in 1452 sailors found an icon on the reef, and from then on everyone returning from a voyage dropped a stone on the submerged rock, while worn-out ships were scuttled alongside, until an island grew. Inside the church hang around two thousand silver plaques showing ships — each from someone who survived a storm.

The boat out to the island is paid separately: about €5 per person return. The museum beside the church is €2–3 per person.

Kotor and the church of St Nicholas

In Kotor the guide walks you through the old town and then gives you free time. That is the real difference from a coach tour: you can sit down for a coffee and not rush anywhere.

Getting lost here is possible if you try — the lanes look alike and carry no signs — but the whole town is five to ten minutes across in any direction, so people lose their way mostly as a joke.

Along the route you stop at the Orthodox church of St Nicholas, where you can light candles, leave written prayers and visit the shop.

What it costs

This is a private tour, so there is no fixed price per person. Private tours start from €90 per group. The booking form shows the guides available on your date and what each of them charges, and you choose. The figure depends on the guide, the size of your group and the class of car.

Paid separately on site:

• €2–3 — the museum beside the church on the island
• about €5 — the boat out to the island and back
• €2–8 — other museum tickets, optional
• from €15 — lunch, optional

Once you pick a guide the request goes to them for confirmation; when they confirm, a booking link and voucher arrive by email. The exact amount is quoted by the guide who runs the tour.

Who it suits

Groups of two or three and up. The price is per group: at €90, two people pay €45 each and three pay €30 each. For comparison, in season a seat on the group coach tour of the same towns costs from €44 from Budva, and on the ship from €53.

Anyone who would rather not fit around a coach. Group tours leave between eight and nine in the morning and then collect people all along the coast. Here you are picked up at your door at nine — or after lunch.

Families with small children. Your own car, your own stops, and the option to head back early if a child has had enough.

Anyone who has already done the coach version. A second pass over the same places without the hurry feels entirely different.

What to bring

A sun hat, sunscreen, a camera, comfortable shoes for Kotor’s cobbles. Clothing that covers shoulders and knees — there is a church in Kotor and another on the island on the programme. Cash for the boat and entry tickets.

Nearby

The same bay as a full-day group trip is the Bay of Kotor by ship: from €53 per person, but on a timetable. The same towns by coach with a group are covered by the Old Towns of the Bay tour: from €39 per person from Kotor, from €44 from Budva, from €49 from Tivat and from €59 from Bar. Both run in season and are not held from October to May. If Russian is no use to you, the honest alternative is to drive the bay yourself in a hire car.

To travel on the water rather than beside it, take the cruise from Tivat or from Kotor on a boat of your own with a skipper.

All destinations are collected on the things to do page, and prices by departure town on the tours in Montenegro page.

---

Prices checked in September 2026. The tour is run by an independent guide; booking and payment are made directly with them.