Tivat, the bay town most people fly into and few explore
Tivat is the Bay of Kotor town right next to the airport, 4 km away, and the handiest base on the coast. It has the Porto Montenegro marina with its naval museum and the Heroj submarine, the Buća-Luković summer residence, the Solila bird reserve and, to the south, the beaches of the Luštica peninsula. At 47 km², its municipality is the smallest in the country.
In 30 seconds
Full read: 3 min
A Bay of Kotor town 4 km from the airport.
Porto Montenegro, the naval museum and the 50 m Heroj submarine.
The country's smallest municipality, 47 km², with beaches on Luštica.
Tourist tax of €1 per person per night.
Tivat hasn't got Kotor's walls or Budva's nightlife, and that's exactly why I'd base myself here. The airport is five minutes away, the Pine waterfront is lovely for dinner, and the whole bay is within half an hour.
Sergio LeponeMy advice
Before you go
What I would keep in mind
01 Worth the splurge
Coffee among the superyachts
Porto Montenegro is the bay's superyacht marina, right on Tivat's waterfront. Strolling the quay and having a drink beside the boats costs nothing more than the round.
On the slopes of Vrmac, with a church from 1410 and a 19th-century olive mill that still works. Its village festival is on the first Saturday in August.
Solila, roughly 150 hectares of wetland facing the centre, has been a Ramsar site since 2013. Entry is free and there are two bird-watching towers.
04 Getting there
The bay's shortest ferry
From Lepetane, in Tivat municipality, the ferry crosses the Verige strait to Kamenari. A car pays €5 on the official 2026 tariff.
05 To save money
Seafront rooms without marina prices
The town promenade has hotels right on the water, such as the four-star Palma, 5 m from the sea with its own beach, for less than a night at Porto Montenegro.
From 30 December 2026 to 2 January 2027 Tivat sees in the New Year with four nights of concerts by the sea, according to the National Tourism Organisation.
A stone village with a 1410 church, and the mountain between Tivat and Kotor, with trails and views.
Time: half a day
8.0 out of 10
5
Buća-Luković summer residence
A Kotor noble family's summer house from the 14th century, with a 1548 tower now used as a gallery and an open-air theatre.
Time: 45 min
7.6 out of 10
6
Solila nature reserve
A Ramsar wetland with 178 recorded bird species, free entry and observation towers.
Time: 1-2 h
7.4 out of 10
Almost everyone flying to the Montenegrin coast lands in Tivat, and most head straight off to Kotor or Budva without a second glance. I think that’s a mistake. There’s no medieval wall here and no club strip, but there is one of the best seafront promenades in the bay, a superyacht marina with a naval museum, proper beaches on the Luštica peninsula and an airport 4 km away. At 47 km² it’s the smallest municipality in the country, and it welcomed 158,550 tourists in 2024, says MONSTAT.
The waterfront and the marina
Life here revolves around the sea. The Pine promenade links the centre to Porto Montenegro, the superyacht marina, with its restaurants, shops and yacht club. Right there, in a restored 19th-century sawmill, is the naval museum, with more than 300 artefacts and the Heroj submarine, a 50 m Yugoslav boat you can walk through.
A few minutes away is the Buća-Luković summer residence. The Tivat tourist board calls it the most monumental and best preserved of the summer houses that Kotor’s noble families built here, raised in stages from the 14th century. Its 15 m fortified tower of 1548 is now an art gallery and the old garden holds an open-air theatre. In 1888 the Luković heirs left part of the estate to the municipality, and the Austro-Hungarian navy used it to build its naval arsenal. Close by is the town park, laid out in 1892 with plants sailors brought home, trees up to 130 years old and two Chilean monkey puzzles. It became a natural monument in 2015.
Nature on the doorstep
Facing the centre across Krtoli Bay lies Solila, around 150 hectares of wetland listed under the Ramsar Convention since 2013. Some 178 bird species have been recorded there, entry is free and there are two observation towers plus a viewpoint on the Krtoli road. It’s also an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area and a candidate Emerald site under the Bern Convention. It’s my favourite surprise in Tivat, especially in spring and autumn when the migrants pass through.
Behind the town rises Vrmac, the 8 km ridge that separates Tivat from Kotor, with the village of Gornja Lastva on its slopes, home to a church from 1410 and a 19th-century olive mill. If you like a walk, it’s the best short outing from town.
There are beaches right in town, such as the town beach by the Pine promenade and Belane beside Kalimanj harbour, and sandy ones towards the airport such as Kalardovo. The ones worth hiring a car for are to the south on the Luštica peninsula. Plavi horizonti, in Pržna Bay, is according to the tourist board the largest sandy beach in the municipality, and the road carries on to Pecka, Žanjic and Rose. I go through them all in Tivat beaches.
Getting there and around
From the UK, Jet2 began flying Stansted-Tivat in April 2024 and added Birmingham that May, according to the National Tourism Organisation; check what’s flying for your dates. Tivat airport is 4 km from the centre, about five minutes by car, and 8 km short of Kotor and 21 km from Budva, according to Airports of Montenegro. From Lepetane, inside the municipality, the ferry crosses the Verige strait to Kamenari and saves you driving round the bay towards Herceg Novi; a car pays €5 on the official 2026 tariff. Remember you drive on the right here.
The tourist board’s 2026 calendar opened with the Festival of Wind, from 24 April to 23 May, with regattas, fairs and music. From mid-June to the end of August the culture centre runs the Purgatorije theatre festival, and on the first Saturday in August Gornja Lastva holds its village festival. The year ends with New Year’s Eve on the Pine waterfront, running from 31 December to 2 January.
Where to stay and what it costs
Tivat ranges from waterfront hotels to five-star options in Porto Montenegro and Luštica Bay. Expect a tourist tax of €1 a night per adult; teenagers aged 12 to 18 pay half and under-12s are exempt. Registration within 24 hours is compulsory, and if you move between municipalities you register in each one where you stay more than 12 hours.
The runway of Tivat Airport beside the bay, seen from high on the mountain, with the Luštica peninsula beyond
The rocky shoreline of the Luštica peninsula, with blue sea and a hillside covered in scrub and yellow flowers
Distances from Tivat airport
Destination
Distance
By car
Tivat
4 km
5 minutes
Kotor
8 km
12 minutes
Budva
21 km
27 minutes
Bar
60 km
1 h 19 min
Airports of Montenegro, How to reach us, checked on 04-10-2026.
Tivat in figures
Figure
Value
Municipality population (2023 census)
16,338
Town population (preliminary census)
10,894
Area
47 km²
Tourist arrivals in 2024
158,550
Overnight stays in 2024
1,320,043
Source: MONSTAT.
Test yourself
True or false?
0/3Pick before you peek.
Tivat is Montenegro's smallest municipality.
See the answer
True. MONSTAT gives it 47 km², the smallest area of the country's 25 municipalities.
Tivat airport is more than 20 km from the town.
See the answer
False. Airports of Montenegro puts it 4 km and about five minutes from the centre.
You have to pay to enter Solila nature reserve.
See the answer
False. The Tivat Tourism Organisation says entry to the reserve is free of charge.
Area of the municipality, the country's smallest
47 km²
Municipality population in 2023
16,338
From the centre to the airport
4 km
Tourist arrivals in 2024
158,550
Map
Where Tivat is
The Adriatic coast runs from Herceg Novi to Ulcinj; the centre holds Podgorica, Cetinje and Lake Skadar, and the north, Durmitor and the Tara Canyon. Every number opens its guide.
Walk the Pine waterfront and Porto Montenegro, go aboard the Heroj submarine at the naval museum, see Buća-Luković and the town park, and head out to Gornja Lastva, Solila or the Luštica beaches.
Is Tivat worth visiting?
As a base, very much so. It's beside the airport, has a good seafront and beaches, and is minutes from Kotor, Perast and Budva. As a day trip, I'd put it behind Kotor.
How far is Tivat from the airport?
Just 4 km, about five minutes by car, according to Airports of Montenegro. Kotor is 8 km and Budva 21 km from the terminal.
Is there an old town in Tivat?
Not a walled one like Kotor's. Tivat's historic heart is the Buća-Luković summer residence, built in stages from the 14th century, alongside the waterfront and the 1892 town park.
How much is the tourist tax in Tivat?
€1 per person per night, €0.50 for 12 to 18-year-olds and nothing for under-12s. You must register within 24 hours, and in each municipality where you spend more than 12 hours.
Can you fly to Tivat from the UK?
Yes. According to the National Tourism Organisation, Jet2 launched Stansted to Tivat in April 2024 and Birmingham to Tivat in May 2024. Check current schedules with the airline.
Tourism graduate with a master’s in Tourism Management and Planning from the University of Málaga, who has travelled across Europe. He writes every guide from official sources and his own judgement.
