Where we go
Routes
Everything starts from the same pontoon at Porto Montenegro and goes one of three ways. East is the Bay of Kotor — Boka, to anyone who lives on it — and its towns. West is the mouth of the bay, the submarine tunnels and the Blue Cave, which only works between 11 and 12. South is the open coast to Budva, which is four hours away and therefore an overnight rather than a day. The captain redraws whichever you pick the evening before you sail.
East — into the Bay of Kotor
Sheltered on almost any wind, and the route with the most to look at. Eight hours shown.
09:00
Porto Montenegro
Out past the Kamenari narrows, where the bay closes to about 300 metres.
10:00
Kamenari
Oysters ordered from the water and brought to the boat, opened on deck ten minutes off the farm.
11:00
Our Lady of the Rocks
The man-made island: four centuries of sailors dropping stones after a safe return.
12:00
Perast
An hour tied up in a town of one street, no cars, and a mountain directly behind it.
13:30
Kotor from the water
The walled town at the head of the fjord under 1,300 steps of fortress wall.
15:00
Lunch at anchor
Grill on the stern while the swimming happens, or Stari Mlini ashore — a converted watermill with a jetty.
16:30
Dobrota
SUP boards along the coves. Cold all summer: the springs come straight out of the rock.
18:00
Stradioti
A last swim off the island, then Tivat with the light going behind Luštica.
West — the Blue Cave
Built around one fixed point: the cave lights up between 11 and 12 and not otherwise. Eight hours shown.
09:00
Early departure
Leaving now is what makes the light window. West along the Luštica shore, the empty side of the bay.
09:45
Submarine tunnels
Cut horizontally into the cliff to hide Yugoslav submarines inside the rock. Still open to the water.
10:30
Mamula
Fortress island at the mouth: Austro-Hungarian build, Italian prison camp, hotel today.
11:00
The Blue Cave
Inside the window, when the sun passes under the water at the entrance and the grotto lights blue from below.
11:40
The second arch
A quieter opening just past it that the tour boats do not stop at.
12:30
Žanjic
A long stop in the clearest water on this coast.
14:00
Lunch
Ribarsko Selo or Fort Rose, both a short hop away and both taking a boat alongside.
16:00
Rose and home
Past the quietest village on this side, then back east through the narrows.
South — the open coast
Four hours to Budva each way, so this one works as an overnight rather than a day out of Tivat.
Trašte and Plavi Horizont
Wide sheltered bays on the Luštica side, sand rather than pebble, and the best swimming between the bay and Budva.
Bigova
Fishing village with a restaurant that takes boats alongside. The reason to go slowly.
Budva and Sveti Nikola
The town is louder and younger than the bay. The island off it is twenty minutes out and a different sea temperature.
Sveti Stefan
The island hotel from the water, and the beach past it that has no road — everyone there arrived the way you did.
How the route gets decided
The evening before you sail, not on the morning. By then the wind for the next day is readable, and the wind is what decides whether the open coast is pleasant or a washing machine.
A hard south-easterly means east into the bay, which stays sheltered on almost anything. Flat conditions open the western route and the cave. The rest — how long you stay at Žanjic, whether Perast gets an hour or two, whether lunch happens at anchor or ashore — is yours, and most of it gets decided on the day by whoever is enjoying themselves most.
Pick a direction
Send your dates and how many of you there are. The route follows the conversation, not the other way round.
What people usually ask
Which route should we choose?
East into the bay for towns, history and sheltered water. West for open sea, the submarine tunnels and the Blue Cave. If it is your first day on this coast, east has more to look at; if you have done the bay before, west is the one people repeat.
Can we combine both in one day?
Not properly. They go in opposite directions from Tivat and each fills eight hours on its own. Two nights aboard covers both without hurrying either.
How long do we need for the Blue Cave?
Six hours minimum, eight to do it without watching the clock. Two of those hours are the run out and two the run back.
Can we change the route during the day?
Yes, within reason. The captain will tell you what a change costs in time before making it. Adding a long leg mid-charter is the one thing that does not fit — the fuel and the hours are planned around the route agreed the night before.
What happens in bad weather?
The route moves rather than cancels. The inner bay is sheltered when the open coast is not, which is why a windy forecast turns a Blue Cave day into a Perast day rather than into a refund.