Crvena plaža (Red Beach)

Sand · 50 m · Bar

Length: 50 m
Type: Sand
Water: Good
Crowds: Moderate

Crvena plaža (Red Beach) is a small cove between Sutomore and Bar, on the Ratac side of Sutomore bay. Its sandy part is only 50 m long and distinctly red, which gives the beach its name; the rest of the shore is rock, and the whole cove covers about 600 m². Parking is free. With only 50 m of sand it holds few people, so it suits a swim and a short stay rather than a full day with a family.

Pine trees framing a rocky shore with clear green water — Pines and rocks along the shore at Crvena plažaPhoto: ines lukic, CC BY 3.0

Getting there and parking

The cove lies off the Adriatic highway between Sutomore and Bar, near the Ratac cape, which closes Sutomore bay towards Bar. Parking at the beach is free. Sutomore railway station on the Bar-Belgrade line is the nearest station, and from Sutomore it is 12 km and about 20 minutes by road to Bar. Street parking in Sutomore itself belongs to Bar's zone I at €0.50 per started hour.

The beach

Red sand over 50 m, rock on either side, 600 m² in all. The red colour is what people come for: a legend told in Bar has the Nereids combing their hair with coral combs on the cliff above.

Large boulders in calm water under a pine branch, with distant hills — The rocky shore on either side of the sandy stripPhoto: ines lukic, CC BY 3.0

Rules on the beach

Every public bathing area on the coast must keep half of its length free of loungers and umbrellas, with a free strip along the water. The bathing season runs from May to October, when the bathing water is tested.

Ratac

The Ratac cape next door holds the ruins of a Benedictine monastery of the Virgin dated to the 11th century, with three churches, walls and towers; it came under Venice in 1443 and was burned and demolished by the Ottomans in 1571. The cape also holds Sutomore's two designated naturist bathing areas, 5N2 and 5N3.