Čanj Beach (Biserna obala)

Sand and pebble · 1.1 km · Bar

Photo: Zlatomir Bacic (Back… · CC BY-SA 3.0

Length: 1.1 km
Water: Good

Čanj is a beach of small pebbles and sand about 1,100-1,200 m long in the village of the same name, on the Adriatic highway between Petrovac and Sutomore in the municipality of Bar. Its other name, Biserna obala (Pearl Coast), comes from the small pebbles, which look like pearls. Parking is free, dogs are allowed and one bathing area has held the Blue Flag. From the beach, boats cross to Kraljičina plaža, the Queen's beach in the next bay, which has no road.

A shoreline with hotels at the foot of steep green mountains, seen from the water — Čanj from the seaPhoto: BokicaK, CC BY-SA 3.0 rs

Getting there and parking

The village of Čanj lies on the main coast road, with Petrovac and Buljarica to the north-west and Maljevik and Sutomore to the south-east. Parking at the beach is free. The nearest railway station is Sutomore, on the Bar-Belgrade line; from Sutomore it is 14 km and about 22 minutes by road to Petrovac, with Čanj roughly halfway.

The beach

About 1,100-1,200 m of small pebbles and sand over about 55,000 m², one of the longer beaches between Budva and Bar. Dogs are allowed.

A broad beach of small pale pebbles under green hills with a reddish slope — The small pebbles of Čanj beachPhoto: Zlatomir Bacic, CC BY-SA 3.0

Loungers and the free half

Every public bathing area must keep half of its length free of loungers and umbrellas and mark it, with a free strip along the water and a passage to the sea at least every 20 m. 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.

Blue Flag

The bathing area Vela Beach (2B) has held the Blue Flag. Mamma Mia (2N2) and England Beach (2D) have been in the pilot phase, which is a preparatory step and not a flag. The flag belongs to the concession, not to the whole beach.

Kraljičina plaža by boat

Pećin bay, closed off by hills and sedimentary rock, holds the sand beach that Queen Milena of Montenegro favoured. It can be reached only from the sea, and tourist boats from Čanj run to its pier in season. Departure times and fares are set by the boat operators on the beach.

Nearby

Kraljičina plaža (Queen's beach) in Pećin bay, by boat from Čanj.
Maljevik, a pebble cove near Crni rt, and Sutomore to the south-east; Buljarica to the north-west in Budva municipality.
Haj-Nehaj fortress on the hill above Sutomore.