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We drove to Perast during our 4 night stay in Kotor (see my blog Kotor, Montenegro: Travel Guide). We really liked Perast but found Our Lady of the Rock Island to touristy and busy.
Contents
1. Introduction
We based ourselves in Kotor for 6 nights (see my blog Kotor, Montenegro: Travel Guide) and went on day trips from there to see other places in Montenegro. Perast is only a 20 minute drive from Kotor and it is then another hour to Herceg Novi.
The road to Perast and Herceg Novi is in good condition. It is very scenic as it follows the northern shore of a fjord. On the way back it is possible to take a ferry over to the southern side of the fjord and do a circular drive back to Kotor.
It is a very nice day trip to 2 historic towns with spectacular scenery the whole way. We left Kotor at 08.00 to avoid the traffic congestion in Kotor and parking problems at Perast. As a result we benefited from having little traffic on the road to Perast.
Another way of seeing Perast and Herceg Novi would be to take one of the numerous boat tours on offer when wandering around Kotor's waterfront. These boat tours are normally about 3 hours long and also stop at a few other places like the Blue Cave. It seems most coastal resorts in Europe have a Blue Cave!
These boat tours cost around Eur 40 per person, but usually only stop at the islands off Perast and Herceg Novi. We wanted to see the towns and didn't want to spend Eur 80.
2. Perast, Montenegro
2.1. Parking at Perast
You cannot park in the centre of Perast unless you are staying there. There is a barrier to prevent unauthorised entry. There is limited free parking along the road above Perast but we paid for parking. Parking is a problem in high season unless you arrive early.
Most private parking is off the main road and is free. However, the deal is that you must pay to go to Our Lady of the Rock Island or on a boat tour. Apparently they charge Eur 10 per person to the Island, whereas independent boats only charge Eur 5 per person. So if there are 2 people in your car you are effectively paying Eur 10 for parking! Some of these parking sites have toilets.
There is paid parking on the side of the road just before the western entrance to Perast. They charge Eur 8 per day and there is a booth with an attendant there. There aren't that many parking places, but when we arrived at 08.30 we got a space. Input "Parking 1" on Google maps to locate it.
We found the parking attendants to be very helpful and pleasant. For some reason a number of reviewers on Google thought they were like the mafia!
2.2. Our Lady of the Rock Island
We were strolling along Perast's waterfront just before 09.00 when a friendly boatman offered us a ride to the island for the usual round trip charge of Eur 5 per person. He promised he would return for us in 30 minutes and assured me that it would be long enough. I had my doubts but it was actually too long!
It is a very small island with a church on it. Fortunately there was initially only one other boatload of people there. Unfortunately the church was closed and didn't open until about 09.20. It is therefore best not to go before 09.30 if you want to enter the church. There is a Eur 2 entrance fee.
There is a pay toilet on the island and an advantage of getting there early was that it was free.
By the time we left at 09.30 a lot more people had arrived on the island and there was a queue to enter the church. It is one of those places that everyone wants to visit, but in reality it is nicer seeing the island from the mainland. It is a bit of a tourist trap.
2.3. Perast Old Town
The majority of tourists seem to only visit Our Lady of the Rock Island. This may be because most boat tours only stop at the island. As a result wandering around the quiet streets of the old Venetian town of Perast was very pleasant. Perhaps the tour groups hadn't yet arrived as we were there early.
We were impressed by the number of historic buildings along Perast's waterfront. We also enjoyed wandering up most of the streets above the waterfront and admired the Venetian churches and dwellings.
It took us 2 hours to see Perast. You could easily spend longer if you go to the beach and have a drink or a meal.
3. Herceg Novi, Montenegro
3.1. Parking in Herceg Novi
The Bradt guide states that "parking here is quite the ordeal". I dislike trying to find parking in new places and usually use Google reviews beforehand to determine where to park.
For some reason I didn't do my usual research and was surprised by the size of Herceg Novi when we got there. The main road runs high above the town and when I saw a free metered parking spot on the road I grabbed it. It would have meant a steep and hot walk down to the historic centre, and back up again, but I didn't want to drive around looking for parking.
However, the parking meter was faulty and I couldn't pay. It turned out to be fortunate as a local man gave me directions to a cheap and very convenient multi storey car park about 5 minutes walk from the historic centre. There are free toilets at this car park. The car park is called "Parking Opstina" and can be located by entering this name on Google Maps.
3.2. Sightseeing in Herceg Novi
We explored the old town, but didn't climb up high to see the Spanish Fort, nor did we walk to Savina Monastery to the east. It doesn't seem worth visiting the Spanish Fort as the Bradt guide describes it as "a messy, graffiti-scrawled ruin".
The Bradt guide book suggests starting exploring from the main square (Trg Nikole Durkovica). If you use Parking Ostina it will be the first part of the old town that you reach.
From there you can climb up past the Bell Tower to Trg Belavista which has the Church of St Michael in the centre. There are a few restaurants in this square and we had lunch at one of them. We later found a better selection of restaurants around the seafront promenade and wished we had eaten there.
We could have then walked up northwards to the 16th century Kanli Kula tower. We decided not to as several reviewers on Google felt that the Eur 4 entrance fee wasn't worth it. In summer time it is a venue for open air productions. It would frustrate me to pay an entrance fee for a place spoiled by being used as a theatre.
Instead we walked down to the seafront promenade via the Church of St Jerome and the imposing Forte Mare. The entrance fee is Eur 4 for the Forte Mare (Sea Fortress). Again we decided not to go in as the consensus of Tripadvisor reviews seems to be that it is only worth it for the views.
The seafront promenade is very nice and runs for about 5 kilometres to the town of Igalo. We only walked along part of it as it was very hot. There is a narrow beach on the one side and a lot of restaurants and cafes on the other side.
4. Car Ferry from Kamenari to Lepetane
We retraced our steps back to Kotor as far as the village of Kamenari. There is a car ferry that goes from Kamenari to Lepetane on the south side of the estuary. The ferry only takes about 10 minutes and costs Eur 5.
It is a very regular ferry and we didn't have to wait long before boarding. We were at the end of the queue and didn't realise we had to pay before boarding at an office near the jetty. We weren't the only ones and the ferry staff let me drive onto the ferry while Lani paid.
The road that runs along the south side of the estuary from Lepatane to Kotor is very narrow in places. It is too narrow for vehicles to pass at times. As a result I didn't enjoy driving along there despite the stunning scenery. A good strategy is to follow other cars as this usually forces the oncoming vehicles to give way.
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