Tivat

What to see and do

• Porto Montenegro, the marina quarter on the arsenal site, with the Naval Heritage Collection and the submarine Heroj. The school ship Jadran is moored in the bay.
• The Buća-Luković summer residence, 14th century, the largest and best-preserved noble summer house in Tivat, with a defensive tower from 1548. It belonged to Kotor's Buća family until the 19th century and is now a gallery and summer stage.
• The Island of Flowers (Miholjska prevlaka), with the Monastery of St Archangel Michael, dating from the 6th century and seat of the Zeta episcopate in the 13th century. Kalardovo beach lies beside it and the airport.
• Gornja Lastva, a stone village on the sunny slopes of Vrmac above the town, once home to about 500 people. Its 19th-century olive mill still works, though it is no longer in use, and belongs to the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, dated 1410. The village festival, Lastovska fešta, is on the first Saturday of August.
• Tivat City Park, laid out in 1892 under Austria-Hungary on Radalli and Verona family land, with plants brought home by Tivat seafarers; its trees are up to 130 years old and 25 m tall. Protected since 1968 and a natural monument since 2015, it holds a monument to the naval officers Spasić and Mašera, who sank their ship on 17 April 1941 rather than surrender it.
• Solila, about 150 ha of coastal wetland in Krtoli bay opposite the town centre, a Ramsar site since 2013 with 178 bird species recorded. Entry is free; trails with benches, two bird-watching towers and a lookout on the Krtoli road.
• Vrmac, the ridge between Tivat and Kotor: 8 km long and 5 km wide, rising to Sveti Ilija (785 m) and Velji vrh (712 m), with hiking and mountain-bike trails, springs and old fortifications.
• Boat tours of the Bay of Kotor to Our Lady of the Rocks, Perast, Mamula and the Blue Cave. Speed limits apply on the bay.

Islands of the bay

Three islands lie off Tivat. Sveti Marko (Stradioti) is the largest in the whole Bay of Kotor, 34 ha, about 20 minutes by boat from the Pine jetty. It was the Orthodox monastery of St Gabriel in the Nemanjić era, then a camp of Greek stradioti soldiers under Venice, and from 1962 to 1991 the Club Méditerranée "San Marco" with 300 Polynesian-style reed huts. Today it is deserted and wooded, with a hidden beach.

Gospa od Milosti (Our Lady of Mercy, also called Školj) is the smallest of the three, about 100 by 50 m. Celestine monks arrived in 1479, Franciscans took over in 1524 and built the present monastery and church; the Ottomans sacked it in 1620 and lightning struck it on 27 January 1844. A 15th-century wooden statue of the Virgin draws pilgrims, the monastery library is among the richest in the region, and a Roman altar to Juno Lucina survives on the island.

Luštica

The Luštica peninsula closes the bay to the south and holds the largest beach in the municipality. The panoramic road "Life on Luštica" is a winding 40 km route from the big roundabout on the Tivat-Budva road through Bjelila, Krašići, Zabrđe, Klinci, Mrkovi, Tići, Mardari and Begovići to Luštica Bay. Allow a full day; stretches are narrow and steep, and cyclists do better on e-bikes.

Luštica Bay is the resort in Trašte bay next to Radovići, about 10 km from Tivat Airport and 80 km from Podgorica Airport. Its developer, Luštica Development AD, was founded in 2008 and is owned 90% by Orascom Development and 10% by the Government of Montenegro. The Chedi hotel beach there held a Blue Flag in 2026.

Beaches

Tivat had two Blue Flag holders in 2026: Plavi horizonti (two areas in Pržna bay) and the Chedi hotel beach at Luštica Bay.

• Plavi horizonti in Pržna bay on Luštica, about 30 minutes' drive from Tivat: the largest beach in the municipality, fine sand and an easy entry, with sunbeds, sports fields, changing rooms, showers, parking and a dock.
• Kalardovo, about 200 m of sand near the airport and the Island of Flowers, shallow and good for small children; in the Blue Flag pilot phase in 2024 and 2025, not flagged in 2026.
• Opatovo, about 200 m between Lepetane and Seljanovo, about 3 km from the centre near the car ferry, split by a lighthouse; sand in one description, mostly pebble in another.
• Waikiki, about 120 m belonging to the restaurant of the same name, with sunbeds, a bar and a children's playground.
• Velja špilja (Pecka) in Trašte bay on the Tivat side of Luštica: 100 m of sand, partly private, with a summer beach bar.

History in brief

The oldest dated site is the monastery on the Island of Flowers (6th century). The Buća-Luković residence is the town's 14th-century landmark; its tower dates from 1548. In 1888 the Luković heirs ceded part of their estate to the municipality and the Austro-Hungarian navy for a naval arsenal, and in 1889 the municipal council transferred the use of the land for its construction. The arsenal shaped the modern town: the City Park was laid out in 1892 under the same Austro-Hungarian rule, and the yard itself became Porto Montenegro.

Getting there and around

Tivat Airport is the coast's airport and the closest to the Boka. There is no railway; the car ferry at Lepetane, near Opatovo beach, shortens the road to Herceg Novi. Driving times below are road times without traffic.

Luštica beaches are about 30 minutes by car from town; Velja špilja and Plavi horizonti are also reached by boat, and Sveti Marko island by boat from the Pine jetty.

When to visit

The sea bathing season runs from May to October and the coastal walking season from mid-April to the end of October. The year's fixed dates:

• Lastovo carnival, Saturdays in February, in Donja Lastva.
• International Tivat Carnival, three days in June.
• Purgatorije, Tivat's cultural summer, from mid-June to the end of August, mostly on the summer stage at the Buća residence.
• Carob festival, mid-July.
• Lastva festival (Lastovska fešta) in Gornja Lastva, first Saturday of August.

Nearby

• Kotor, the walled UNESCO town, about 8 km from the airport.
• Budva, about 20 km from the airport.
• Herceg Novi, under 40 km, across the bay.
• Our Lady of the Rocks off Perast, the usual boat-trip destination.
• Lovćen National Park, whose Kraljevo počivalo viewpoint looks over Tivat and its airport.

Questions

How far is Tivat Airport from Kotor and Budva?

About 8 km to Kotor and about 20 km to Budva; from Tivat itself the airport is 4.7 km by road, about 7 minutes.

Which Tivat beach is sandy?

Plavi horizonti (fine sand, the largest), Kalardovo (sand, shallow) and Velja špilja (sand). Opatovo is described both as sand and as mostly pebble.

How do I get to Sveti Marko island?

By boat from the Pine jetty, about 20 minutes. The island is uninhabited.

Is the Solila reserve free?

Yes. Entry is free, and there are trails with benches and two bird-watching towers.