Budva or Kotor for a Trip to Montenegro?

Which town has the best beaches

Kotor town is rather well known for its water activities on the Bay of Kotor. And yes, it’s very pleasant to be on the water in Kotor, surrounded by imposing beautiful white cliffs.

And yet, Budva has better beaches and some of them are sandy beaches.

I think people who say, yes, Budva has nice beaches, but… have never really walked along the entire Budva Riviera and beyond. That was my favorite thing to do in Budva.

Every beach in Budva you’ll see is very pretty and well organized for tourist needs. Some beaches even have sand! Kotor doesn't have sandy beaches.

One of the beautiful beaches in Budva

And who can resist this amazing clear turquoise water of the Adriatic Sea? I couldn't, and I wouldn't stay far from this beautiful, inviting water.

Water in Kotor Bay is also clear and pretty, but water in the Adriatic Sea is of different color and even more attractive.

Also, the beach around Kotor is nothing much to speak of, and you have to walk 15 minutes from the old town to get there. 

Budva has beaches over its entire coastline.

Which town has the best nightlife

If you are into nightlife or a day drinking of a cold drink at a beach bar – Budva, Montenegro is your heaven. This party town and is known for its vibrant nightlife.

Even if you're not into bars and nightlife, you'll still enjoy a drink (it could be non-alcoholic beverage, if you prefer): it’s that atmosphere in beachfront bars and you’ll want a piece of that!).

Don't worry, it get's much busier than on this pic below!:) I just didn't want to take picture of people drinking, so I took it early in the morning.

I definitely enjoyed a cold beer or wine here and there at one of many beachfront bars, even though I’m not normally a bar person when traveling solo.

The clubs and bars are also opened during the day, so you don’t have to wait until the night to enjoy. Just have a cold drink right on the beach.

Comparison of Old Towns

Budva has a small but cute medieval old town, surrounded by stone walls built by the Venetians. It is mostly for tourists now, with many restaurants and cafés, but there was one part by the built-in arena, that was particularly attractive to me.

Budva city walls were slightly less exiting for me to explore than the ones in Kotor, but it was still fun! They have many similar to Kotor's interesting structures, like medieval city walls, towers, arrow slits, but they are all on a smaller than in Kotor side.

Kotor’s old town, the UNESCO accredited, is larger and more interesting. So, the old town part is much better in Kotor.

Old town in Budva is located right next to a cool busy with local life boulevard, the waterfront promenade and the Marina, so this part was better in Budva.

Medieval walls of the old town in Budva

Comparison of marinas in Budva and Kotor

Both Kotor’s and Budva’s marinas are very pleasant. I still liked marina in Budva more. Maybe because it was larger, and you can see the big yachts up close?

Budva Marina

Budva Marina is a very nice place to spend your time at. It has 2 parts.

One part is with many smaller boats (above), and endless restaurants. I loved watching small boats float, it’s quite mesmerizing!

And the second part of Budva’s Marina is attached to the old town walls, where you can enjoy viewing big yachts.

If someone tells me they don’t like watching yachts, I don’t think I would really believe them!:)

Both parts of the Marina are very pleasant.

So, while old towns in both towns  have marinas right next to them, Budva has the nicer marina, and better Promenade.

Which city has the best landscape/scenery

This question is a score for Kotor. While Budva has a very pleasant scenery around it, Kotor scenery is just breathtakingly beautiful in a remarkable way.

You will find dramatic white cliffs as a backdrop for the beautiful bay, Old Town of Kotor and other picturesque medieval towns around Kotor.

However, if you start comparing the urban scenery, then the picture switches.

Urban walks: where are they better, in Kotor or Budva?

Here I will compare urban walks outside of old towns in both towns. Budva has the best urban walks I’ve seen anywhere! I took this picture above on one of my daily promenade walk. I kept returning every day, and you most likely can see why!

Budva promenade

Daily walks along the ocean from Budva to Becici ( Bečići) on Promenade were the highlight of my stay in Budva. And no, you can’t do this if you came to Budva on a day-trip – it will make your day too long and tiering. You will miss this amazing walk if you come to Budva on a day trip.

This promenade is the heart of tourist and the local younger crowd life in Budva.

It’s very pleasant, and you’re never away from one beach or another (or a restaurants or bar, where you can enjoy a meal or a drink while watching the sunset).

Kotor's Promenade is considerably shorter than the one in Budva. It took me 15 minutes to walk the full length of it in Kotor.

You can still walk on the road next to the lake further past the end of the Promenade there, as I did, but you have to share the road with cars. I'm making the video of that walk; it was very pleasant nonetheless.

Local NEIGHBORHOOD walks

Or, you can just walk in the local neighborhoods, it’s a pleasant and relaxing thing to do in Budva. In fact – these walks are a huge part of Budva vibe. Most travelers don’t see this if they don’t walk to explore local neighborhoods. I enjoyed walking there every day.

And if you walk in the outskirts of Budva – you’ll get a rural awesome feel with great views of the mountains. It’s Montenegro after all, you can’t escape the mountains in Montenegro – one of the many reasons to visit this state.

Similar walks in residential area of Kotor were a bit of disappointment for me. Except for the area right next to the bay, it wasn't very good and there were cars parked on the walkway, blocking your stroll in Kotor.

While it’s expected to see many restaurants in a town a lot of tourists visit, Budva has something else that stood out for me, compared to other cities and to Kotor.

Budva’s food stores

Budva has a food store on every block! And while Budva has many supermarkets, there is one to die for - Hypermarket HDL.

Food comparison

Hypermarket HDL

Hypermarket HDL is a large, 2-stories supermarket, and the best section there has a great number of cheese choices, and cured meat choices. This is something you would expect in a Bavarian sausage store, and I found it to be the best store on the Balkans.

Shopping there made me feel the local culture more authentically. And I am big on authentic travel.

There is also a huge selection of baked goods.

Here is the HDL’s address: 7RVX+94V, Budva, Montenegro. It's in the residential area, away from the sea, but you won't be disappointed! It is also a great place to stock up on supplies and vitamins you might need. You won't find anything like that in Kotor. In fact locals drive to Budva for supplies.

If exotic local food in a supermarket doesn’t excite you, Budva restaurants can’t leave you indifferent.

The freshly baked sweets section of HDL Hypermarket. It had many more shelves and displays. The cheese and smoked meat section was even more impressive. I visited this store every day! :)

Incredibly picturesque restaurants

Kotor has its own good share of picturesque restaurants, but Budva just has more of them. The best of them are usually near the sea. The food is delicious as well.

Now, let’s talk prices.

Which city is cheaper

Food prices

Restaurants and café’s prices are similar in both towns. But in Budva, you can find great affordable and delicious premium deli food in supermarkets (see the supermarkets section of this post).

Activities prices

Walking is free anywhere!:) And that’s the best activity in both towns and an excellent way to experience authentic travel.

Swimming is also free if you bring your own blanket to lay on. Otherwise, the sunbeds start from €10.

Boat tours prices

Kotor charges more for boat rides. The cheapest one I saw was the 2.5 hours trip to Perast and for €20.

In Budva, you can get a great boat ride to Przno beach (with a stop by Sveti Nikola Island with nice turquoise blue water around it), for €15.

You can get paragliding and diving in both of these cities for the same price.

Bus tours prices

I checked organized bus tours in both towns, and found them to be cheaper in Budva.

Budva had many local tour agencies that were selling amazing and affordable deals on tours. In fact, I booked one tour myself and I went with the (€25) full day tour to see Ostrog Monastery (the post in in the works).

accomodation prices in Budva, Montenegro and how to rent a room

If you decide to stay in Budva, you should stay in Budva hotel near the beach, if your trip is short. However, you will have a great time even if your apartment (or room) is in the residential area of Budva.

Hotel prices could be similar in both Kotor and Budva, but in Budva you have many locals renting out their rooms or apartments, so there are more bargains in Budva. Do some barging with them, and they will drop the price a bit.

You can find these locals renting their places right outside of the bus station.

I haven’t seen anyone offering rooms in Kotor, maybe because the housing is more limited there?

I have a post about where to stay in Kotor and the Bay of Kotor, where I listed all the best hotels and the prices, I saw on the day I checked. They go up and down all the time with the season, but it gives you the idea.

So, my verdict: the accommodation prices are cheaper in Budva. My apartment was considerably cheaper than what I was paying in Kotor. 

Vibe comparison

I don’t know about you, but for me the place’s vibe is very important. I took the above picture in Kotor. Can you feel the romantic vibe?

Kotor vibe

Kotor has very romantic ambience and is slow-paced early in the morning and after the cruise crowd leaves. But its awesome old town gets frustratingly crowded during the day.

Kotor is a great place to visit if you are a couple, or anyone into daily water activities (boating, swimming, kayaking, diving, etc.). It’s also popular with backpackers and hikers, who come there to climb the steep old city walls and Kotor fortress.

Budva vibe

Budva has a lively local atmosphere. This vibe is something that is usually overlooked when deciding whether to go to Budva.

Budva is not just about the touristy parts of the city. It’s the whole awesome local ambience: locals walking, going about their business or resting on benches in the parks.

Moms with their kids, the community zoo, nice tennis courts, food stores on every block. Pretty streets with lots of trees and bushes.

If you’re renting an apartment or a room in the local area, you’ll enjoy this part of Budva’s vibe.

If you stay in a waterfront hotel, you will most likely miss this part. You can always venture out to check it out.

Weather

In summer, both Budva and Kotor in Montenegro experience hot and sunny weather. However, in Budva, you can find a beach almost anywhere to cool down.

While in Kotor, you have to walk quite a while to get to the beach, and it’s a small beach.

There are also more pretty streets with a shade in Budva.

So, there are just better ways to cool down in Budva! It also warmer in Budva outside of the summer time window.

Getting around: which town offers the best walkability and public transport access?

I have already discussed walkability in the urban walks and promenade section of this blog post. Now let's talk public transport.

Kotor has a very limited public transit. There is just one hourly bus going through the town, and locals use it a lot. The bus stops are spread apart quite far.

Budva has a great public transportation system. There are frequent buses going everywhere around Budva, and to the other towns in Montenegro.

Budva is a better getaway to jump into neighboring towns than Kotor.

Budva bus station (Autobuska Stanica)

Budva bus station is very busy! It’s also very pretty: can you believe this pic above shows a bus station? There is a garden with a small free zoo with many different small animals together behind the fence.

You can see cute bunnies from  that garden on my video about the reasons to visit Montenegro. The garden even has some fountains.

Budva autobus station also has a few restaurants around it. Besides being a gateway to other towns, this station is a very pleasant place to hang out at. 

On that station you’ll find buses to all towns in Montenegro, including frequent buses to Saint Stefan (Sveti Stefan), Petrovac and Ulcinj.

There are also routes to the capital Podgorica, Niksic and the daily Budva-Dubrovnik route.

Kotor bus station

Bus station in Kotor is rather sad looking. It’s small and dark, and there are fewer routes going through it.

Both bus station charge 2 euro bus usage fee in addition to your bus ticket: go figure...

In conclusion, Budva is just much better connected, than the mountain locked Kotor.

Getting to Budva and Kotor

Read here about the ways to get to Kotor. 

Here I will explain how to get to Budva.

To get to Budva, Montenegro, there are several ways you can travel:

Bus:

Take the bus from Podgorica Bus Station to Budva Bus station (above). The trip takes approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes, with a ticket price of €3. 

Here are other bus routes to and from Budva. 

Taxi:

You can also opt for a taxi service to reach Budva from various locations. The taxi drivers usually charge you around 50 euros between the cities. 

Car:

If you prefer driving, Budva is connected to the E80, one of the main roads in Montenegro. For example, from Dubrovnik, the travel distance is 94 km.

These are the main transportation options to reach Budva, Montenegro

How to travel between Budva and Kotor

It's fairly easy to travel between Budva and Kotor. You can take a 45 min bus ride to Kotor from Budva bus station. The bus ticket is €4.50

So, here is the coverage of all aspects of traveling to Budva and their comparison to the similar aspects of traveling to Kotor. 

I hope my post will be helpful in making your decision where to stay on you trip to Montenegro.

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