Montenegro is a vacation spot on the rise. This as soon as hidden gem has been effectively found, as increasingly more individuals come to see the attractive, historic small cities wrapped in medieval stone partitions and backed by mountainous fjords.
This charming nation located on the Adriatic Sea boasts many quaint, fortified cities stuffed with romantic structure, pleasant locals, a captivating historical past, and surprisingly given the scale, a thriving nightlife scene.
When individuals make plans to go to Montenegro, they’re often struck with the choice – ought to I keep in Kotor or Budva?
Most individuals consider Kotor once they consider Montenegro, as a result of it’s the place famously visited by cruise ships within the Bay of Kotor, however these on the lookout for a quieter expertise, are inclined to solid their eyes over the hill to the following city of Budva.
Briefly, Kotor is extra touristy and busy, however has a wealth of historical past and is surrounded by pure mountainous magnificence. There’s a motive it’s the port vacation spot for cruises, not simply due to the port. Budva is a quieter vacation spot, and trades grassy hills for sandy seashores and bustling nightlife.
When you’re struggling to resolve between the 2, the excellent news is they’re solely a 30 minute’ drive from one another, so you possibly can undoubtedly expertise each on one journey.
However in terms of selecting a base, that’s the place this information, primarily based on my private expertise staying in each locations, will assist you to out…
Which is best for sights?
As with all trip, you’re going to wish to cram in your days doing issues. Thankfully, each Kotor and Budva have their deserves in terms of sights.
Briefly, Budva is a superb vacation spot for vacationers trying to expertise a little bit of all the pieces, from historic landmarks to sandy seashores to boutique buying, whereas Kotor has extra historic sights and cafes to discover.
To resolve which is best for sights, let’s check out them each.
Budva’s Points of interest
The principle attraction in Budva is Slovenska Seashore, which is a clear and well-maintained sandy seaside.
The coastal panorama across the UNESCO World Heritage Web site of Budva Previous City can also be actually stunning, and it has probably the most distinctive cliff face I’ve ever seen, with sheer rocks wanting as if they’ve been stacked on prime of one another.
Alongside the coastal path, you’ll attain the statue of the Budva Dancing Lady, a bronze ballerina which represents an previous fable in Montenegro a few sailor and a ballerina who fell in love, and on daily basis she would wait by the shores for her long-lost love.
Except for the seashores, Budva additionally has a fortified Previous City. That is the place you’ll discover quaint cafes, boutique retailers, and a few top-class eating places.
The Previous City is the place the vast majority of the sights are, such because the Museum of the Metropolis of Budva and The Church of Sveti Ivan.
Budva can also be a fantastic base for taking day journeys, since there’s a bus community that takes you from the city centre to Bar or different cities on the shoreline.Â
A day journey you have to take from Budva is to Cetinje, a stupendous historic city that was the previous capital of Montenegro. Right here you will note the previous embassies, that are all nestled in vibrant historic buildings. You may catch a bus from the bus station, or get an Uber and be there in 30-40 minutes.
From gorgeous seashores to historic websites, Budva is a quaint coastal city has loads going for it. Because of this when selecting a base in Montenegro to find the nation’s prime sights, Budva will get my vote.
Kotor’s Points of interest
Though I personally favor Budva as a vacation spot for sights, that’s to not say there’s nothing to see in Kotor.
Kotor has an epic panorama, and it’s this panorama that brings most travellers right here.
Nestled subsequent to Kotor Bay is a small city surrounded by mountains that appears prefer it has been picked out of the Fjords of Norway and dropped on the coast of Montenegro.
The walled Previous City is the most important attraction in Kotor. The Kotor fortress has medieval structure, church buildings, museums, and taverns. Wandering across the cobbled slim streets and sipping espressos from a restaurant within the squares makes you’re feeling such as you’re in a fairy story.
The fortification of the town partitions may be very a lot intact, and when you like climbing, you possibly can stroll all the way in which to the highest of the town bulwarks on Mt. Lovćen, which provides you an unimaginable view of the city under.
Outdoors the previous city, you possibly can sit on Kotor Seashore (a really small seaside), or take a ship journey from the marina out to see the Blue Cave, Perast, and the Woman of the Rocks, or simply stroll alongside subsequent to the water and admire the views.
You too can take a day journey to Dubrovnik in Croatia and Trebinje in Bosnia and Herzegovina from Kotor – sure, you possibly can day journey to a different nation! That’s the perks of visiting Montenegro, you’re so near different nations you can also make it a whole Southern Europe journey.
At night time, Kotor comes alive with bars, hostels, and golf equipment within the Previous City taking part in loud music till the early hours of the morning. It’s turn out to be a sizzling spot for vibrant nightlife and appeals to backpackers and younger travellers.
Verdict: Budva has extra sights at its disposal, whereas Kotor’s sights are arguably extra stunning. Nevertheless, you would spend two days in Kotor and see all of it, whereas in Budva you would keep per week. So, in terms of Budva or Kotor for sights, Budva wins.
Which is best for lodging?
Discovering a spot to remain is rarely straightforward and thankfully, each Kotor or Budva have loads of lodging choices.
That will help you resolve which city has the very best lodging choices for you, right here’s an outline of what it’s like to remain in every place…
What’s it like staying in Budva?
I discovered that Budva had extra lodging choices than Kotor, just because it’s a bigger city and it has extra native guests as a result of its seashores. You too can keep exterior the Previous City, which presents cheaper costs and extra diverse lodging kinds.
Throughout the city you’ll discover all the pieces from luxurious 5* inns to trip leases to visitor homes.
Backpackers will discover fewer selections for hostels, however there are nonetheless finances visitor homes and inns that provide cheaper lodging.
In contrast to Kotor, Budva has most of its choices exterior its Previous City, which implies there are much more inns to select from and any kind of traveller can discover a good lodging choice.
I like to recommend you keep within the City Centre, as that is close to to public transport and the seaside. In order for you peace and quiet, the East facet of Budva is the place you’ll discover tranquility and tranquility, since all of the nightlife occurs within the Previous City and City Centre.
For an all-around excellent spot to remain, I like to recommend the award-winning Lodge Majestic, which has a fantastic location close to the seaside and city centre, and is strolling distance to the Previous City, however far sufficient away that the noise doesn’t turn out to be a problem.Â
It has a chic decor and onsite restaurant, and might even organise automotive rental – excellent for these considering of taking day journeys.
What’s it like staying in Kotor?
Kotor has quite a lot of lodging choices which are unfold across the Bay of Kotor, the Previous City, or simply exterior ​​Kotor Seashore.
Many individuals select to remain within the Previous City (and why wouldn’t you, it’s stunning!) however I extremely advocate you keep away from this.Â
There may be quite a lot of lodging within the Previous City, regardless of it being so small, and is usually stuffed with stunning and chic luxurious inns. HOWEVER, the one draw back to staying within the Previous City is the noise.
The golf equipment and bars play music till the early hours and the church bells begin ringing within the early hours too. It doesn’t matter the place you keep within the Previous City, you’re going to be disturbed by this. The city is so small that you could hear it from in every single place.
Only some inns within the Previous City supply soundproof rooms, and they’re often the luxurious 5* inns such because the Historic Boutique Lodge Cattaro.
For gentle sleepers, discovering lodging in Kotor goes to be a problem. There aren’t quite a lot of choices exterior the Previous City, and on prime of this, there aren’t quite a lot of inns in Kotor full cease – a lot of the lodging choices are residence trip leases.Â
Trip leases are nice for households and teams of travellers, however for solo travellers and {couples}, it may be tough discovering a spot inside your finances.
So whereas there’s quite a lot of lodging, Kotor doesn’t have quite a lot of good choices that cater to completely different journey kinds.
For these on the lookout for an reasonably priced place to remain in Kotor, I like to recommend the Lodge Porto Inn. That is simply exterior the Previous City in a quiet space, however inside strolling distance. It has trendy rooms and an reasonably priced worth, plus I stayed there myself and might verify I heard no Drum and Bass or bells ringing.
Verdict: Due to the variety of choices out there, Budva is best for lodging.
Which is best for nature?
With regards to nature, each Budva and Kotor have their deserves. The decision for which is best will largely come right down to your private choice on what sort of nature you want.
Kotor has a lush, mountainous panorama subsequent to a peaceful and mild bay. It’s additionally protected by the mountains, which implies the water is at all times calm like glass.
Budva has a stunning sandy seaside, which is at all times clear and well-maintained. The encompassing areas of Budva are strewn with idyllic nature, such because the untamed Sveti Nikola Island, which additionally has a stunning Half Moon Seashore, and the Sveti Stefan Island, identified for the 5-star resort, Aman Sveti Stefan, and delightful seashores.
When you love mountains and scenic fjords, then Kotor takes the crown, but when it’s seashores and coastal serenity you’re on the lookout for, then Budva has it.
The decision: It’s exhausting to say which is best for nature since they each supply one thing completely different. Nevertheless, Kotor’s Fjord-like nature is exclusive to Kotor and can’t be discovered anyplace else, so for that motive, Kotor is best for nature.
Which is best for meals?
When you’ve adopted yTravel Weblog for some time, you’ll know we love meals! So we have now to say which is best for meals; Kotor or Budva.
Since each cities sit by the water, you’ll discover loads of eating places serving recent seafood.Â
Kotor’s Previous City has a number of eating places that provide relaxed eating with al fresco seating.
You will discover pizzerias, previous taverns, and sandwich retailers. Outdoors the Previous City is a extremely nice BBQ restaurant, BBQ Tanjga, which might be probably the most reasonably priced meals choice in Kotor (and in addition very scrumptious).
The proprietor is very nice and enjoys chatting with vacationers, which is one more reason to go to. We ended up going there at the least thrice.
Budva has just a few eating places alongside the promenade by the seaside and some eating places within the Previous City. The Previous City in Budva is smaller than Kotor, so there aren’t as many choices for locations to eat right here, however don’t fear, there are nonetheless simply sufficient choices.
You will discover pasta bars, tapas bars, and vegetarian eating places. Many of the eating places within the Previous City are a bit fancier than informal eating, however the eating places on the promenade are extra relaxed.
The decision: each cities have nice locations to eat, so it’s unimaginable to decide on. With regards to meals, Budva and Kotor are equal.
Which is best for households?
When deciding on whether or not Kotor or Budva is best for households, we should contemplate all the factors talked about above; sights, meals, and lodging.
When you have fussy younger children who want fixed leisure, they are going to favor Budva. It simply has extra to supply them, from water parks to seashores to paragliding.
On prime of that, there are extra lodging choices in Budva that cater to households, which makes discovering a spot to remain simpler.
Nevertheless, in case your children are a bit of bit older, they could respect the pure fantastic thing about Kotor and discover the historical past fascinating.
The decision: No two households are the identical, so the reply will rely on your loved ones. However for households with younger children, you’ll most likely take pleasure in Budva extra.
The Closing Verdict: Kotor or Budva?
As you possibly can see, there isn’t a definitive reply to which is best, Budva vs Kotor, as everybody has a diverse opinion, however I hope that this information provides you a good suggestion about what to anticipate.
For my part, Budva is best for households because it has extra sights for the children to take pleasure in, and a larger variety of lodging choices, and a seaside that youngsters will take pleasure in.
Nevertheless, Kotor has a backpacker scene and has some busy hostels, romantic lodging choices, and a few unimaginable nature. When you’re a solo traveller or a pair, chances are you’ll favor staying in Kotor over Budva as you’ll have extra alternatives to fulfill different travellers.Â
Whichever city you resolve, ensure you keep exterior the Previous City if you would like a peaceable night time’s sleep! And keep in mind, Kotor and Budva are solely a 30-minute automotive journey from one another, so you possibly can at all times go to the opposite on a day journey.
We hope this information helped you propose your journey to Montenegro and gave you some perception into this gorgeous nation!
Excursions in Kotor and Budva
Whereas staying in Kotor or Budva, contemplate these prime promoting excursions and sights.
