Hi everyone,

We are in Dubrovnik (and loving it) and we want to take a day and visit either Cavtat or Kotor. If border wait times are not a deciding factor, which should we do?

Thanks

Hi,

Kotor is much better than Cavtat, but it's much further, but Kotor is worth much more than a quick daytrip.

You should ask yourself: How likely is that you'll visit Montenegro in the future?

If the answer is that you'll probably have enough time and money in the future to travel to Montenegro than you should skip Kotor this time. If the answer is something like: We won't be able to travel to Europe in the next 10 years, than you should do every effort to see as much of Kotor and the Bay of Kotor as possible, because it's amazing.

You could also just take it easy. Rent a car, start early and stop in Cavtat(that's on the way to Kotor), stay as long as you feel than move on, stop in Herceg Novi(the first interesting town in Montenegro), once you had enough drive on and stop in Risan, Perast and you actually may even make it as far as Kotor. Or you may spend the whole day in Herceg Novi, because you like it so much. You won't see Kotor, but you had a great time. That's why we travel, isn't it?

Hi BDKR and KarenWoo,

Thanks for your advice and help.

We already had a rental car that we rented from the airport when we landed in Dubrovnik. We left at about 11 this morning and drove to Kotor and arrived around 1:30 and spent the day there. All we can say is WOW. I am so happy we went. Such a contrast from Dubrovnik and the dramatic scenery was breathtaking.

On our way back we stopped in Cavtat for a walk around town and dinner. Cavtat is very nice but doesn't compare to Kotor. We had a beautiful day and got to see both towns.

Thanks for taking the time trying to help us.

Andrea

Happy you had a nice day. I was in Kotor recently and it's pretty amazing, especially the Bay. For Kotor itself, I was thinking that you might find that it "feels" very similar to Dub for you but happy that wasn't the case. I visited the two on different trips so distinctions and comparisons were not really top of mind.

Having just gone to Budva, Kotor and Perast my vote is for Kotor. Bear in mind, though, I did not visit Cavtat.

Personally, I found Perast to be a waste of effort to get there. I was not impressed with the Our Lady of Rocks church or island - but that's me. The town is kind of cute but preferred Kotor in that there was more options and things to see. But if stopping in Perast is your thing, definitely go. I don't want to dissuade you.

Border crossing isn't awful but if you have a car make sure you have all the rental documents in order. To lessen the time at the border, try to leave from Dubrovnik early in the morning - by 8am. Be prepared for traffic in/around Kotor, though, there is only one lane in for each direction around the Bay. I didn't stop in Herzeg Novi - views from the road didn't seem to warrant a stop. Maybe this will warrant a future stop, though.

LOL! Oops! I see that you already went - glad you had a great time! Please forgive me... can I blame that I am on hour 5 of being stuck at Zagreb airport - which has nothing to see or do? I think my eyes are beginning to glaze over....

Have you guys noticed, that Montenegro is still listed as Serbia and Montenegro on this forum?

More than 10 years after independence! I don't know their guidebooks, but I hope those are more up to date!

Just a few days ago I gave that feedback to Fodors in the suggestion forum. I noted that it will make them look out of date. They said they will work on it.

Hi everyone,

We landed in Dubronik, rented a car and are staying at the beautiful Royal Princess Hotel for eight nights celebrating our 25th anniversary.

The hotel is directly on a gorgeous, multi-layered rock and boulder beach so we have taken a few days to relax at the hotel and have taken the bus into Dubrovnik mid-afternoon on many days just as many cruisers were on their way out.

We took day trips to Kotor, Cavtat and the gorgeous island of Lokrum. When we crossed the border into Montenegro, there was no waiting time at all and the scenery as we drove through Montenegeo and Kotor was breathtaking.

As well, the food and wine have been amazing and the hospitality warm everywhere we have travelled.

This was our first time in Croatia and definitely not our last.