Mamula, the round fortress that closes off the Bay of Kotor

As your boat leaves Herceg Novi for the open sea, there’s a round island that seems to plug the bay like a cork. That’s Mamula. On maps it’s marked Lastavica, but everyone calls it after the admiral who fortified it, and its story is one of the bleakest on the coast.

Admiral Mamula’s fortress

The printed «Life on Luštica» route guide explains that Admiral Lazar Mamula built a sturdy circular fortress here in the mid-19th century. The National Tourism Organisation groups it with the other two Austro-Hungarian forts at the mouth of the bay, Arza and Prevlaka. Together they guarded the gap between Luštica and the Prevlaka headland, now on the Croatian side, which made Mamula the last lock on the bay. Because of its isolation, the fortress was used as a prison in both world wars, and a memorial plaque at the entrance records it. That’s what stays with me about this place, far more than the architecture.

From ruin to hotel

For years it was an abandoned fortress, and the National Tourism Organisation was already reporting on the hotel in a news item from November 2023. After a restoration that, according to the leaflet, kept its architectural character, it’s now a hotel. The Herceg Novi tourist board describes a five-star resort with 32 rooms and suites, a spa, a private beach, pools, restaurants and bars, open from May to October. By the entrance is a historical and memorial gallery covering more than 170 years of the island’s story, and for me that’s the part that justifies a visit.

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Can you go without staying?

It’s the obvious question. The tourist board says the hotel welcomes everyone to its restaurants and spa, so in season, from May to October, you can go for lunch or a spa day; I cover the opening month in Montenegro weather in May. It’s reachable only by boat or helicopter; the hotel runs transfers from several points around the bay and, on request, private boats from Tivat. I couldn’t find hours or prices for day visitors, so I’d ring ahead on +382 67 166 814.

If you’d rather not spend money at the hotel, the island is just as rewarding from outside. The National Tourism Organisation lists Mamula as a stop on boat tours alongside the Blue Cave and Žanjic, and from Žanjic beach you look straight at it. The same leaflet suggests the Klinci viewpoint above Rose and the Luštica panoramic road for wide views over the mouth of the bay, a free alternative if you have a car and half a day.

Fitting it in

The easiest way is a boat trip round the mouth of the bay from Herceg Novi or from the Luštica peninsula. If you’d like somewhere similar to stay on dry land, hotels in Herceg Novi covers the coast from Igalo to Kumbor.

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