Hiking Trails Around Budva

While you’re floating in the crystal clear water at Budva Beach, your gaze goes up to the stunning mountains. After all, they are giving the breathtaking vistas to this Mediterranean place.

So, can you go hiking in Budva? Yes, you can! It may not be the best trails I have walked but you can certainly get sweaty and enjoy some nice views from the hiking trails around Budva.

When we lived in Budva, we had a hard time finding trails. With all these mountains, you would assume that there are plenty of trails. In reality, there is only a hand full.

Where to find trail maps?

I tried to find better trail maps but the only one I could find was from the Budva tourist information. And it’s not really a detailed one. They seemed surprised when I asked for a trail map. Clearly, they don’t get a lot of hikers here. I guess people are fine with enjoying the beaches and all the other activities.

Hiking trails that start in Budva

Let’s cut to the chase. I’ll give you some hiking trails that start in Budva but often end somewhere else. This means you have to use the bus or take a taxi. Click here for the bus info (brings you to the bottom of the post).

The 7 Bay Trail – a casual coastal walk

I would like to call it “9 bay trail”, actually. Because you can add Mogren Beach and Old Town Beach, which are two separate bays. Anyways, this is one of my favorite walks in the Budva area, even if you don’t do all the bays. It’s an easy walk along the coastal boardwalk and streets, hopping from beach to beach. The map starts at the tunnel because I couldn’t make it work right. It would always pick a way around.

• Distance (one way): 5.4 mi (8.7 km)
• Approx. time: 2-4h (depending on your speed, breaks, and photo capturing)
• Elevation: 250 ft (75 m)
• Difficulty: Easy

The first two bays can be skipped if you have seen these already. It’s Mogren Beach and Old Town Beach.

The Budva bay is hard to skip because you have to walk along it anyways. Follow the boardwalk through the tunnel to enter Rafailovici bay (2nd bay). You are behind the hotels/resorts now, so you need to get to the other side. Go left and then right (probably after around 30 ft/100 m). There is a path leading back to the beach.

Once at the long Becici Beach, you can follow the boardwalk again. When you walk around the corner of the Rafailovici beach, you’ll see a tunnel. These little coves, however, are my favorite. The water always looks super clear!

When you are through the tunnel, you are at the Komenovo Beach, the 3rd bay of the walk. Towards the end of the bay, you see the straw umbrellas of a cafe. You have to walk left just before reaching it. The stairs lead you uphill. Then follow the road past a restaurant with rooftop dining (Custo).

Take the street down to the Przno bay. This area is great for restaurants, if you want to eat some seafood.

The path goes a bit uphill again and into the resort of Sveti Stefan. Don’t worry, you can still walk here. There is a map at the entrance if you wanna look at the whole property.

While following the road, you’ll see a fancy building to the right. Behind it, is the private Queen’s Beach (5th bay). I don’t think you are allowed to go there.

Continuing on the street, you’ll pass by the King’s Beach (6th bay). It’s also a private beach but it’s beautiful! From there, the path goes a bit uphill again. I really like this section because it’s under the trees and you can enjoy the coastal views. The crystal clear water and the boulders are just mesmerizing.

Not long after King’s Beach, you’ll reach Sveti Stefan and the last bay on this trip. You can swim at the beach on the left (facing Sv. Stefan). We did this and it was amazing!

Walk to Mogren fortress ruins

This is an easy walk along the street. I wouldn’t call it hiking but my husband tells me all the time that some people would consider it hiking. So, that’s why it’s on the list. This is an amazing spot to watch the sunset!

• Distance: 2.3 mi (3.7 km)
• Approx. time: 1h
• Elevation: 320 ft (97 m)
• Difficulty: Easy

Check out the map. There is really not much you can do wrong here. I started it in old town because I believe it’s a great place to watch the sunset after exploring old town or laying at the beach.

You simply need to get to the main road that goes to Tivat and Kotor and follow it uphill. Just before the tunnel, you take a left on a dirt road, which leads to the fortress ruins.

Podmaine (Budva) – Krapina – Podlastva – Budva

This is a great hiking trail that starts in Budva. It may not provide the greatest vistas but it’s a nice hike.

• Distance (loop): 8.7 mi (14 km)
• Approx. time: 4.5h
• Elevation: 1800 ft (549 m)
• Difficulty: Easy to moderate

You start at the monastery in Podmaine. It is in the Northern part of the city. Just follow the asphalt road. It is really simple, you can’t do anything wrong.

When you reach Krapina, you go left and follow this street until Podlastva. There you can check out the monastery or turn left right away. This is the street to Budva that passes by the water park.

We walked a slightly different path which I couldn’t recreate on the map. We kinda cut through by taking a path through the woods. It was a bit creepy, not gonna lie. Especially because we ran into some hunters on a different path before. That’s why we decided to take the shortcut. Turned out to be another hunting area. I felt super weird walking there. Anyways, this was in September/October (maybe hunting season??).

Podmaine (Budva) to Ivanova Korita at Lovcen NP

Like the hiking trail above, this one starts in Podmaine, which is in the Northern part of Budva. Unfortunately, on Outdoor Active this trail doesn’t show. Therefore, I couldn’t create a map for you. However, according to the tourist board, this trail should exist. However, someone even hiked from Budva to the mausoleum at Lovcen and tracked it here.

• Distance (one way): 11.7 mi (19 km)
• Approx. time: 7h
• Elevation: 3900 ft (1190 m)
• Difficulty: Strenuous and difficult

Follow the street uphill until you reach Krapina. You go straight here (off the road). You should see a house. The path continues behind it, toward the right.

You will pass through a village called Zecevo Selo. When you are back on the trail, you can either follow the switchback road or cut straight through. It depends on you. Keep going uphill. You will reach Majstori and about 3 miles (4.8 km) later you’ll get to Ivanova Korita.

Wanna go hiking in Lovcen NP? Find hiking trails here!

Sv. Spas in Budva

This is just a walk uphill like to the Mogren ruins. It’s nothing super special but a good walk after all.

• Distance: 4.8 mi (7.7 km)
• Approx. time: 2h
• Elevation: 1200 ft (367 m)
• Difficulty: Easy to moderate

You start with a walk uphill following the street to the water park. Once you are there, you turn left. You should see some houses. Go left there, as well. Then follow the gravel road until the end. Return the same way you came. By the way, the distance indicated above is the whole trail (in and out).

Alternative routes back:

• You can take the zig-zag road down (change of total distance to 5.2 mi / 8.3 km). Have a look at the trail map above. You’ll easily see the zig-zaggy road. You just have to walk back for a bit and instead of following the road in an intersection, you go right.
• You can also go to Mogren fortress ruins and walk back to Budva from here (change of total distance to 6.5 mi / 10.4 km). You have to walk back for a bit and instead of following the road in an intersection, you go right. Then you go right again. Follow the path and take the very left at a fork (three roads). Take three switchbacks downhill (always turn even if there is a street ahead). The trail down to Mogren goes off to the right a little after the last switchback. The trail ends at the tunnel on the main road. Go left and you’ll see a dirt road on the right-hand side. This is the path to Mogren ruins. When you’re done, simply follow the asphalt road down to Budva.

Hiking trails around Budva

These trails start a bit outside Budva, which means that you need to take the bus, car or taxi. Click here for the bus info (brings you to the bottom of the post).

Brajici to Sveti Stefan

This is probably my favorite hike in the Budva area. It has spectacular views of the coast, Budva, and Sveti Stefan. It’s not super difficult, either.

• Distance: 7.6 mi (12.3 km)
• Approx. time: 4h
• Elevation: 610 ft (187 m)
• Difficulty: Easy

You start in Brajici and walk to the old Kosmac fortress first. It’s a cool ruin with a great view of Budva. Then you follow the trail and simply enjoy the fantastic views!

When you see a church, you reached Ogradenica where you descend toward Sveti Stefan by taking a right turn.

You eventually get to an intersection. Go left here. We went right (because of a sign) and this was wrong.

After a bit, you reach a monument from where you get the best shots of Sveti Stefan.

You can take the stairs down or the road. Once you get to the main road, find the bus stop (left or wave at a bus and hope the driver will stop) or a taxi to get back to Budva.

Brajici to Ivanova Korita via Babina Glava

This is another, and maybe easier, path to get to Lovcen National Park. It already starts at a higher point but it’s still labeled as difficult. After all, it is climbing up over 3000 ft (almost 1000 m)!

• Distance: 10 mi (16.3 km)
• Approx. time: 5.5h
• Elevation: 3100 ft (958 m)
• Difficulty: Diffucult

You start in Brajici and follow the marked trail toward Majstori. In Majstori, you go to Babina Glava. An alternative is Ivanova Korita, but it skips the Babina Glava peak.

When you get to the peak, you’ll walk downhill. This path leads to Ivanova Korita. When you get to a fork, go right. It is shorter than the path through Dolovi. Stay on the trail and you’ll reach Hotel Ivanov Konak.

Wanna go hiking in Lovcen NP? Find hiking trails here!

How to use the busses for your hiking trips?

Taking the bus for hikes is your best option if you don’t want to spend money on taxis. The Mediteran Express goes between Budva and Sveti Stefan, Budva and Petrovac, as well as Budva and Brajici. So this is pretty convenient for all the hiking trails that I have in this blog post.

The stops are along the main road (Adriatic Highway). The Mediteran Express has small busses, which run about every 10-60 min (depending on the line and season, Brajici not as regularly). You can find a plan at the bus stop.

Need more information? Or have you hiked another trail that I haven’t mentioned? Let me know in the comments!