Jaz Beach, plenty of room on Budva's doorstep

Jaz is the beach plenty of people see through the coach window on the way down from Tivat to Budva and then can’t find in the guidebooks, because it has no old town or islet behind it. What it does have is worth more in August, and that’s space. A good kilometre of open shoreline 2.5 km from town, with shaded parking and water every bit as clean as the rest of the riviera.

Two sections and lots of room

The Budva tourist board describes it as a beach in two parts, one of around 800 metres and the other around 400, covering 22,500 m² between them. The shoreline is pebble and, as soon as you wade in, the bottom turns to sand. The national tourist board puts it at 1,000 metres in its list of popular beaches, which amounts to the same thing. What sets it apart from the coves further south is scale, because you don’t need to turn up at eight to get a spot here.

What’s behind the beach

There’s no village, and that shapes the place. Behind the pebbles you’ll find a campsite, a car park and a handful of restaurants and cafés in the shade of the trees. The national tourist board also mentions pedalo and jet ski hire, a water slide and fishing. On the slope above sits the Opera club, which the Budva tourist board says gets going at 1am with live music until dawn. It appears alongside the rest of the after-dark scene in Montenegro nightlife.

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The naturist section

Jaz appears on the national tourist board’s list of naturist beaches. It explains that there’s a nudist area within the beach, marked 2G in Montenegro’s atlas of beaches and bathing areas, with pebbles and very clear water. If that’s what you’re after, it’s the easiest option on the riviera, as you can get there by bus. I compare the other beaches in the municipality under beaches in Budva.

Getting there without a car

Mediteran Express runs a Budva-Jaz-Trsteno-Ploče town bus with 14 departures a day from the roundabout on Mediteranska Street, starting at 08:00 and finishing at 19:15. Buses back from Ploče run between 08:45 and 20:00. It’s only a few kilometres, so driving is easy enough too, apart from finding a space at midday, and bear in mind that traffic keeps to the right. Coming from Kotor, Jaz is on your way, and the whole route is covered in Budva to Kotor.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Jaz Beach and pick one that fits your day.

Who Jaz is for

Families who want room, campers, and anyone after a big beach without Sveti Stefan prices. I wouldn’t spend my first afternoon in Budva here, because that moment belongs to Mogren Beach and the old town. But over a week of beach days, one at Jaz gives you back the sense of space that the town beaches lose.

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