Kotor - which would you recommend?

[RTR 21-0]

1st time to Kotor in May and found a company that offers the following tours.  Which would you recommend for a 1st visit? 
 

1.  Perast & Kotor Shore - visit highlights of Boka Bay, Kotor old town and Perast with Our Lady of the Rocks Island. 

 

2.  Njegusi Village, Cetinje & Budva  with stops for views of Boka Bay.
 

3.  Kotor, Budva, Sveti Stefan, bay of Tivat and bay of Kotor. 
 

Thanks in advance. 

[MAVIP]

50 minutes ago, RTR 21-0 said:

1st time to Kotor in May and found a company that offers the following tours.  Which would you recommend for a 1st visit? 
 

1.  Perast & Kotor Shore - visit highlights of Boka Bay, Kotor old town and Perast with Our Lady of the Rocks Island. 

Thanks in advance. 

DH and I did (in 2018) a tour of the Bay of Kotor - Perast, Morinj & Kotor including the island with the church dating from 1630 of the Lady of  the Rocks. A tour of about 8 hrs.  We had a very interesting day in beautiful surroundings. Kotor is World Heritage, but without any doubt you know that.

[RTR 21-0]

2 minutes ago, MAVIP said:

DH and I did (in 2018) a tour of the Bay of Kotor - Perast, Morinj & Kotor including the island with the church dating from 1630 of the Lady of  the Rocks. A tour of about 8 hrs.  We had a very interesting day in beautiful surroundings. Kotor is World Heritage, but without any doubt you know that.

Yes, other than Rome and Naples it’s the port I’m very excited to be able to visit.  

[gbits]

9 hours ago, RTR 21-0 said:

1st time to Kotor in May and found a company that offers the following tours.  Which would you recommend for a 1st visit? 
 

1.  Perast & Kotor Shore - visit highlights of Boka Bay, Kotor old town and Perast with Our Lady of the Rocks Island. 

 

2.  Njegusi Village, Cetinje & Budva  with stops for views of Boka Bay.
 

3.  Kotor, Budva, Sveti Stefan, bay of Tivat and bay of Kotor. 
 

Thanks in advance. 

What company are you using for the tour?

[gbits]

8 hours ago, MAVIP said:

DH and I did (in 2018) a tour of the Bay of Kotor - Perast, Morinj & Kotor including the island with the church dating from 1630 of the Lady of  the Rocks. A tour of about 8 hrs.  We had a very interesting day in beautiful surroundings. Kotor is World Heritage, but without any doubt you know that.

What company did you use if you recall?

[MAVIP]

4 hours ago, gbits said:

What company did you use if you recall?

No, I donot know, because the tours and that cruise itself were organised by our quality newspaper 😉 with the help of a dutch touroperator specialised in cultural voyages. 

I try to translate an excerpt of the tour:

from the border of Montenegro by small boat through the Street of Verige entering the Bay of Kotor. The small island in front of Perast is the 1st stop with a visit of the OLV (literally Our Dear Lady of the Rock) church from 1630. To Morinj for lunch in een beautiful restaurant in an old watermill. By bus a tour around the bay from Perast to Kotor. On foot through Perast (old palaces). In Kotor we walked through the walled center, visited the cathedral and a few squares. If you had enough energy left: up the stairs to the fortress (I did, but DH decided not to climb those stairs).   8 hrs excursion, incl transportation by bus and boat, entry tickets, lunch and a very good guide. in 2018 € 62 per person.....

Enjoy your cruise and excursions!

[Hlitner]

I would need a wheelchair and a physical therapist after that tour, but the itinerary does sound fantastic for those that want to try and "do it all" on a port day.  DW and I really enjoy that port (been there 4 times) and would also suggest that you want to be up on deck (or i a location with a good view of the bow and sides) for at least 1 1/2 hour before arrival and after departure.  It is a very scenic area.

 

Hank

[mevs904]

Yes, we will be stopping in Kotor on our April Enchanted tour and we are very interested in any recommendations that posters might give for excursions.  The scenery on the sail-in and sail-out sounds lovely.  What would be the best way to spend our day?

[Hlitner]

On 2/17/2023 at 12:07 AM, mevs904 said:

Yes, we will be stopping in Kotor on our April Enchanted tour and we are very interested in any recommendations that posters might give for excursions.  The scenery on the sail-in and sail-out sounds lovely.  What would be the best way to spend our day?

We assume you read the other posts about a busy tour.  But that is not for everyone as it depends on what you like to do with your day.  Do you prefer to see the most in the shortest time and give yourself little time to "stop and smell the roses" or do you like a relaxing day with walking around, browsing shops, enjoying a nice lunch, etc.  For the latter you just stay in Kotor (you walk from the pier) which is a compact town that you can easily cover on foot.  Many like to go up and walk around the walls.  Within Kotor there are many small shops, boutiques, restaurants and cafes that are all very tourist friendly.   Some might disagree, but we have always thought that paying for a walking tour of Kotor is mostly a waste of money unless you want a guide to say "this is a shoe store,"  "this is a cafe," etc.  There are plenty of free maps in town that show you all the highlights.  For those with working phones, it is also possible to download walking tours if you think that would be necessary.

 

Hank

[mevs904]

Thank you, Hlitner.  Your posts are always helpful.  Yes, I have been checking out the other posts and I’m coming to the conclusion that your second option of just enjoying the village is the best choice for Kotor.  That’s what we did in Tallinn, Estonia on our Baltic cruise and it worked well for us.  I just wanted to see if there was a “must see” that we might miss.  We will certainly look forward to seeing the physical beauty of the area.  The other ports, however, are a different story.  We’re particularly excited about Istanbul and the Greece ports and want to do as much research as we can on those ports.  We’ve been to Sicily and Naples and pretty  much know what we will do there.  Once again, thanks for your help.

[Hlitner]

6 hours ago, mevs904 said:

Thank you, Hlitner.  Your posts are always helpful.  Yes, I have been checking out the other posts and I’m coming to the conclusion that your second option of just enjoying the village is the best choice for Kotor.  That’s what we did in Tallinn, Estonia on our Baltic cruise and it worked well for us.  I just wanted to see if there was a “must see” that we might miss.  We will certainly look forward to seeing the physical beauty of the area.  The other ports, however, are a different story.  We’re particularly excited about Istanbul and the Greece ports and want to do as much research as we can on those ports.  We’ve been to Sicily and Naples and pretty  much know what we will do there.  Once again, thanks for your help.

Istanbul used to be one of our favorite ports in the world (not as excited about the place since Erdogen took over and transformed Hagia Sophia).   There is much to see and do in that fabulous city and there is a decent public Tram line that is an option to and from the port (this still involves significant walking just getting from the Tram stop to one's ship).  

 

One place we enjoyed, that is often missed by visitors, is the Basilica Cistern.  Along with the usual Blue Mosque, Topkapi, and Covered (Grand Bazaar) it provides an exhausting start to "seeing everything."

 

Hank

[bennybear]

We enjoyed a lovely tour by M tours to our lady of the rocks and Perast followed by a scenic  drive and independent lunch in Budva.    We had gorgeous views of Kotor.  

[mevs904]

6 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Istanbul used to be one of our favorite ports in the world (not as excited about the place since Erdogen took over and transformed Hagia Sophia).   There is much to see and do in that fabulous city and there is a decent public Tram line that is an option to and from the port (this still involves significant walking just getting from the Tram stop to one's ship).  

 

One place we enjoyed, that is often missed by visitors, is the Basilica Cistern.  Along with the usual Blue Mosque, Topkapi, and Covered (Grand Bazaar) it provides an exhausting start to "seeing everything."

 

Hank

Once again, thank you Hank!  I had forgotten about the Basilica Cistern.  I first learned about it when I read Dan Brown’s Inferno and was intrigued at the time.  We will definitely book a tour that includes the cistern.  This was exactly the kind of recommendation that I was hoping to get.  

[edinburgher]

there is no need to book a tour to visit the Basilica cistern in Sultanahmet. Simply  buy tickets at the entrance and enter.

Edited February 20, 2023 by edinburgher

[KiwiGal117]

About 10  years ago, we did a cruise that took us to Kotor.  We made the grave error of taking a "hop on hop off bus" which went up into the hills to see various things.  It pours rain up there most of the time, which we didn't know, and there was no inside part to this bus.  We were given very thin plastic rain covers, but they were wholly ineffective.  We sat for ages at one spot and were not told what was going on.  I eventually asked the tour guide when we were leaving as I was getting concerned about getting back to ship on time.  She shrugged and said "okay we'll leave now".  There were people waiting for ages along the route who were so relieved when the bus came along.  I have a very bad view about Kotor because of this experience, which is too bad as it is a beautiful location.  Note to self: don't do the HOHO bus here.  Also - I know, I sound bitter...

[RTR 21-0]

Thx KiwiGal for the head’s up about HOHO.  We’ve booked a 3rd party tour and hopefully will stay nice and dry 😊

[ec6393]

On 2/18/2023 at 9:06 PM, bennybear said:

We enjoyed a lovely tour by M tours to our lady of the rocks and Perast followed by a scenic  drive and independent lunch in Budva.    We had gorgeous views of Kotor.  

Love these pictures.

Thanks

[edinburgher]

T1st time to Kotor in May and found a company that offers the following tours.

There is really no need for a tour out of Kotor unless that is your preference. If doing a tour I would suggest either #2 or #3, neiher of which we did, but #1 is easy to DIY.On our second visit we took the public bus the short distance to Perast and went over to "our lady", using one of the several boats waiting in Perast.  A taxi would be another option.  After "our lady" the small waterfront is a lovely spot to sit and enjoy a drink and admire the views, and Perast is teeny tiny  to explore but pretty, so only a short time needed for that.. Returning to Kotor we casually strolled the town again as it is a really delightful small town to spend time in..  Our first visit there we explored the town more in-depth with three stops for cold drinks as the temperature was really hot. Climbing the hill is not for the faint hearted especially in high temperatures. You will see the hill when you tender or dock.

 

And absolutely be on deck a good 90 minutes or so before arrival for the very scenic sail-in.  You will pass "our Lady".  We much preferred the early morning photos and filming as the light was perfect and is very different on the sail out later in the day and the morning was also very still and peaceful.

 

You could pull up all previous threads and replies about Kotor to read what others did. On the general OTHER MEDITERRANEAN PORTS FORUM (not an individual thread) input he word Kotor in the empty search box under your username and hit the little spy glass.

Edited April 23, 2023 by edinburgher