The Montenegrin coast in style: the back story

About The Montenegrin coast in style: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Podgorica Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Twenty years ago, luxury on the Montenegrin coast meant one address: Sveti Stefan. Today the Bay of Kotor has superyacht marinas at Tivat and Kumbor, a new resort town on Luštica, island and palace hotels, and beach clubs from Luštica to Ulcinj. All of it is under two hours from Podgorica.

From arsenal to marina

For more than a century, Tivat was a naval town: the Austro-Hungarian navy built an arsenal here in the late 19th century, and the Yugoslav navy repaired its ships here. In 2006 the site was sold to an investor group led by the Canadian businessman Peter Munk, and the first part of Porto Montenegro, a marina for superyachts, opened in 2009. Today it is a small waterfront town of residences, hotels, restaurants and boutiques.

The new resort towns

Across the bay, at Kumbor near Herceg Novi, Portonovi opened in 2021 with a marina and the One&Only Portonovi, the brand’s first resort in Europe. On the Luštica peninsula, Luštica Bay is a new town by the sea, with a marina and The Chedi Luštica Bay hotel, opened in 2018; much of it is still being built, and a golf course is planned for later in the decade.

On a summer evening in Tivat, the masts in the marina glow against the mountains, and the whole bay turns gold.

Sveti Stefan returns

Sveti Stefan, the 15th-century fishing village on an islet, has been a hotel since the 1950s. After a five-year closure, Aman Sveti Stefan reopened in 2026: Villa Miločer on the mainland in May and the island itself in July. Under the new agreement, two of the beaches nearby, Sveti Stefan beach and King’s Beach, are open to the public, while Queen’s Beach is kept for Aman guests.

Kotor and Perast

Inside the bay, the luxury is quieter: restored captains’ palaces in Perast and Dobrota, resort hotels on the water, and seafood on terraces facing the mountains. At the entrance to the bay, the 19th-century Austro-Hungarian fort on the islet of Mamula, which also served as an internment camp in the Second World War, has been restored as a hotel.

The wild south

South of Bar, the coast changes character. Ulcinj has an old town on a cliff and Velika Plaža, a sandy beach about 12 kilometres long, loved by kitesurfers. At the very end of the coast, Ada Bojana is a river island with a long sandy beach and fish restaurants built over the water.

Our advice: base yourself in the bay rather than on the busy Budva seafront if you want calm and views. Come in June or September, when the sea is warm and prices and crowds are lower than in July and August. Book beach beds at the best clubs ahead in high season, and take a boat for a day on the bay: it is the most beautiful way to see it.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The Montenegrin coast in style: the back story before you go.