Kotor on a budget: how to do it well
Short answer
Kotor can be done on a budget if you sleep in a hostel, eat outside the walls and use buses. A realistic minimum is about €70 per person a day: €30 for a bed, €20 for food, €15 for sights and €4 for transport.
A realistic daily budget
| Budget | Mid-range | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed (per person, sharing) | €30 | €60 | €150 |
| Food & drink | €20 | €35 | €70 |
| Sights & tickets | €15 | €30 | €60 |
| Local transport | €4 | €15 | €40 |
| Per person, per day | €69 | €140 | €320 |
Approximate 2026 prices, two people sharing a room. From our Kotor day-cost table.
Free things to do
- Walking the Old Town squares early, before the cruise passengers arrive.
- The Ladder of Kotor, an old mule track above the town, for experienced walkers.
- Swimming from the platforms and pebble coves at Dobrota and Muo.
- Walking Perast's waterfront of captains' palaces.
- The Sveti Stefan viewpoint above the causeway.
- Watching the bay from the Old Town walls at sunset.
Cheap eats
- Burek with yogurt from a bakery: about €2–3.
- Njegusi prsut with bread and cheese in Njegusi: about €8–12.
- Buzara mussels outside the Old Town: often cheaper than inside the walls.
- Kacamak, the filling mountain dish with cheese and kajmak.
- A glass of local Vranac red wine with dinner.
Where to sleep for less
Budget travellers stay in Old Town hostels or in Skaljari, just south of the walls, from about €40–80 a room. Dobrota and Muo have good-value apartments.
Getting around cheaply
Walk the Old Town and take local buses to Perast, Tivat and Budva (about 30–40 minutes). From Tivat airport, a taxi is roughly €15–25. Rent a car only for the Lovcen and Njegusi day.
A sample budget day
- Morning: Old Town at 8:00 and the Cathedral of St Tryphon (about €4).
- Lunch: burek and coffee from a bakery (about €4).
- Afternoon: climb to St John's Fortress after 16:00 (about €15).
- Evening: sunset at the top, then pasta outside the walls (about €16).
- Total: about €70 including a €30 bed share.
More ways to save
- Check the online cruise calendar and plan quieter days for the Old Town.
- Do the bay by bus to Perast and the short boat rather than a tour.
- Share car hire for the Lovcen loop.
- Bring a picnic to the swimming platforms at Dobrota.
- Visit in May, June or September for warm sea and lower prices.
- Order ispod saca in advance with a group to share the cost.
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Common questions
Can you visit Kotor on a budget?
Yes: hostels, bakery food, buses and free walks keep it to about €70 a day.
How do I get from Tivat airport cheaply?
Tivat is about 8 km away; a taxi costs roughly €15–25, and buses also run along the bay.
Where should budget travellers stay?
Old Town hostels or Skaljari, from about €40–80 a room.