Bečići Beach

Sand · 2 km · Budva

Length: 2 km
Type: Sand
Water: Excellent
Crowds: High

Bečići is a 2,000 m sand beach 3.5 km east of Budva, running in one long curve from Zavala cape to Đevištinje cape and the village of Rafailovići. A promenade links it to Budva's Old Town through the Zavala tunnel, city buses from Budva pass every 10 minutes, and a line of large hotels stands behind the sand. Four of its bathing areas have held the Blue Flag. Parts of the beach belong to the hotels; on every public bathing area half of the length stays free of loungers, so there is always room for a towel of your own.

A long curved beach below hotels and mountains, seen from a hill above deep blue water — The long curve of Bečići beach seen from the hillside to the eastPhoto: Natalia Semenova, CC BY 3.0

Getting there

On foot from Budva, follow the promenade from Slovenska plaža through the Zavala tunnel; the beach begins at its far end. In the other direction the promenade continues past Rafailovići to Kamenovo. The city buses Budva-Sveti Stefan (every 10 minutes, 06:00-22:00) and Budva-Petrovac (about hourly) stop at Boreti, Hotel Putnik and Rafailovići. By road, Bečići is the first settlement east of Budva on the Adriatic Highway. Driving times are road times without traffic.

Budva centre: 3.5 km, about 10 minutes.
Tivat Airport: 25 km, about 34 minutes.
Kotor: 26 km, about 37 minutes.
Sveti Stefan: 8 km.
Podgorica Airport: 63 km, about 1 h 26 min.

Street parking in Budva municipality is zoned. In summer (1 May to 30 September) zone I costs €2 an hour for at most 1 hour, zone II €1.50 an hour for at most 3 hours and zone III €1 an hour, charged daily 07:00-24:00. An unpaid stay earns a €50 day ticket, reduced by a third if paid within 8 days.

The beach

Bečići is about 2,000 m long with an area of nearly 99,000 m². The sand is known for its many-coloured grains, carried down by four streams. The shore is split into hotel bathing areas and public ones, with high-category hotels and restaurants behind it. At the eastern end, at the entrance to Rafailovići, stands the "green rock", also called the blue rock. Tandem paragliding flights from Brajići (731 m) on the ridge above the coast land on the beach after about 10-15 minutes in the air.

A sandy beach with a row of loungers along the waterline and an island offshore — Sand and loungers on Bečići beachPhoto: ines lukic, CC BY 3.0

Loungers and the free half

Montenegro's rules for sea bathing areas answer the question of whether Bečići is free. Every public bathing area must keep half of its length free of beach furniture and mark it as such; on the furnished half, one umbrella with two loungers takes at least 8 m². Hotel bathing areas may be furnished throughout, with at least 10 m² per set, or 15 m² at five-star hotels. A passage to the sea at least 1 m wide is required every 20 m, and a strip at least 3 m wide along the waterline stays free. Lifeguards are posted at least one per 50 m of shore in July and August and one per 100 m in the other months of the season, which runs from May to October, when the bathing water is also tested. Loungers and umbrellas on leased areas are free after 17:00 only for citizens of Montenegro showing an ID card.

Rows of white umbrellas and loungers on sand with mountains behind — Umbrellas and loungers on a bathing area at BečićiPhoto: Shixart1985, CC BY 2.0

Blue Flag

Four bathing areas on Bečići have held the Blue Flag: Dolce Vita (12E), Sunset (13D), Sveti Toma 2 (13F) and Samsara Deluxe (14E). Arena (13C) and Macarena (14C) are in the pilot phase. The flag belongs to each concession, not to the whole beach. Budva municipality holds 18 of Montenegro's 36 flags, more than any other.

Church of St Thomas

The church of Sveti Toma stands on a rise among pines and cypresses right above the beach and is reached from the sand. A church is said to have stood here since the 14th century; the present building dates from 1910 and is dedicated to St Stefan Štiljanović, the last prince of the Paštrovići, who was born nearby. Part of his relics came from Belgrade in 2007. The parish gathers on 17 October (St Stefan Štiljanović) and 19 October (St Thomas).

Awards

Bečići won a Grand Prix in Paris in 1935 as the most beautiful beach in Europe, and a "Golden Palm" thirty years later as the most beautiful in the Mediterranean.

Practical

Tourist information points: Bečići-Boreti, +382 69 066 283, infobecici@budva.travel; Rafailovići, +382 33 471 088. For the town itself, its Old Town, museums, festivals and bus lines, see Budva.

Nearby

Kamenovo, 330 m of sand beyond Rafailovići to the east, and Pržno in front of the old fishing village.
Slovenska plaža through the tunnel to the west, and the Citadel of Budva's Old Town at the end of the promenade.
Sveti Stefan, 8 km by road or by the Sveti Stefan bus.

Questions

Is Bečići beach free?

Hotel bathing areas may be fully furnished, but every public bathing area must keep half of its length free of loungers, with a free strip along the water.