Montenegro in 2 Days on a Budget (Costs)
Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use.
2 Days Covers Kotor’s Bay Plus a Budva Afternoon on a Budget
Two days is enough for the UNESCO-listed Bay of Kotor’s walled Old Town and a Perast boat trip on Day 1, then a bus down to Budva’s free beaches on Day 2. Skip trying to fit Durmitor or Ostrog Monastery into this trip; both need a full extra day each and don’t work as a rushed add-on. If you land with more time, the 3-day itinerary adds a Cetinje/Lovćen day, and the full Montenegro overview has the country basics if this is your first stop in the Balkans.
Book these before you go
- A Bay of Kotor boat trip covering Kotor, Perast, and Our Lady of the Rocks in one go if you’d rather not chase down a boat on the Perast waterfront yourself
- A room in Kotor’s Old Town booked ahead for July/August: check rates on Booking.com
Day 1: Kotor’s Walls and a Perast Boat Trip
Climb the fortifications to San Giovanni/St John’s Fortress first thing, before the heat and the cruise crowds arrive; it’s €15 (verify current price) for roughly 1,350 steps and almost no shade, so bring water. Down in the Old Town, St Tryphon’s Cathedral (1166, €4) and the Maritime Museum (€4) fill an hour or two, and the cats sunning themselves in Cats’ Square are a genuine local fixture, not a gimmick. In the afternoon, catch the hourly Blue Line bus to Perast (around €1.50) and take a boat out to Our Lady of the Rocks , the Adriatic’s only artificial islet, built up stone by stone by sailors giving thanks for safe voyages; the round trip with entry runs roughly €5-10 (verify). Eat a few streets back from the main square in Kotor, not on it, for the same grilled fish and black risotto at a lower price.
| Day 1 cost (EUR, per person) | Low | Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Bed (Kotor Old Town private room) | 10 | 44 |
| Breakfast | 3 | 6 |
| Kotor wall climb (verify) | 15 | 15 |
| Perast bus, round trip (verify) | 1.50 | 3 |
| Our Lady of the Rocks boat + entry (verify) | 5 | 10 |
| Lunch | 8 | 15 |
| Dinner | 10 | 20 |
| Day 1 total | 52.50 | 113 |
Day 2: Budva’s Old Town and Free Beaches
A local bus down the coast to Budva runs roughly €5 (verify) and takes about 30 minutes. The walled Old Town is free to walk, rebuilt after the 1979 earthquake but still worth an hour, and the Museum of Budva (€3) is a cheap add-on if you want it. For the beach, Mogren I is free and a short walk from the Old Town walls; skip the paid loungers unless you want them, since the sand and sea cost nothing either way. Grab ćevapi or burek from a bakery counter rather than a sit-down tourist menu for a couple of euros, and save the sit-down meal for dinner before catching your onward bus or flight out of Tivat.
| Day 2 cost (EUR, per person) | Low | Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Bus, Kotor to Budva (verify) | 5 | 5 |
| Museum of Budva (optional) | 0 | 3 |
| Free beach (Mogren I) | 0 | 0 |
| Lunch (ćevapi/burek) | 2 | 6 |
| Dinner | 12 | 25 |
| Day 2 total | 19 | 39 |
Getting Around on This 2-Day Plan
You don’t need a rental car for this route; the Kotor-Perast bus and the Kotor-Budva bus cover both days cheaply, and Kotor’s Old Town is entirely on foot. A car only pays off once you’re heading inland to Durmitor, Lovćen, or Ostrog, none of which fit a 2-day trip anyway.
If you only take one thing from this: do the wall climb before 9am or after 5pm. Same €15 ticket, none of the midday heat or the cruise-ship crush that fills the steps by mid-morning.