Bay of Kotor
A private boat tour of Kotor and the bay
You take the whole yacht, not a seat on someone else's. Marea is 18 metres with her own captain and steward, she carries up to 16 guests, and a four-hour tour of the Bay of Kotor is €2,600 for the boat. She berths at Porto Montenegro in Tivat, inside the same bay as Kotor; boarding in Kotor itself is arranged in advance and depends on where she is that day.
What a private boat tour actually changes
Two things: who else is aboard, and who decides where to stop.
The group speedboats out of Kotor run a fixed loop with twenty to forty people aboard and a return time they cannot move. That is a fair way to see the bay, and it costs a fraction of this.
If you are trying to rent a boat in Kotor for a day, that is the choice in front of you: a seat on one of those, or the whole yacht for your own group. What follows is what the second one buys.
What it cannot do is stop. If the water at Dobrota looks right and everyone wants an hour in it, a group boat is already leaving. If a child falls asleep, the schedule does not care. If you want to eat at two rather than at noon, you eat at noon.
On a private charter the day belongs to your group and the captain builds it round you the evening before. Most of what people remember afterwards happened because the boat stopped when they asked it to.
The Kotor day, hour by hour
Four hours covers the near half of the bay; six reaches Kotor town itself and back. The times below are the eight-hour version.
09:00
Out of Tivat
Board at Porto Montenegro. Straight out past the Kamenari ferry crossing, which is the narrowest point of the whole bay and the reason the fjord looks like it closes behind you.
10:00
Oysters at Kamenari
The farms are right here. You order from the water and they bring them out to the boat — ten minutes from the rope to the deck. That gap is the entire difference between these and the ones served in a city restaurant.
11:00
Our Lady of the Rocks
An island that is not an island: sailors dropped a stone here after every safe return for four hundred years until there was enough ground for a church. We circle it slowly and put you ashore if you want the museum.
12:00
Perast
An hour tied up. One street of Venetian palaces with a mountain directly behind them, and no cars in it.
13:30
Kotor from the water
The old town sits at the very end of the bay under the fortress wall that climbs 1,300 steps up the cliff. From the water you see the whole thing at once, which you cannot do from inside it.
15:00
Lunch at anchor
The grill goes on at the stern while the swimming happens. If you would rather eat ashore, Stari Mlini is a converted watermill on the far shore with a jetty.
16:30
Dobrota on SUP boards
Shallow coves along the shoreline. The water stays cold here through August because freshwater springs come straight out of the rock underneath — it is a genuine shock after the open bay.
18:00
Stradioti
A last swim off the island, then Tivat with the sun going down behind Luštica.
Private yacht, group boat, water taxi
All three run the same bay. They are not the same product and the price gap is not arbitrary.
| Group speedboat | Water taxi | Marea | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who is aboard | 20–40 strangers | Your group | Your group |
| Cost | €25–40 a head | €150–300 a transfer | €2,600 for 4 h, whole boat |
| Stops | Fixed | Point to point | Wherever you ask |
| Swimming | One scheduled stop | No | As often as you like |
| Food | Not aboard | No | Grill on the stern |
| Shade and a bed | Bench seat | Bench seat | Deck, cabins, saloon |
Group and taxi prices are the going rate on the bay in 2026, not our quote — we do not sell either.
What you pass on this route
Kamenari
The narrows and the oyster farms. The ferry crosses here every fifteen minutes and the bay is barely 300 metres wide.
Our Lady of the Rocks
Man-made island and church, built up by four centuries of sailors throwing stones over the side on their way home.
Perast
Sixteen Venetian palaces and seventeen churches on one street. No traffic, and the town is best entered from the water.
Kotor
Walled town at the head of the fjord, with the fortress wall running up the cliff behind it. Go early — the cruise ships arrive at nine.
Prčanj and Dobrota
The residential shore, quieter than the postcard side. Cold springs, shallow coves, and the cathedral at Prčanj if you want to walk.
Stradioti
Small island off Tivat with clean water on the lee side. The last swim of the day happens here more often than anywhere else.
What the day costs
Four hours covers the near bay, six reaches Kotor town, eight does the whole loop without hurrying.
| Duration | Price |
|---|---|
| 4 hours | €2,600 |
| 6 hours | €2,800 |
| 8 hours | €3,000 |
| 12 hours | €3,200 |
| 24 hours | €4,000 |
| 2–5 night | €3,400 / night |
| 7 nights | €21,000 |
Rates are for the whole yacht, captain and crew included, not per person.
7 nights
€21,000
The weekly rate works out at €3,000 a night against €3,400 on shorter voyages — €2,800 less across the seven.
- per night
- €3,000
- 7 nights
- −€2,800
In the bay
Tell us your date
Say how many of you there are and when. We reply within two hours in season and draw the route with you the evening before.
What people usually ask
Can we board in Kotor rather than Tivat?
Yes, arranged in advance. Marea's home berth is Porto Montenegro in Tivat and that mooring is in the price; boarding elsewhere depends on where she is that day, so it is agreed when you book rather than on the morning.
How long does it take to get from Kotor to Perast by boat?
They are on the same stretch of the inner bay and the run between them is short — the passage is the pleasant part, not the cost. A four-hour charter comfortably covers Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks; six hours adds Kotor itself.
Can you swim in the Bay of Kotor?
Yes, and the inner bay is calmer than the open coast. It is also colder: freshwater springs come out of the rock along Dobrota and Prčanj, so the water there stays sharp into August. The warmest swimming is nearer the mouth, around Stradioti and further west.
What time should we start?
Early. Cruise ships tie up in Kotor from about nine and the old town changes character completely for the next six hours. Leaving Tivat at nine puts you at Perast and the islands before the crowd reaches them.
How much is a private boat tour of Kotor?
€2,600 for four hours, €2,800 for six and €3,000 for eight — for the whole yacht, captain and crew included, up to 16 guests. Split sixteen ways, four hours is about €163 each.