Why Kotor (Montenegro) impressed us more than Dubrovnik
Kotor has been on my list of places to see ever since spotting a photo similar to the above on another blog. So when we left Split last week for a little trip down south, Kotor was the place I wanted to see. Not Dubrovnik, but Kotor.
We’ve been to a lot of nice places over the last year, but no place has blown us away to the extent Kotor did. I came for the geography. Doing the hike up to Kotor’s fortress surpassed expectations. I think it might be one of the most spectacularly beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I had read that the Old Town was pretty but small. It ended up being one of the most charming and untouched old towns I’ve seen anywhere in Europe. We extended our stay from 3 days to 5 days and have vowed to come back one day for more.
(at the bottom of this post I tell you why Kotor impressed us more than Dubrovnik)
Accommodation: I recommend Hotel Monte Cristo. If staying longer, then consider Apartman 367
I’m not going to bore you in this post with things that you have to see in Kotor. The only thing (besides that hike up to the fortress of St. John) that you have to do is wander around town, sit at one of its squares, and enjoy your surroundings. Watch the kids ride their bikes through the streets, look up at the steep cliffs and fort walls that loom over the town. Unlike a place like Dubrovnik, Kotor is a real town and with a little imagination you might think yourself 500 years back in time. Especially in the evening when the tourists vacate the town for the comfort of their cruise ships (a lot of the tourists that make it to Kotor do so on cruise ships).
Except for a few captions, I’ll let the photos do the talking in this post. There’s a lot of them.
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The Hike up to the Fortress of St. John (also known as Kastel Sveti Ivan)
Bring good shoes and expect a slightly strenuous 45 minute hike up to the fortress.
While you’re up there, look down on the opposite side – there’s a huge drop off (maybe 400 feet?), a sheer impenetrable cliff that makes attack from the backside of town impossible. Most of the Wall structure was built while Kotor was under Venetian rule in the 15th century.
Kotor’s Old Town
Kotor is full of squares connected by small streets, none straight.
Most of the town’s museums are Orthodox, but St. Tryphon, a Catholic church, is the most significant in town. In AD 809, Venetian merchants were sailing up the coast from Turkey with the relics of St. Tryphon (a 3rd century martyr) when a storm hit. They took refuge in the Bay of Kotor. Whenever they tried to leave the weather worsened. They decided to that his remains were destined to stay here and built a church (the version you’ll see is the latest version, 4 earthquakes have destroyed previous churches built here).
St. Luke’s Square is another pretty square and has a couple of interesting Orthodox churches built in the time of Serbian rule.
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One of the oddities about Kotor is that most of the tourists you’ll see are from cruise ships. You’ll often see 1 or 2 in the harbor. It means sudden influxes of tourists during various parts of the day, then sudden emptiness at other times. A waiter told us that lunch times can be crazy. But then you can walk around in the evening and have the town all to yourself, as evidenced below.
I previously wrote about Dubrovnik. It is a beautiful city but there is one thing that was nagging at me. I realized what it was when doing this post: Dubrovnik is a glamour girl, a super model. She’s been glammed up, has had a few nip and tucks, and has been reconstructed in parts. She’s too perfect. Kotor feels like the real thing. Look at the grass growing between bricks and tiles, see the warped and faded doors and windows, the rusted iron, and the weathered walls. She’s authentic. We more than loved Kotor, we were blown away by its charm.
Practical information
Accommodation: The exceptional Hotel Vardar or equally excellent Hotel Monte Cristo (both in the heart of the old town). If looking for an apartment (you’ll save money) then Apartman 367 and Old Town Boskovic Apartment are both very good.
Getting to Kotor: 2.5 to 3 hours by bus from Dubrovnik. It’s actually about 2 hours driving time but passport control can be slow. There are only 2 to 3 buses a day Dubrovnik – Kotor and about the same back. That’s not a lot of people travelling independently to Kotor. But buses to get filled up quick so I would suggest you buy tickets in advance as we did. As mentioned, the bus station is a 5 minute walk from the south gate of the Old town. If flying in, then you want to fly to Tivat airport (airport code: TIV). From there you can take a 10 minute taxi ride to Kotor.
Tours. If you don’t have much time, I recommend taking an organized tour from Dubrovnik, you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle. You’ll also be taken to the town of Perast which is really incredible (I wrote about that here). If already in Kotor, you can book this tour: it will cover Perast as well as the town of Budva.
Renting a car. The best way to get around while also seeing the beauty in the region. You’d be surprised by how affordable it is (except in high season when prices go up). Have a look here for options.
Have you been to Kotor?
Related: Make sure to Visit Perast (just 30 min from Kotor)
Related: Where to stay in Montenegro: Kotor or Budva?
Related: Taking the famous Bar to Belgrade train. Is it worth it?
Ps. If you find our blog helpful, please consider using our links to book your flights, hotels, tours, and car rentals. Have a look at our Travel Resources page.
Hi guys again, it’s me,
I will definitely make it there next year when I get to Croatia, never heard of Kotor. I just wanted to answer your question: “the cruise ship tourists are back, walking around like sheep and following their pack leaders. No wonder they look so bored. I just can’t understand why there aren’t more people travelling around independently like us, it’s so much more fun (and cheaper).”
People are lazy and scared to try on their own. As I told you, I travel solo and that is not as easy as with another person, but I hate those vanilla canned groups. On my upcoming trip to Prague and more, I begged others to join me….but they couldn’t believe I am doing it all myself, some truly think I am “nuts”. Well, we live once and let it be the best.
SY.
Hi Sara,
I’m lucky – my parents always enjoyed travel and as a kid we’d go to lots of different places. We even lived in Zambia where we would travel to places like Malawi or Kenya by car. My mom especially has always travelled so when she retired in her mid-50s she spent much of her time travelling around South East Asia and I would often meet up with her in different places. So those were my influences growing up. And I’m still in one piece, her too despite having travelled independently as an older woman – she’s now 69, living in Central Mexico, but just came back from a road trip through Chiapas and Guatamala. People, especially Americans, worry about travelling solo – but most of the world is very safe (and much safer than America, sorry to say).
Prague is incredibly safe, as is Croatia and Kotor (unless you’re out late, drunk and buying drugs from unsavory types. But I think you really have to look for trouble to find it). If you ever have any questions let me know Sara. But it sounds like you’re experienced and comfortable with it. I always tell people that once you’ve travelled a few times independently you’ll never travel the same way again. My first solo travel was the Dominican Republic. The next was Colombia. Never, ever had a problem even in these supposedly “dodgy” countries.
Wow, great pictures. I’ve been in Kotor once a couple of hours when I took the bus from Herceg-Novi where I stayed a few nights during a holidaytrip in 2019. I went on my own. I love Kotor. I hope if ‘covid-19’ allows it, to visit Kotor again this year. And then go up the hike for the beautiful views. Thanks again for all those photo’s. Wow.
you seemed to have seen a lot more of it than I did. But it was a long time ago and i dont remember it clearly. I remember being on a building rooftop for some great views.
Thanks Andy. Yes, there are basically great views everywhere you look in Kotor.
Great wrap up! Kotor is on my list to visit. Unfortunately, was on a bus last year that drove through, but we didn’t stop. Hopefully, next time!
What a shame. We’ll be back in the area this area in a few months and hope to go back. I love Kotor!
Hi Katelyn – we actually bought our tickets in advance but at the bus station itself (in Dubrovnik). They have buses to Kotor quite regularly.
Dubrovnik has had its nips and tucks because the Montenegrins bombed it for a consecutive months during the War in the 90’s. Dubrovniks nips and tucks however were primarily its old roof tiles which were replaced and the place has had its Stone buildings cleaned like much of Southern Croatia. Kotor in the early parts of the 20th century had a majority Croatian catholic population . Over time Croatians vacated the place and more Serbs moved into the area. Like Dubrovnik, it was a strong trading Port in competition to Venice.
Thanks Dani, all very accurate 🙂
So nice, it reminds me the summer and hiking around Montenegro’s Kotor Bay. It was beautiful!
I adore Kotor! But I’m guessing you weren’t there in July as you say the evenings were very quiet….despite having lived in India, Vietnam and visited 65 countries I think it was the noisiest place I’ve ever been in!!! We were there during carnival and the noise levels were on a level that I’ve never come across before (way louder than Trinidad carnival for example). Obviously carnival night was exceptional but all the other evenings were incredibly loud too. We stayed right inside the city walls on one of those lovely squares which was fun, but next time I’d stay outside the city walls, maybe in Perast. But despite the noise I agree with you that it’s one of the loveliest places ever!
Really!! We were there mid-May and it was really quiet. Evenings we would walk around the old town and restaurants were lucky if they were filled to 10% capacity.
Good to know it gets as crowded as every other place in Europe during prime summer months. That’s not fun 🙁
Thanks for letting us know, we’ll make sure to never be there in July or August.
Nice post 😉 I am fortunate to live in Montenegro since 2008 and I love it. Kotor has a beautiful year-round fresh market and is still very authentic indeed.
Best times to visit are spring and fall. Avoid July and August! Enjoy!
Lucky you Carine! It’s not a place many people know about and especially not a place people go to to live. We will definitely go back one day, we were very struck by the place.
Great photos! We visited Kotor Bay last summer to go kayaking. The scenery is great and the water is calm and beautiful! But during high season the country really bears the brunt of the tourist overflow from Croatia; there are just so many holidaymakers acting like arseholes on the road, the prices are really jacked up, and everywhere is so ridiculously crowded. I’d definitely recommend only going during the quiet seasons. It makes a nice stop on the way to beautiful Albania, though!
Good to know. We arrived in Europe in early April and I think it’s really the best time to come…since a couple of weeks ago we’re seeing more and more tourists around the Split area and honestly, I don’t know how the locals take it. But good to know Montenegro gets busier as well. I think when we come back it will be in the shoulder seasons.
Love the photos and Kotor looks incredibly charming. Yeah, I don’t get people who take cruises. Maybe when I’m old and can’t get around. Then I’ll take a cruise with the Thai nurses who’ll be taking care of me 🙂 But until then I don’t need to be hanging out with middle aged people and eating out of the cruise ship buffet trough. Just the idea is depressing.
Thanks John. We’ve never been on a cruise. But every time we’ve taken a boat tour (ie. a couple of hours) we’ve regreted it. Once in Colombia, another in Brazil. And you’re stuck with people you don’t want to be with and can’t go anywhere.
Cruises have their convenience and I can see some of the benefits. And I’m not ruling out that we won’t do it one day. In some places its the best way of getting around. But honestly not something that really appeals to me at this point, the idea of being stuck on a boat kind of restrictive…
Good luck with the Thai nurses.
Kotor was such a wonderful find! Love the photo’s.. makes me want to pack and go today. How many days would you recommend to visit? It seems like somewhere I could stay for a decent amount of time, but I don’t want to over-stay.
Hi Paula! Really depends how you travel. We work at the same time we travel so some of our day spent in the apartment. Afternoon and evenings we’re about as well as weekends. We’ve been in Split 6 weeks now and its a perfect base. Kotor is smaller and there are less things of interest in the area…still, I think we could stay a month and enjoy it.
But the usual traveller who just wants to explore the sights in Kotor and around I would give it a week. You can do quite a lot in that kind of time and we’ve been told good things about places like Budva and Sveti Stefan which are not far away.
Hope that helps 🙂
Wow what amazing pictures! Some of the best places to travel are off the beaten path. I also love places you can stay and really interact with the locals and get a feel for what their lives are like. I’ll have to keep Kotor in mind when we eventually head back to Europe! –Elizabeth
Thanks for taking the time to comment Elizabeth!
It seems like I already want to meet with this authentic girl. 🙂
A good post, Frank.
If Dubrovnik is Angelina Jolie then Kotor is Sandra Bullock. I prefer Sandra Bullock. Or maybe you can come up with a better analogy Victor 🙂
No.
If to choose whom of them to live with, I would prefer Sandra Bullock. She is my type of woman.
We would have to do some extreme fighting for her Victor 🙂
Wow, what a beautiful place. Thanks for the pictures and for the impressions. They make us want to go to Kotor now.
It’s great, we wish we could have stayed longer! Thanks for the comment, glad we could share our enthusiasm for the place with you 🙂