07Bay entranceUnder Mount Orjen
Herceg Novi. City of stairs.
At the very mouth of the bay, the old town climbs out of the sea on stone stairways — past fortresses, palms and mimosa, up towards Mount Orjen. Arrive the way sailors always have: from the water.
Sun, stairs and fortresses
Up from the sea, one stair at a time.
Herceg Novi was founded in 1382 by the Bosnian king Tvrtko I, right at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor. The town grew straight up the slopes of Mount Orjen, so instead of streets it has stairways — and from almost every one of them you can see the sea.
Its fortresses tell who held the town over the centuries. Forte Mare guards it from the water; the Ottoman Kanli Kula — once a prison, today an open-air stage for about a thousand people — watches from the slope; Španjola on the hilltop is named after the Spanish, who held the town briefly in 1538. And the clock tower of 1667 is still the gate to the old town.
And the town is green. Its sailors brought home palms, agaves and eucalyptus from their voyages, and with some two hundred sunny days a year everything took root. Every February, while the rest of Europe waits for spring, Herceg Novi celebrates the mimosa.
- Forte Mare, the fortress on the water
- The clock tower (1667), the gate to the old town
- Belavista square and the church of St Michael
- Kanli Kula — once a prison, now an open-air stage
- Španjola on the hilltop — the view over the mouth of the bay
- founded by the Bosnian king Tvrtko I
- 1382
- sunny days a year
- ≈ 200
- the clock tower, gate to the old town
- 1667
- of promenade on the old railway line
- 6–7km
Getting there
From Tivat, across two bays.
Every trip starts on the Tivat promenade. The course crosses the Bay of Tivat, slips through the Kumbor Strait into the outer bay and follows its north shore — past Zelenika and the Savina monastery — to the old harbour right below the old town.
- TivatDeparture from the promenade 0 km
- Kumbor StraitInto the outer bay 8 km
- ZelenikaWhere the old narrow-gauge railway from Sarajevo ended 11 km
- SavinaAn Orthodox monastery among cypresses, above the shore 12 km
- Herceg NoviThe old town, above the harbour of Škver ≈ 14 km
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Tours that go there
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5 hprivate
BookYour route, your rhythm
Custom Tour
Five hours: across to Herceg Novi, an hour or two up the stairs of the old town, and back to Tivat along the bay.
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8 hprivate
BookYour route, your rhythm
Custom Tour
A whole day at the mouth of the bay: the stairs of Herceg Novi in the morning, a swim across the bay at Žanjice or the Blue Cave, and Mamula on the way home.
Herceg Novi isn’t on our fixed tours — it’s a Custom Tour stop. Tell Boris how long you’d like ashore.
On the spot
Up the stairs, then down to the sea.
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Climb to Španjola
From the harbour the stairways lead through the clock tower, over Belavista square and past Kanli Kula to the fortress on the hill — the higher you climb, the wider the view over the mouth of the bay.
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Walk the seaside promenade
The Pet Danica promenade runs for six or seven kilometres along the water, on the line of the old railway — beaches, cafés and the odd railway tunnel between Igalo and Meljine.
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Visit Savina monastery
East of the old town, among cypresses above the sea: an Orthodox monastery whose large church was built between 1777 and 1799. Cover your shoulders inside the church.
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Swim across the bay
Across the water, the coves of Luštica, Žanjice and the Blue Cave are close by — on a Custom Tour the day can end with a swim in clear water.
- Best light
- Late afternoon, when the low sun warms the stone of the old town and of Forte Mare. The stairs are coolest in the morning.
- Going ashore
- Herceg Novi is a Custom Tour stop: Boris docks in the old harbour of Škver, right below the old town, and waits while you explore — just tell him how long you’d like ashore.
- Sea & weather
- The Bay of Herceg Novi is the outermost of the four bays of Boka and opens onto the sea: on a windy day the crossing can be choppier than in the Bay of Tivat, so Boris picks the calmer hours.
- Entrance
- Walking the old town costs nothing; some fortresses charge a small entrance fee — bring a few euros in cash.
- Bring along
- Comfortable shoes for the stairs, water and a hat — the old town climbs steeply and there is little shade at midday.
Keep exploring
Just across the bay, the open sea.
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Blue Cave
Swim in the glowing blue water
A sea cave on the Luštica peninsula where sunlight comes up through the water and turns it electric blue. Swim right inside — when the sea is calm enough.
≈ 22 km from Tivat
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Mamula
Island fortress from 1853
A round fortress on a tiny island at the mouth of the bay, built in 1853 by the Austrian general Lazar Mamula. You pass it on the way to the Blue Cave.
≈ 17 km from Tivat
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Luštica
Hidden coves and clear water
A green peninsula of olive groves and quiet coves between the bay and the open sea. On a Custom Tour, Boris will find you a cove for a long swim.
≈ 18 km from Tivat
Sail into the city of stairs. Boris knows where to dock.
Open daily 09:00 – 23:00