4-Hour Speedboat Tour in the Bay of Kotor
A little about the Bay of Kotor
Taking a speedboat tour through the Bay of Kotor is a must when you’re here!
The Bay of Kotor, also known as Boka Bay, is a beautiful bay connecting Montenegro with the Adriatic Sea. It’s known for its crystal clear blue-green water and is surrounded by rocky mountains, which almost feels like a warmer Mediterranean version of the Norwegian fjords. In addition to its natural beauty, the bay is dotted with several small medieval towns each with their own unique feel. Because of its beauty and rich history, Kotor has also been made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We’re suckers for water tours in pretty locations, whether it’s a cruise on Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, exploring the Norwegian Fjords, or riding a boat up to Iguazu falls in Brazil and Argentina. So this was a great fit for us!
What tour company did we use?
We actually didn’t put too much research into picking a specific Bay of Kotor speedboat tour. Instead we chose a company that was passing out brochures right along Kotor’s docks. The company we went with was Blue Barracuda Speed Boat Tours. They are a newer company and didn’t have a lot of reviews at the time, but we had a great experience nonetheless and would happily do a tour with them again.
They offer group and private tours, which range from 1.5 to 8 hours depending on your interests. And, tours are provided in Montenegrin, English, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. We chose to do a $50 per person group tour for four hours. The tour was called “Boka Bay Our Way,” if you’re interested in doing the same.
They were very responsive via email and WhatsApp, making booking pretty easy. We didn’t have to pay until we were done with the tour either.
Our Tour Experience with Blue Barracuda
Our tour guide, Peter, knew the schedule most tour companies follow and timed our tour opposite to that, so it would be less crowded. This helped a ton! Our speedboat tour through the Bay of Kotor didn’t feel as rushed or frantic. And I felt like he provided the perfect balance of information/history, while also allowing quiet time to enjoy the tour through the bay with some fun music.
In addition to seeing the sights, they also provided water and beer plus towels and snorkeling masks.
Most tour companies seemed to offer the same half-day experience, but we did see one that was all day. The only major difference is that the all day stopped at Porto Montenegro for lunch. You can see more on Porto Montenegro below.
That being said, we definitely recommend Blue Barracuda. We don’t get any kickbacks or referral bonuses for recommending them; we’re simply doing so because our experience with them was fantastic–and they’ve got great boats too!
What’s included in the speedboat tour though the Bay of Kotor?
Panoramic Views
This goes without saying. You’re going to get gorgeous panoramic views of the bay. You’ll see Kotor of course. Plus, we passed other small towns like Porto Novi and Herceg Novi. From the boat, we got to see old Yugoslavia navy ships and a shipwreck, along with hotels that would cost upwards of $1000-20,000 per night. The views of the mountains and water from the boat are reason enough to take a boat tour. It reminded us of a similar speedboat tour we took in Norway to explore the Fjords. I would have gladly paid for a tour like this if we were just scooting around the bay–but fortunately we had some awesome stops along the way!
Mamula Island
This small 200 meter island houses a former military fort built in 1853 and was later turned into a concentration camp by Benito Mussolini during WWII and has not been used since. Now, it is currently under renovation with plans to turn the former prison into a luxury beach resort. We were told they want to turn it into the most luxurious 7-star hotel in the world, surpassing the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, which currently holds the title.
Fort Arza
Fort Arza is a cylindrical building lying on the Luštica peninsula along the coast across from Mamula Island. It is part of the former military fort and served as the bay’s first line of defense during the Austro-Hungarian rule.
The Blue Cave
The Blue Cave is one of Kotor/Boka Bay’s most popular tourist attractions. If you’re taking a speedboat tour through the Bay of Kotor, this is almost definitely one of the stops. As you may guess, it’s called the Blue Cave because of the crystal clear azure blue water, which gives the whole cave a blue glow when the light hits it. Because of its popularity, it does get a bit crowded though and smells like gasoline from all the boats. Luckily, our guide took a different route than most of the tourist boats. We hit up the cave first when it was less crowded and were able to do a bit of swimming before more boats arrived.
Swimming
After the Blue Cave, our guide took us to the Bay of Tivat. There we got to do a little free swimming. Plus we got a view of Otok Island where there is a little monastery. The monastery is generally not open to the public. It’s completely maintained by one Father living on the island. With the open sea on side, islands and mountains on the others, this was a nice spot to relax and swim.
Submarine Tunnels
Aside from the beautiful water and landscape, you can also check out old submarine tunnels built by the Yugoslavian Army. This is another popular stop on any speedboat tour through the Bay of Kotor. Definitely fascinating! The tunnels were built right into the sides of the mountains so they would be less visible to planes or satellites. If you’re feeling brave, you can also explore the passages leading off from some of the tunnels. But you may want to check these out soon. Our guide was telling us that he thinks they will eventually be turned into garages for luxury yachts.
Sveti Marko Island
Our guide also took us by Sveti Marko Island. The island apparently used to have a famous nude resort managed by Club Med. Celebrities would go to relax and get away from the public eye. Unfortunately, during the Yugoslavian wars, the resort was abandoned. It has not been used since. But you can still see some of the Tahiti-style huts that were used as guest rooms. It apparently is possible to actually visit the island on your own if you’re so inclined by hiring a water taxi or taking out a boat.
Porto Montenegro
We didn’t stop here, but we did ride by to get a view. Porto Montenegro is known for luxury yachts, high-end boutiques, and upscale restaurants. One Trip Advisor review of Porto Montenegro we read said, “Worth a visit, but expect to feel poor!” The amount of wealth we saw there was insane! We even saw the Luminosity Yacht, which apparently cost $275 million to purchase and $25 million per year to run! Have you ever seen a yacht with a garage for a smaller boat? That’s what this one–and many others–had!
Island of St. George
The Island of St. George houses a Benedictine Monastery dating back to the 12th century and an old cemetery for Perast nobility. Unfortunately, it is not open to tourists, but you can get a view of it from the water or Our Lady of the Rocks.
Our Lady of the Rocks
The island has a small chapel, as well as a little museum, art gallery with nautical and religious paintings, and souvenir shop. The chapel is free to enter and the museum/gallery is 2€/person. This is perhaps one of the most popular speedboat tour stops on the Bay of Kotor. IF you’re really pressed for time, many operators offer a short 1/1.5 hour tour to the island. It’s worth the stop, just for the views alone.
Old Town Perast
We didn’t stop here long, only about 20 minutes. But we had enough time to stroll along the road lining the shore, grab some gelato, and visit the Church of St. Nicholas, which has a 55-meter high bell tower, making it the highest view in town. From there, you can also get another view of the Island of St. George and Our Lady of the Rocks. An interesting thing about Perast, unlike other towns along the bay, is that in order to preserve the town’s history and architectural integrity, developers are not allowed to build any new buildings.
Final Tips
- Book your tour on a day when there aren’t cruise ships at port if possible. (Check the schedule here.) That way the bay will be less crowded, you won’t deal with as many other tourists at Our Lady of the Rock and Blue Cave (the most popular stops on these tours), and you’ll have a better view of the little villages lining the coast.
- Be mindful of weather when booking your tour. We looked at what day would be warm and sunny in order to have the most comfortable ride, better swimming, and clear views.
- There’s no need to schedule a tour too far in advance. Plenty of speed boat operators offer the same or similar tours. We booked our tour the night before.
- Ask what type of boat you’ll be on and how many people they usually have or how many people are signed up for the tour you’re thinking of. Nobody wants to be packed like sardines in a tiny boat. For the tour we were on, the boat could seat up to 17, but we got lucky with a relatively small group. Just our guide and 4 other passengers besides us (7 total).
- Be thoughtful about the time of day you decide to do the speedboat tour through the Bay of Kotor. The company we went through offered 3 times (9:00, 12:00, and 3:00). We opted for the 12:00 tour, which seems like the busiest time. If you want to go during the warmest part of the day for swimming, then the middle of the day is probably best. But if you want it to be less crowded, then you might want to pick the earlier or later times. Later times may also give you that golden sunset glow if you time it right.
