Things to Do in Budva: Old Town, Mogren Beach and Sveti Nikola

Budva is two towns wearing the same name. There is a 2,500-year-old walled town on a small peninsula, and there is the loudest resort strip in Montenegro wrapped around it. Most complaints about Budva come from people who booked one and got the other. Know which you want and it works.

The Old Town and the Citadel

The walled town sits on the peninsula and takes about twenty minutes to cross. Narrow lanes, three small churches on one square, and stone that has been rebuilt more than once — the town was badly damaged by earthquake in 1979 and carefully put back.

At the highest point is the Citadela, a compact fortress with ramparts, a small museum and the best view in town: red roofs on one side, the Adriatic and Sveti Nikola island on the other.

• Citadel entry: around €5.50
• Best at the end of the day — the light on the roofs and the sea is worth waiting for

Mogren beach — ten minutes on foot

The reason to stay in Budva rather than visit it. Mogren is a short cliff-path walk from the Old Town: two beaches joined through a natural gap in the rock, hemmed in by cliffs, and noticeably better than the beaches directly beside the town.

It is small, so it fills. Before 10am or after 5pm.

Sveti Nikola island

The long green island sitting off the front of Budva — locally nicknamed “Hawaii”. Boats leave the marina and Slovenska beach roughly every half hour in season.

• Return trip: around €6 per person
• Crossing: a few minutes
• The island is rocky and largely undeveloped, with a small church, and beaches that are quieter than anything on the mainland strip

It is the easiest way to get away from the crowd without leaving Budva.

Sveti Stefan — go and look at it

Fifteen minutes down the coast is the fortified islet of Sveti Stefan, the image on most Montenegro travel covers. Be clear about what the visit is: the island is a private resort and not generally open to the public. You are photographing it from the road above or from the beach beside the causeway, not walking through it.

It is still worth the trip. The viewpoint on the main road is one of the best in the country.

Nightlife

Budva has more of it than the rest of Montenegro combined — beach clubs, bars along the promenade, and open-air venues that run until dawn in July and August. This is the town’s reputation and it is earned.

If that is not what you came for, this is the single strongest argument for basing yourself in Kotor, Tivat or Herceg Novi instead and visiting Budva for the day.

A sensible two days

• Day one: Mogren early, Old Town in the afternoon, Citadel for sunset, dinner inside the walls
• Day two: boat to Sveti Nikola in the morning, drive to the Sveti Stefan viewpoint in the late afternoon

Practical

• Parking is the daily problem, not traffic. Use the paid lots rather than circling the Old Town.
• Sun loungers on the Budva Riviera run roughly €8–15 a pair in peak season — the most expensive stretch outside Sveti Stefan. See the beaches guide.
• Late August is exceptional: the Sea Dance Festival runs 28–31 August on Bečići beach next door. Accommodation for that week books out early.
• Getting there: 25–30 minutes from Tivat airport, about an hour from Podgorica. See getting around.
• Emergency: 112 from any phone, including foreign SIMs with no credit.

Prices change. Confirm before you go.