Things to Do in Herceg Novi: Fortresses, the Promenade and the Blue Cave

Herceg Novi is the town of stairs. It is built on a slope at the mouth of the Bay of Kotor, and almost nothing in it is flat — which is why it stays calm in August while Budva and Kotor fill up. It is also the greenest town on the coast, and the closest to Croatia.

The old town and its fortresses

Small, layered and worn in a good way. Herceg Novi changed hands repeatedly — Bosnian, Ottoman, Venetian, Spanish, Austrian — and each left something standing.

• Forte Mare — the sea fortress at the bottom of the old town, right on the water. Open-air cinema and concerts run inside it in summer.
• Kanli Kula — the “bloody tower”, an Ottoman fortress above the town, now an open-air amphitheatre used for the summer programme. The view from the ramparts is the best in town.
• The Clock Tower (Sahat kula) — the old main gate, and the point everyone arranges to meet at.

The seafront promenade

The Pet Danica promenade runs several kilometres along the water, past small beaches, swimming platforms and cafés. It is flat — the one flat thing in Herceg Novi — and walking it end to end is the best way to see how the town sits on its slope.

Savina Monastery

An Orthodox monastery above the town, among cypresses, with frescoes and a view straight down the bay. It is quiet in a way the rest of the coast rarely is, and it takes half an hour.

Dress modestly — shoulders and knees covered.

The Blue Cave by boat

Boats leave Herceg Novi through the season for the Blue Cave (Plava špilja) on the Luštica peninsula, where sunlight comes through an underwater opening and turns the whole cave luminous blue.

Trips usually also stop at the abandoned submarine tunnels on Luštica and at Žanjic beach, and most allow swimming inside the cave. Go in the morning — the light is better and the boats are fewer.

Mimosa and the green town

Herceg Novi is known for its subtropical planting — mimosa, palms, agaves, eucalyptus — brought back by sailors and grown in the botanical collection above town. In February the town holds the Mimosa Festival, which is the one time of year it fills up.

What to know before you book

The stairs are not a joke. Getting from the coastal road up to the old town, or from an apartment to the promenade, can be several hundred steps. If you have heavy luggage or limited mobility, check exactly where the accommodation sits before booking.

It is at the far north end of the coast — good for Croatia and the bay, poor for Ulcinj and the sand.

Practical

• To Kotor: about 40 minutes if you take the Kamenari–Lepetane ferry, over an hour driving around the bay.
• Beaches here are platforms and pebble, not sand. For sand you want the far south — see the beaches guide.
• Croatia is a short drive; Dubrovnik is a feasible day trip, though the border can be slow in peak season.
• Emergency: 112 from any phone, including foreign SIM cards with no credit.

See also: where to stay in Montenegro, things to do in Kotor and day trips.