Herceg Novi Tours: Boat Trips, Day Tours and Walking Tours

Which Herceg Novi tours are worth booking: the short answer

Choose by how much of the day you want to spend moving. A Bay of Kotor boat trip keeps you inside the bay and pairs Perast and the church island with Kotor, so it suits a single free day. A coach tour to Dubrovnik, Mostar, Ostrog or Lake Skadar covers far more ground but leaves less time at each stop, and cross-border trips add a passport check at the frontier. If you have two days, do the boat first and pick one coach day tour second rather than trying to squeeze in both.

Old-town walks are the third option, and the short version is that you should not assume a scheduled guided walk exists. GetYourGuide lists guided tours in Herceg Novi but the listing carries no titles, inclusions or prices, so treat any walk you find as something to confirm directly with the operator. Walking the walls and gates yourself costs nothing and needs no booking.

Boat tours from Herceg Novi into the Bay of Kotor

A bay boat trip normally strings together the water-level sights you cannot reach quickly by road: Perast's waterfront and the church island of Gospa od Škrpjela, usually called Our Lady of the Rocks, then Kotor. One traveller records paying €30 each for an all-day trip taking in Our Lady of the Rocks, Perast and Kotor, which is a useful anchor for budgeting even though it reflects what that person paid on that day rather than a market rate. Ask any operator which of those stops are landings and which are passes from the water.

Confirm the return leg before you board. Boats that drop passengers in Kotor and bring them back by coach are common, and the trip feels very different from a there-and-back sailing. Ask where the boat leaves from in Herceg Novi, since the town stretches along the shore and Šetalište Pet Danica runs roughly 7km from Meljine to Igalo, so a departure point at one end is a long walk from the other.

Day tours from Herceg Novi to Kotor, Budva and Perast

Short hops within the bay and along the coast are the cheapest excursions on the menu. Trend Travel, a local agency, publishes Budva and Tivat at €25 per person and a Kotor trip that includes the cable car at €25 per person, both of which suit a half-day rather than a full one. A Boka Kotorska excursion covering Perast is listed as price on request, so you have to ask at the desk rather than read a figure off the website.

If you want the bay without a coach, the boat trip is the better buy because it puts Perast and the island in one loop. If you want Kotor's old town with time on foot and the cable car above it, the coach version does that job. Either way, the pair of excursions above shows how little separates them on price, so decide on what you want to see rather than on cost. For more on the coastal stops themselves, see our Things to Do in Herceg Novi guide.

Day tours further afield: Dubrovnik, Mostar, Ostrog and Lake Skadar

Longer days are priced individually by Trend Travel. Cavtat and Dubrovnik together come in at €45 per person, Dubrovnik alone at €30, Mostar on request, the Ostrog monastery at €25 and Lake Skadar National Park at €55. The Trebinje excursion is €25, while Stari Bar and Ulcinj are priced on request. These are the operator's own published figures per person, so treat them as a starting point and confirm what the price includes. Two bigger packages bundle the country into a single outing: the Velika Montenegro tura at €55 per person and the Montenegro tura at €48. Both are long days, and the Ostrog trip involves a monastery, so dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered. Cross-border days to Dubrovnik, Mostar or Trebinje need your passport and a little patience at the border, and those checks are not built into the excursion price.

Walking tours of the old town, Forte Mare and Kanli Kula

No operator in the available listings advertises a fixed old-town walking tour with a set price, which matters if you were counting on joining one. What you can do instead is walk the town yourself using a map that marks the gates, squares and fortresses, starting at the Sea Gate and working up through the stepped streets. That route takes in the same fabric a guide would point out, at your own pace, and our Herceg Novi Map is a good place to plan it.

Two fortresses anchor any self-guided circuit. Forte Mare sits by the water and Kanli Kula higher up, and the climb between them is a set of stairs rather than a gentle slope, so wear shoes with grip. Allow a couple of hours to cover both with pauses, and longer if you stop for coffee on the way, which is half the point of the town.

Prices in euros: what operators publish

The clearest published prices come from Trend Travel and sit between €25 and €55 per person for most excursions. Budva and Tivat, the Kotor cable car, Ostrog and Trebinje are each €25; Dubrovnik alone is €30; Cavtat with Dubrovnik is €45; the Montenegro tura is €48; Lake Skadar and the Velika Montenegro tura are each €55. Tara rafting, at €85 per person, is the dearest listed. Boka Kotorska, Mostar, Stari Bar and Ulcinj, and the Mini Montenegro tour are all price on request.

For boat trips, the €30 all-day figure recorded by one traveller is the only bay price in these listings, and it should be read as one person's paid fare rather than a rate you can count on. Independent boat operators along the promenade set their own prices, and those change with the season and the number of passengers. Ask at the quay what the fare covers, including any island entry fee, before you hand over cash.

How to tell a boat trip from a coach day tour

The giveaway is the itinerary's shape. A boat trip stays low and close: you see Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks from the water, you land at Kotor, and you are back in Herceg Novi without crossing a border. A coach day tour climbs into the hills or heads for the frontier, and the driving becomes a large part of the day.

Time of year decides which is comfortable. Boats run when the weather allows, so a shoulder-season visit may leave you with coach options only, and summer crossings can be hot with little shade on deck. Coaches run year-round, which makes them the reliable choice in cooler months, but they mean early starts and fixed departure points. Check the sailing season with the operator before you build a day around a boat.

Picking an operator in the old town or by the bus station

Trend Travel runs two offices in Herceg Novi, which makes it easy to book on foot whichever end of town you are in. One is at Trg Hercega Stjepana 4 in the old town, the other on Ul. Orijenski bataljon 3, opposite the main bus station. The old-town office opens 08:00 to 20:00 in winter and 07:00 to 23:00 in summer, while the bus-station branch runs 07:00 to 21:00 in winter and 07:00 to 23:00 in summer, as the agency publishes.

What to check before you book: language, group size and pick-up

Ask three questions at the desk before you pay. First, what language the commentary and guiding will be in. Second, how many people are on the trip, since a minivan and a coach give very different days. Third, where you will be collected and at what hour, because Herceg Novi's hotels are spread along the shore and a pick-up across town can add a long walk to your morning.

Also confirm what the price excludes: meals, entrance fees, island landings and border charges are the usual extras. Get a written itinerary if the office can provide one, and keep the agency's phone number in case the pick-up runs late. For independent boat operators, agree the fare and the return time before boarding rather than after.

Which Herceg Novi tour should you book?

Book the bay boat trip if you have one clear day and want Perast, Our Lady of the Rocks and Kotor without a border crossing. Add a short coach excursion, such as the Kotor cable car or Budva and Tivat, if you have a second day and want to see the coast from the road. Save Dubrovnik, Mostar, Ostrog or Lake Skadar for a longer stay, when a full day out is worth the drive.

Whatever you choose, settle the practical details in person the day before: departure point, language, return time and what is included. Then use your remaining hours on foot around the mapped sights of the old town, which cost nothing and show you the town the tours only pass through. Our Things to Do in Herceg Novi guide covers more of the town for the rest of your stay.