Tivat Boat Trips: Routes, Duration and Prices

What a boat trip from Tivat covers

Most trips work round the same short list of stops: the church island of Our Lady of the Rocks, the Blue Cave, a panorama past Mamula and one of the old submarine tunnels. Operators combine them differently rather than inventing new destinations, so the choice is really about how many stops fit into the hours you have.

Our Lady of the Rocks sits off Perast and the Blue Cave lies further out towards the open bay, so a trip taking in both spends much of its time travelling. The Sea Tours route from Tivat reaches the island in about fifteen minutes, which leaves time for the cave, Mamula and a tunnel on a three-hour outing.

Mamula features as a photo stop rather than a landing, and the tunnel visits are a short pause rather than a tour in their own right. If you want to swim, the Blue Cave stop is the one to plan around, but conditions decide whether you go in at the cave or just outside it, so treat the swim as weather-dependent.

Departure point: Pine Dock at Porto Montenegro

The shared three-hour tour meets at Pine Dock in Porto Montenegro, with the exact meeting details sent after booking. That places the boat inside the marina development rather than on the town quay, so allow time to walk there before your slot.

Private charters work differently: Sea Tours collects from any point you choose in Tivat Bay, and the shared tour operator offers pick-up within the Tivat area on private bookings only. If you are staying outside the bay, ask about the cost of an out-of-area pickup before booking rather than assuming it is included.

If you are building the rest of the day around the boat, our guide to Porto Montenegro explains how the marina village is laid out and how to time a walk there before or after a sailing.

Short trips: Our Lady of the Rocks and Perast in 1h 30m

The shortest private charter runs 1h 30m from Tivat to Our Lady of the Rocks and Perast old town for 150€ per boat. The ride passes the Boka villages, giving a view of old houses, churches and the mountains around the bay. It suits travellers who want the island without committing half a day to the water.

On the shared tour the island stop gets around twenty minutes of free time to see the church and the small museum inside it, which is enough for a look round and photographs but not a long Perast wander. Guests who would rather skip the island can be dropped in Perast instead.

The church and museum inside are worth more than a glance if religious history interests you, and our page on the museums in Tivat covers what else is worth seeing on land.

The 3-hour Blue Cave circuit

The three-hour route runs Tivat to Our Lady of the Rocks, the Blue Cave, a Mamula panorama and the old submarine tunnels before returning. Sea Tours prices this private charter at 300€ for the boat, and the island stop is twenty minutes with the church and museum charging separately.

Booked as a shared group tour, the same circuit starts from 50€ per person, with the island entry of 5€ excluded from that fare. The group tour departs once a day at 15:00, which makes it an afternoon outing rather than a morning one.

That gap matters: a private boat is better value the more people split it, while the shared tour keeps the per-head cost low for solo travellers and couples. Run the numbers for your party before committing to either.

Longer options: beach time and sunset cruises

Adding beach time stretches the same circuit to four hours, with the island, cave, Mamula and tunnels still on the route. The extra hour buys swimming and shore time rather than new stops, so choose it if the boat ride itself is the point of the day. A two-hour sunset tour is available from a pickup point of your choice, and the operator also offers a boat by the hour for a route you set yourself. Confirm what the hourly rate includes before booking, since the route and duration are yours to agree.

Marina and island-hopping trips

A two-hour run linking Porto Montenegro with Our Lady of the Rocks and the island of Lady of Mercy, charged per boat, works as an introduction to the marina as much as to the bay. If shopping is on your list, our guide to shopping in Tivat pairs well with a stop at the marina village. A separate 1h 30m swimming trip heads to St Marko for forty minutes in the water, then to Lady of Mercy, which was settled by priests in the second half of the fifteenth century. That outing is the better pick for confident swimmers who want time in the sea.

The oyster farm stop near Ljuta

The Shells of Boka tour adds a working shellfish farm to the island run, on a two-hour route. The farm sits near permanent freshwater springs and around 100 metres from the Ljuta river, and the trip includes the island and a meal in the traditional Montenegrin style. It is the one route that turns a boat trip into a food stop.

Submarine tunnels on their own

A one-hour trip from Tivat to the submarine tunnels is made by boat. Built by the Yugoslav Army during the Second World War, the tunnels are dead ends, so you can swim in and back but not through. Bring a torch, because it goes dark towards the end, and note that the main tunnel runs roughly 100 metres with a depth of about ten metres.

Around the tunnels you can also see abandoned Yugoslav Navy ships, and the operator notes that you can walk alongside the tunnels and explore on your own. If you would rather stay dry, that walking option means the trip is not only for swimmers.

Paying for Our Lady of the Rocks

The island entry of 5€ is charged separately and is not included in the shared tour price, so add it to whatever you pay for the boat. On the Sea Tours charters, visiting the church and museum carries its own additional fee. Carry cash for it rather than assuming it goes on the tour bill. That small extra is easy to overlook when you compare a 50€ seat with a 150€ charter. For a family or a group of friends, the per-boat price spreads across everyone, so the island fee is the only add-on to budget for beyond drinks and food, which the shared tour excludes.

Shared boat or private charter

Shared tours keep group sizes deliberately small, which makes them a reasonable middle ground between a big excursion boat and a full charter. You get a skipper-guide and safety equipment, but you follow a fixed route and a fixed departure, while private charters let you set the pickup point, the pace and the stops.

Shared boats are not suitable for wheelchair users or people with mobility issues, so a private charter may be the only practical option if anyone in your party needs help boarding. Ask the operator directly about access before you book.

For an overview of the operators running from the Tivat area, the TripAdvisor boat rides and day cruises listing is a place to compare reviews before you commit.

What to bring and who the trips do not suit

Bring a swimsuit and towel, a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, plus a light windbreaker in the shoulder season when the boat is moving. The cave swim happens only when conditions allow, so a change of clothes and a dry bag are sensible rather than optimistic.

The shared tour can be cancelled for a full refund up to 24 hours before departure, which gives you room to move the booking if the weather turns. Check the cancellation terms on your own booking, because they sit with the operator.

If you drive to the marina, sort out where the car goes before you arrive; our guide to Tivat parking covers the options around the waterfront and the marina.

Which Tivat boat trip should you book?

Book the 1h 30m island run if you have a morning spare and want Our Lady of the Rocks without a long day on the water. Take the three-hour Blue Cave circuit if you want the full set of stops, choosing the shared tour at 50€ per person for a couple and a private charter at 300€ for a group of four or more. Add the 5€ island entry to whichever fare you choose, confirm the pickup point if you are outside Tivat Bay, and check the departure time on your booking rather than relying on the shared tour's 15:00 slot. That done, the rest of the day is yours to spend on the promenade or around the marina.