Kotor - Boat to Perast or Taxi?

Our cruise arrives in Kotor at noon and leaves at 8:30. We have to tender in so don't have too much time. A few questions:

1. Is it possible to climb to the fortress in Kotor and go to Perast and out to Our Lady of the Rocks in that amount of time?

2. Can you find a boat to take you from the port at Kotor to Perast that day or would this have to be planned in advance? What would the cost be?

3. If not able to take a boat, how easy is it to find a taxi to take us to Perast? If we spent time in Perast, how easy to get a taxi to bring us back to Kotor? Again, approximate cost if you know!

Thank you!

Hi Traveltheworld,

In regards to finding a taxi in Kotor, that should not be a problem. When we were there a few years back we were fortunate to meet a taxi driver by the name of Milo. He has since gone on to provide more than just a taxi service and his rates are extremely reasonable. Over the years I have sent him hundreds of satisfied cruisers.

Check out his facebook page toursbymilo

Regards,

Frank

We have booked Milo for an upcoming cruise. He has been very responsive and is flexible regarding itinerary.

You won't be dissapointed.

A very good friend of mine and his family will be using him for a couple of days in July.

Enjoy.

If Milo is not available check this young funny man - Diko. Diko and his friends for their group use name Mont Travelers. Check what reviews have on Trip advisor and here on Cruise Critic. Their web adress is www.monttravelers.com

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g295381-d7257551-Reviews-Mont_Travelers-Kotor_Kotor_Municipality.html

 

 

 

I hope that this info will help you to find and do excellent guide/driver and wonderful private tours in Montenegro.

Just got back from Kotor and used Diko of http://www.monttravelers.com/. He was perfect.

Your plans sound a lot like mine, except that we're there 7 to 5 or something like that. I would go to a sunrise/set website to see when it will get dark in Kotor on the day you're there. I would go to Perast (and the boat to the island and back to Perast) first and then come back to Kotor to hike up to the fortress. It will be a cooler hike if you go late. Of course, I would allow plenty of time to hike up there and get back down by the time it starts to get dark.

I have heard there's a boat from Kotor to Perast, but haven't found any info on it. I've researched how to go there on the public bus, which can be caught at the bus station outside Kotor or at either end of town, though I don't know the specifics of "where" on either side of town. You can flag down a bus (will likely be a little minibus, perhaps signed to Herceg Novi) rather than a big city-type bus. Of course getting a cab is a bit faster, and certainly easier.

We have hired Milo for a 4 hour tour of the Bay of Kotor area in the morning, and then in the afternoon, I plan to walk around Kotor (easy to do on your own) and hopefully hike up the mountain as far as the church (about halfway). I haven't finalized the itinerary with him, but hope to stop in Perast long enough to take a boat over to the island with the church, then go to Sveti Stefan, plus a short visit to Budva. He also can take you to a place that's a bit different from the fortress above town, but providing a similar view over the Bay.

 

We have hired Milo for a 4 hour tour of the Bay of Kotor area in the morning, and then in the afternoon, I plan to walk around Kotor (easy to do on your own) and hopefully hike up the mountain as far as the church (about halfway). I haven't finalized the itinerary with him, but hope to stop in Perast long enough to take a boat over to the island with the church, then go to Sveti Stefan, plus a short visit to Budva. He also can take you to a place that's a bit different from the fortress above town, but providing a similar view over the Bay.

I have also hired Milo for a cruise in September. I would be very much interested in what itinerary you work out with him. I didn't think there would be time to get to the church.

I have also hired Milo for a cruise in September. I would be very much interested in what itinerary you work out with him. I didn't think there would be time to get to the church.

I haven't actually worked it out with him yet, but want to do that soon. As of this point I'm sticking to the 4 hour tour he suggests on his site. However, Budva to me isn't going to be all that interesting, so I'm hoping to substitute the trip there, and no Jaz beach time, with enough time in Perast to take a boat out to the church and back (extra expense paid by us, but minimal, just spend half hour at church). I'd like to at least see Sveti Stefan from the road, but since that's in a different direction, not sure if he will say that's doable. In that case I'll probably have to decide whether to do the trip to Perast on my own afterwards, or forget about Sv. Stefan view. It's fairly easy to get to Perast on a bus, and I'm not afraid to do that, or depending upon where he goes first, maybe he could drop me off and take my husband back to Kotor if my husband isn't keen on the church/island visit. I'm hoping to get 2 others to share the price of the 4 hour tour, but it doesn't look too promising, as the ship I'm on offers a free excursion and most people end up taking that.

I'm also quite interested in seeing Cetinje, but think that would have to be on a 5 hour tour, which leaves less time to do the things I want to do in Perast and Kotor. I definitely need to do some prioritizing.

Milo DID suggest leaving as early as possible - presumably to get the best light and stay away from crowds. Our trip isn't until very late September, so if you do something similar before that, I'd love to hear what you did and how it worked out! I'll try to remember to at least come back here in a few weeks to tell you what I worked out with Milo.

Just looked at my confirmation. We booked the 5 hour tour and we have no interest in a beach so Perast might be doable. We will be there on 9/21. I am still interested in what you work out. Thanks!

Just looked at my confirmation. We booked the 5 hour tour and we have no interest in a beach so Perast might be doable. We will be there on 9/21. I am still interested in what you work out. Thanks!

OK, if I haven't replied in a month, just post with a reminder.

That 5 hour tour looks better than the 4 hour (as it should be!!). I would think that you could do without the beach, and if necessary, perhaps omit the old town Budva walk, as I hear there's mostly just a fort there and that Kotor is more interesting. Cetinje and that area of the park and Budva are in different directions, so there IS some driving involved, and not exactly on the same path as Perast. However, Perast is only a half hour drive from Kotor, so I would think you could work it in there - or at worst, be dropped there and take a cab or bus back to Kotor.

However, everyone's different, so what appeals to me won't necessarily appeal to you!

If possible, be looking out the window or be up top for the last hour or so of the trip to Kotor. A view of the islands from port (left) side should be visible right after you exit the long, thin strait (which is only 1/4 mile wide in parts!)

By the way, small groups of people on our cruise line used both Milo and Diko in April in Kotor, and were happy with both tours. One did an all day tour, and I forget what the other did.

We'll be in Kotor Sept. 30, so not long after you.

Thanks. What cruiseline will you be on? I am on Silversea Venice to Istanbul.

Gourmet Gal, we're on Viking Star (new ocean liner from same company as Viking River Cruises), going Venice to Istanbul.

Wonderful! That is a beautiful ship.

Just to follow up on this -

1. I just went to vesselfinder.com and guess what ship is docked in Kotor today (Silver something!)

2. I ended up going with the 4 hour tour that Milo advertises, not a longer one that includes Centinje. However, he did tell me that the ride to Cetinje is less than what I thought it would be. In the end, though, I wanted to go to Perast and over to the island, plus some other places, so he will take us on a tour similar to the one he advertises, but including a boat trip to the island. I sure hope there's a boat there to take us at 8:30 in the morning, but if not, we'll just wait around until there is, take it, and cut back on the time spent in Budva, Sv. Stefan, Trojica, etc. He says there will be time to do that, so I'm assuming that's true - or else he figures we might run a little over 4 hours but not enough to upset him! I told him what my priorities were, and that if necessary, we could go pretty fast through Budva and the Sv. Stefan overlook. No Jazz beach, although I've seen an overlook for that, so perhaps we'll see that quickly. Milo has been extremely responsive and willing to let me call the shots.

3. I still haven't seen anything concrete about the boat to Perast from Kotor, however, our cruise line has an excursion that uses it to come back, so it obviously does exist. I sometimes worry, though, that with a cruise line arranging a particular form of transportation like that, there won't be boats, tour guides, etc. in abundance for us independent travelers. As for cab there, I have in my notes that someone said a cab from the port to Perast costs 20-25 euros; sounds steep given it's only 20 minutes, but maybe the cab drivers at the port overcharge. Not unheard of!

4. I'm not going to Kotor until September, but will be glad to snoop around then and report back. Current plan is to do 4 hour tour with Milo (and it was easy to find 2 others to share with us), then spend the rest of my time walking around the town and (hopefully) going partway up the steps toward the fortress.

Would anyone happen to know if there's a way to get to the walk to the fortress other than the mule path (too long) and the steps that start from behind the church? The map I'm attaching shows another path, that converges with the more commonly-used one. I'm curious if I could take that one instead after touring Kotor, and if there's anyone collecting money on that one. Nobody much has mentioned that route and I don't want to go on a wild goose chase if it's not possible to start from near the southern part of the city (near Triphon cathedral, although I probably spelled that name wrong). Also, what I can't figure out is what the two little buildings that show up on this map are - parts of the fortress, ruins of churches, abandoned houses? Anyone know?

Oops..forgot map.

Roothy, thanks for the update. I am working on my port by port itinerary this week and will save your very helpful notes.

Best,

GG

Traveltheworld, if you're there at night and it's dark, I understand that there are lights near the path up to the fortress, so that looks like it might be a pretty cool sight! I've seen pictures of it, and you can clearly see where the path is, all lit up! I'm not sure if you can see the lights from where a cruise ship docks or anchors, but apparently if you cross the bridge over the water outside the "River Gate" you can see the fortress from there.