The Kotor cable car, from sea to mountain in 11 minutes

Eleven minutes from the water’s edge to high mountain is a rare thing in Europe, and Kotor has it. Rising from the bay to Lovćen, it’s the quickest lesson I know in how Montenegro is built, sea at your feet and limestone overhead. Here’s what the National Tourism Organisation and the company itself publish, with prices and hours as of October 2026.

The ride

The cable car leaves from Dub, near Kotor, and arrives at the village of Kuk on Lovćen, 1,348 m above the sea. The National Tourism Organisation gives 3,900 m of cable, a 1,316 m height gain and an 11-minute ride. The company says it has 48 gondolas for up to 10 people each, with 360-degree panoramic glass, and can carry 1,200 people an hour. It was built by Leitner, which the cable car itself describes as a global leader in ropeway systems. Below you is the whole of the Bay of Kotor, and that’s where the ticket earns its price.

Tickets and opening hours

On 11 October 2026 the cable car’s website showed its off-season fare. Return tickets cost €20 for adults and €5 for children aged 2 to 12; one way, €12 and €3. Disabled visitors pay €9 return and €5 one way. I found the summer fare in the operator’s online shop, in a copy from 17 June 2026, with €25 return and €14 one way for adults, €7 and €4 for children aged 2 to 12 and €12 return for disabled visitors. So summer costs €5 more than autumn, and children, who rode free in 2025, now pay. On 12 October the hours were 9am to 7pm, except Tuesdays from 10.30am, with the last ride up at 6.30pm and the last down at 7pm. Under-12s must travel with an adult, and there are no height limits for the gondola itself.

Tickets are sold at both stations or online. Buying online lets you skip the queue and, according to the company, unlocks discounts on some tickets.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Kotor for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

What’s at the top

At Kuk the cable car company has built a small complex. There’s the alpine coaster, a 1,056 m track taking 3 to 5 minutes, for €12 (€20 fast track), open to anyone over 3 and at least 105 cm tall, with 3 to 7-year-olds accompanied. There’s also a ride called Falcon Fly, the Aerobar, a platform that rises to 35 m with a drink included (€15), a children’s playground, an open-air amphitheatre and restaurants. The National Tourism Organisation points out that the top station is 18 km from Cetinje, so you can pair the cable car with the old royal capital.

With children

Families are well catered for here, more than at almost any other sight on the coast, in my view. Children aged 2 to 12 pay €5 return, under-12s ride with an adult, and at the top there’s a playground with towers, slides and tunnels. The coaster takes children from 3 years and 105 cm, though 3 to 7-year-olds must be accompanied. I’d save the coaster for the end as a treat, and I wouldn’t take a pushchair up on a windy day.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Kotor cable car on GetYourGuide.

Getting to Dub station

The bottom station sits a stone’s throw, 200 m, from the coast road between Budva and Tivat. The cable car runs official shuttle buses from Kotor, Budva and Tivat, as well as private van transfers and a shuttle taxi for coming back whenever suits you. Coaches pay €15 for three hours at the bottom car park and €5 for each extra hour, worth knowing if you’re on an organised trip. Driving, parking at Dub costs €1.30 an hour and the 60-space car park at the Lovćen station is free. If your hire car is brand new to you, take the turn-off slowly, and remember the paid car park at the bottom. Tivat airport is just down the road, as I explain in Tivat airport.

Is it worth it?

On a clear day, I think so, especially if you’re not driving up Lovćen on the serpentine road. It’s pricey for the length of the ride, but the view is among the best in the country and there’s enough at the top for a day out with children. Under cloud it loses its point, and in strong wind it stops altogether. On 11 October 2026 the website showed it closed because of bad weather at the summit. For the rest of the town, see Kotor, and for the national park, Lovćen.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Kotor for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.