Budva is a great starting point to venture into the mountains. Whether it’s on a day trip or weekend trip, there are plenty of opportunities to go hiking from Budva.
While we lived in Budva, we utilize the conveniently central location to go on little adventures. After all, the busses run all through Budva so that you can easily explore different cities and mountains.
Busses – Going on hiking trips from Budva
Budva has a very convenient bus network. You can take the bus to Tivat, Kotor, Herceg Novi (including all villages around the Kotor Bay), toward Podgorica, and Bar.
There are longer distance busses leaving at the central bus station and small busses (Mediteran Express) taking off on the main road.
Tickets can be bought at the bus station or on the bus. In order to check the schedule for the big busses, use this website. The plan for the Mediteran Express that goes to Brajici, Sveti Stefan, and Petrovac is displayed at those bus stops.
Kotor & Kotor Bay – The classic day trip from Budva
Kotor Bay already has amazing views from the sea level. If you get a little higher, you’ll see way more, though. So, you should definitely check out some trails around Kotor!
Sveti Ivan Fortress
This is a short hike that almost everyone does when they visit Kotor for a day or two. The trail starts in the old town of Kotor. It’s a great spot to watch the sunset, sunrise, or to simply enjoy the magical view of Kotor Bay.
- Distance (one way): 0.6 mi (1 km)
- Approx. time: 30-60 min (up)
- Elevation: 660 ft (200 m)
- Difficulty: Easy
There are 2 places in Old Town where you can start this trail. You do have to pay an entrance fee for hiking this fortress during summer months. The last time I read something about this fee, it was 8 Euros. When I was there in 2017, it was 5 Euros…
The trail is mostly made of stairs leading to the fortress ruins. You’ll get to see parts of the wall that secured this fortified medieval city.
Ladder of Kotor
Something I still haven’t done because it looks a bit intimidating. However, it’s a different trail starting near Kotor Old Town. It zag-zags its way uphill toward Lovcen National Park. This means you can hike this all the way to another “must-see destination of Montenegro”. Most people take it as an alternative route to Sv. Ivan – Kotor’s Fortress, which I have showcased below.
- Distance: 1.9 mi (3 km)
- Approx. time: 1.5 h
- Elevation: 710 ft (217 m)
- Difficulty: Easy, but exhausting
The path starts on the other side of the river. From there, it is quite easy to follow the trail. It is steep but it’s probably all worth it as there won’t be as many tourist compared to the regular trail to the fortress.
Lovcen National Park – my favorite hiking trip from Budva
Lovcen is the closest national park that you can reach from Budva. It’s not necessarily easy to visit without a car but it’s possible (we did it!). If you have a rental car, you shouldn’t miss this place. It’s a beauty!
Lovcen National Park provides plenty of hiking trails that are totally worth checking out. If you just do a day trip there, I’d probably hike the Wolf Trail and visit the mausoleum, or I’d hike to the mausoleum. I have compiled a list of hikes that you can do there in this article. It will give you all the details you need for a nice self-guided hiking trip from Budva.
Petrovac – A day trip not just for hiking
This isn’t necessarily a hike where you get sweaty. It’s rather a nice coastal walk on a street and through tunnels. It’s super short, which is great if you’re visiting Petrovac for just a day. The trail starts in the North, past Hotel Danica. If you are a fan of cliff jumping, you may do it along this trail.
There is also more walking or hiking trails toward the South. When you go to the popular Luchica Beach, there are trails on both sides. We went further South toward yet another beach (Buljarica). Like I said, it’s rather walking and exploring instead of hiking.
Vrmac Ridge – The most popular hiking trip from Budva
This is a very popular hiking destination from Tivat or Kotor – to no surprise. This ridge essentially divides the Tivat Bay from Kotor Bay. You’ll have a grand view of all sides of the bay area.
You can either start in Kotor or in Tivat – it’s up to you. There are so many variations of this hike that I couldn’t give you more details as for distance, time, etc. It’s so customizable that you just have to use an app.
The easiest way is taking a taxi to the Vrmac Fortress. This way you can explore more of the peninsula. Hiking all the way Sv. Ilije at the tip might be worth it. Then, you can descend through Gornja Lastva.
However, if you wanna hike from one side to another, this might be a great guide.
Herceg Novi – A city trip from Budva
This city is a bit further away but it’s worth checking out. Many people leave it out because they are headed to Kotor. However, this beautiful Mediterranean town is built on the side of a mountain. This means it provides some great sea views from many points in the city. If running up and down the stairs isn’t already enough activity for you, you can go on a coastal walk or take a hike towards Mount Orjen.
Coastal walk
You can walk along the coast both ways. It’s an easy path, obviously. So just enjoy and hop in the water!
Sveti Nikola
If you are down for some great views of the bay area, this hike will do. As it conveniently starts at the bus stop, you can easily hike to Sveti Nikola on a day trip from Budva. Just make sure you take an early bus if you plan it for the summer.
- Distance: 8 mi (12.7 km)
- Approx. time: 4.5 h
- Elevation: 738m
There are definitely more hiking trails around Mount Orjen. I just believe this trail to Sv. Nikola is the best one if you are coming from Budva. If you stay in Herceg Novi, you should get a trail map and try some other hikes as well!
Long-distance trekking from Budva
Are you in for some longer hiking adventures? Well, I got good news! You can do this from Budva, as well.
Lovcen National Park – Cetinje, Kotor, or PPT
You can hike to Lovcen National Park, explore it, and then continue to Kotor or Cetinje. There are two trails that you can take to Ivanova Korita in Lovcen NP. One trail starts in Podmaine (Northern part of Budva) and the other trailhead is in Brajici (village in the North-West of Budva). Get more information about trails that start in Budva here.
You can do plenty of hiking inside the national park. If you want to continue from there, you can hike down to Cetinje, Kotor, or keep walking the PPT toward Orjen. As you can see, there almost infinitive options!
Check out all hiking trails in Lovcen National Park here!
Southern PPT (Primorska Planinarska Transferzala)
The PPT (Coastal Transversal) is a 182 km long trek that goes along the Montenegrin coast. It does pass by Budva in Brajici, which is the point where you can go South as well (instead of North toward Lovcen NP). The finish is South of Bar.
