BOAT-COMPARATOR Guide

Renting a Boat in Montenegro: the Bay of Kotor, Budva and Tivat

A UNESCO-listed fjord-like bay, Porto Montenegro and the islet of Sveti Stefan: Montenegro, Croatia's low-key neighbour, charters with no VAT. Budget, season and where to start.

Barely an hour from Dubrovnik, Montenegro opens onto a bay that looks like a fjord that wandered into the Mediterranean: steep mountains dropping straight into turquoise water, baroque villages clinging to the shore, and a coastline far shorter than Croatia's next door — meaning far less crowded in peak summer. Kotor, Tivat, Budva: three bases cover most of what a first boat trip in this small country, increasingly betting on sailing tourism, needs.

The Bay of Kotor, a fjord-like bay on the UNESCO list

The Bay of Kotor (Boka Kotorska) is a tight body of water made up of several basins linked by narrow straits, ringed by mountains that fall almost sheer into the sea — the whole bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the walled old town of Kotor itself, overlooked by a fortress clinging to the cliff above. Sailing inside the bay feels closer to a mountain lake than the open sea: little swell, short hops between anchorages, and scenery that changes at every bend of the shoreline.

Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks, the classic outing

Halfway between Kotor and Tivat, the baroque village of Perast lines its stone palaces up opposite two landmark islets: Sveti Đorđe (St. George), a natural monastery closed to visitors, and Gospa od Škrpjela (Our Lady of the Rocks), an entirely man-made islet — legend has it that sailors built it stone by stone over centuries, around an icon found at sea. The chapel that sits on it today can be visited in a few minutes from a boat moored at its small jetty, an almost obligatory stop on any outing in the bay.

Tivat and Porto Montenegro, the most international base

A former Yugoslav naval base turned upscale marina, Porto Montenegro in Tivat holds several hundred berths and enough capacity for large yachts to have become, within a few years, one of the Adriatic's main yachting hubs. It's also the most convenient base for reaching Tivat airport, just minutes away — a real advantage for a short stay built around the bay rather than a long run up the coast.

Budva and the islet of Sveti Stefan

Once out of the Bay of Kotor, the coast opens due south towards Budva, the country's liveliest seaside resort, with its own walled old town perched on a headland. A few miles further on, the islet-village of Sveti Stefan, linked to the shore by a pebble isthmus, remains the most reproduced image of tourist Montenegro: a 15th-century fishing hamlet turned luxury hotel, approached by boat for the photo but not accessible on foot, since access is reserved for the hotel's guests.

VAT-free chartering, a rarity on the Adriatic

Unlike neighbouring Croatia, which charges VAT on charter services, Montenegro hasn't joined the European Union and doesn't apply VAT to boat rentals in its waters — an edge that many operators in the region use to offer gentler weekly rates for a comparable boat. In return, every foreign boat must buy a vignette (cruising permit) as soon as it enters Montenegrin waters, priced according to boat length and length of stay; on a skippered or crewed charter, this formality is almost always handled and included by the operator, though it's worth confirming before booking.

When to sail

The useful season runs from May to October, with a peak in July-August around Budva and Porto Montenegro. Sheltered by the surrounding mountains, the Bay of Kotor stays sailable even when the wind picks up offshore; outside the bay, around Budva and Sveti Stefan, the afternoon thermal wind behaves much like elsewhere on the Adriatic — our Mediterranean winds guide helps anticipate these patterns before planning a longer crossing.

Sailboat, catamaran or a day out

The rental fleet is smaller than Croatia's but covers the essentials: sailboats and catamarans by the week, Saturday to Saturday as elsewhere on the Adriatic, usually with a skipper given the tight terrain of the bay and the dense summer traffic; and, for a single day inside the Bay of Kotor, RIBs and motorboats rent with or without a skipper depending on the crew's experience, on the same logic covered in our guides to renting with or without a skipper and to crewed yacht charter. Budget roughly what you'd pay in neighbouring Dalmatia for a comparable boat, with the deposit following the same logic detailed in our guide to deposits and insurance.

Combining it with neighbouring Croatia

The Croatia-Montenegro border is barely an hour's drive from Dubrovnik, which is why many visitors combine both countries in a single trip: a few days in the Bay of Kotor, then a run up to the Elaphiti Islands off Dubrovnik or to Korčula further north. One thing to note: a round trip by boat between the two countries means crossing a maritime border, which has to be declared to the port authorities on both sides — a formality usually handled by the skipper or the agency, but worth confirming before booking a combined itinerary like this.

Booking at the right price

Boat-Comparator compares live offers from Boataround, SamBoat, Click&Boat and GlobeSailor to spot price gaps on the same boat, particularly noticeable in Montenegro where the fleet on offer is smaller than in neighbouring Croatia. To plan the rest of an Adriatic trip, our guides to northern Dalmatia and to chartering a catamaran in Croatia cover the bases closest to the Montenegrin border.

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