Kayaks and SUP in Budva: the Pigeon Cave

Budva has a shoreline you cannot see from the promenade: the fortress walls of the old town rising straight out of the water, the Ballerina statue on her reef, the two Mogren beaches under the cliff, and the Pigeon Cave — a grotto you can only enter on something small. A boat will not fit; there is no path from land.

A kayak or a SUP board is exactly the transport that opens this part of the coast. Three and a half hours on morning water, and Budva stops being just a promenade with cafés. A guided trip costs from €45 per person, with the kayak or board and all the kit included.

What it costs

From €45 per person, and this is the rare case where almost everything is included:

• kayak or SUP board — your choice, made on the beach
• paddle, life jacket and a dry bag for your things
• an instructor for the whole route
• mask and snorkel if you want them
• photos and video are already included — nothing extra to pay

You bring water, a towel and sun protection. Compare it with a boat trip: here you are not a passenger but crew, and you see the shore from a paddle’s length away. The company running the trip quotes the exact price for your date.

The route: the Pigeon Cave

You start from the Budva promenade. After a short briefing the group takes to the water and the coast unfolds in order:

1. Budva harbour and Pizana beach — a warm-up on calm water.
2. The old town from the sea. The fortress walls look the way the Venetians meant them to look — impregnable. One of the best angles on the town.
3. Ričardova glava and the Ballerina. The famous dancer on her reef: from the water you come right up to her instead of looking down from a railing.
4. Mogren 1 and Mogren 2 — beaches under the cliff, reached from land by a narrow path and from the sea by the nose of your kayak.
5. Kalipso beach — a hidden bay with no road to it. Swimming, a rest and some of the best photographs of the day.
6. The Pigeon Cave — the finale: the group paddles inside the grotto. The water glows turquoise, the echo swallows your paddle, and you can snorkel at the entrance.

Do not confuse Budva’s Pigeon Cave with the Blue Cave (Plava špilja) on the Luštica peninsula. That is a different grotto, at the mouth of the Bay of Kotor, about 10 kilometres by water from Herceg Novi. A kayak has the same advantage there, though: since 2026 motor vessels have been banned from entering the Blue Cave, so boats wait at the mouth and the only ways in are by kayak, on a SUP board or swimming from a boat. How to get there is covered in the Blue Cave.

Kayak or SUP

The kayak is steadier and faster: take it if you want to look around calmly and take photographs. Two of you can share a double.

The SUP is about balance and core work: physically more interesting, wetter and more fun. Falling into a warm Adriatic does not count as a penalty.

Neither needs experience: the briefing on the beach takes minutes and the group moves at an easy pace. Being able to swim helps, but everyone gets a life jacket.

When to go

The season runs from June to mid-October, daily. In summer departures are at 9:00 and 16:00; from September at 10:00 and 15:00.

The morning departure is the calmer one: the sea is still glassy because the maestral, the daytime breeze, gets up later; the sun is low, the old town is lit from the side and the promenade is still asleep. The evening one gives warm light on the way back: in mid-August the sun sets at around 19:45 and in mid-September at around 19:00, so you reach the shore close to sunset.

What to bring

• A litre of water per person — paddling is hotter than it looks
• A towel and a dry T-shirt
• A long-sleeved top and a hat — the sun on water hits twice, from above and off the surface
• Sunglasses and sun cream
• Water shoes if you have them: easier on the rocks by the cave

Your things travel in the dry bag and stay dry. The trip is guided in Russian.

If you have never paddled before

This is a case where no experience is needed at all. The briefing on the beach takes five minutes: how to hold the paddle, how to turn, how not to fight the water. After that the group moves unhurriedly, with stops, and falling behind is physically impossible — the instructor sets the pace by the slowest paddler.

The one thing worth knowing in advance: you paddle with your arms and your core, and your shoulders will remind you of it the next day. Three and a half hours with swimming stops is a moderate load, but not zero. Children from eight or nine are usually comfortable in a double kayak with a parent.

In short

From €45 for three and a half hours along one of the most beautiful stretches of the Budva shore, with filming already included in the price and a cave you cannot reach any other way. Below are the schedule and free places; booking and payment are made directly with the organiser.

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Prices checked in September 2026. More active trips in the Adventure section: paragliding and diving. Everything else — choose a category; group trips with prices by departure town are on the tours in Montenegro page.