If the Bay of Kotor has a single postcard image, it's this: a tiny man-made island floating off the shore of Perast, a blue-domed church rising straight from the water, backed by mountains. Perast itself is the bay's most graceful village — a car-free waterfront of baroque stone palaces and bell towers, so small you can walk it end to end in twenty minutes. Together they make one of Montenegro's easiest and loveliest half-days, an hour or less up the coast from Bečići. Here's how to do it. For the wider picture, see our best day trips guide.
At a glance
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| From Bečići | Roughly 45 min–1 hr by road (via Kotor) |
| Island boat | Around €5 per person, return, from the waterfront |
| Church & museum entry | Around €1–2 per person |
| Parking | About €8 per day, in lots at each end of the village |
| Blue Line bus | Kotor↔Perast, around €2–2.50, roughly hourly |
| Time needed | 1–2 hours (half a day with Kotor) |
In short: park or bus into car-free Perast, stroll the waterfront, and take the short boat out to Our Lady of the Rocks for the church and its little museum. It pairs naturally with Kotor, 12 km away, for a full day on the bay.
Perast: a village frozen in the baroque
Perast punches far above its size. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was a wealthy seafaring town under Venetian rule, and it spent that money on stone: palaces, churches and a single elegant waterfront that has barely changed since. There are no cars — you leave them at the edges and walk — and the whole village is essentially one long, photogenic promenade beneath the bell tower of St. Nicholas' Church — at around 55 m the tallest campanile on the Bay of Kotor (built 1691). You can climb it for about €1 in cash — roughly 150 steps — for a view over the red roofs and the two islands offshore; note it usually closes around 16:00.
It takes 15–20 minutes to walk end to end, so Perast isn't about ticking off sights — it's about a slow coffee with a bay view, the boat trip, and the light on the water. That's the point.
Our Lady of the Rocks
Just offshore sit two islands. The natural one, Sveti Đorđe (St. George), is a cypress-topped monastery island that's closed to visitors. The one you visit is its neighbour, Our Lady of the Rocks (Gospa od Škrpjela) — and it's man-made, built up over centuries on a reef by local sailors who, by tradition, dropped a stone here on returning safely from each voyage. That custom is still marked every year on 22 July in the Fašinada — listed since 2013 as Montenegrin intangible cultural heritage — when a flotilla of decorated boats circles the islet at sunset, laying fresh stones to shore it up.
On the island, a 17th-century church sits under a blue dome, its interior hung with silver votive plaques and a famous embroidered altar cloth; a small museum rounds out the visit. You need 20–30 minutes here, no more.
The boat out
Small boats shuttle across from the Perast waterfront:
- Price: around €5 per person for the return trip, bought directly from a boatman on the quay. Be aware that touts nearer the car parks sometimes quote €15–20 for the same short ride, and pre-booked tour boats charge more — so walk down to the waterfront and agree the price first.
- Timetable: there isn't a fixed one. Boats go when they fill, which in summer is more or less constantly, so you rarely wait long.
- Church/museum entry: a small fee of about €1–2 per person, paid on the island. The island generally opens daily from around 9:00.
Bring cash for both the boat and the entry — cards are rarely accepted on the quay or the island.
A little history that makes the visit click
Perast's grandeur makes more sense once you know its story. Under Venice, this was a town of sea captains and merchant fleets so respected that in 1698 Captain Marko Martinović opened what is often called the first maritime school in the Balkans here — and Tsar Peter the Great sent a group of young Russian noblemen (most accounts say seventeen) to learn navigation and seamanship under him, going out on real voyages across the Adriatic. That wealth bought the palaces you walk past and paid for the churches — and it's the same seafaring culture that created Our Lady of the Rocks offshore, an island literally built by sailors giving thanks for safe returns. Perast declined once the age of sail passed, which is precisely why it froze so beautifully in the baroque: there was never the money, or the reason, to modernise it. You're walking through a preserved 18th-century seafaring town, not a reconstruction.
Getting there from Bečići
Perast sits deeper into the Bay of Kotor than Kotor town, so you go via Kotor whichever way you travel.
| Option | Rough cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Self-drive / rental car | From ~€25/day + fuel + parking | Most flexible; drive to Perast (~45 min–1 hr from Bečići) and park at the village edge |
| Bus + Blue Line | A few euros each leg | Coach from Budva/Bečići to Kotor, then the local Blue Line bus Kotor↔Perast (around €2–2.50, roughly hourly) |
| Boat tour | Varies | Bay boat tours from Kotor or Budva include Our Lady of the Rocks — see our Bay of Kotor boat tour guide |
Parking
Because Perast is completely car-free, you park in the lots at either end of the village and walk in. Summer parking runs about €8 for the day; spaces fill fast at midday in peak season, so arrive earlier. See our getting here page for driving and car-hire basics.
The Blue Line bus
No car? The Blue Line local bus links Kotor and Perast, costs around €2–2.50 (have coins ready for the driver), and runs roughly once an hour. Take a coach from Budva or Bečići to Kotor first, then hop on the Blue Line for the last stretch along the bay — an easy, cheap way in.
Combine it with Kotor
Perast needs so little time that it's almost always paired with Kotor, the walled UNESCO city just 12 km (about 30 minutes) back down the bay. A classic full day does Kotor's old town and city walls in the morning, then loops on to Perast and the island boat in the afternoon — or the reverse. Our Kotor and Perast day trip lays out the whole itinerary, timings and costs; landmarks/kotor covers the city itself.
For a purely on-the-water version of the same sights, the Bay of Kotor boat tour reaches Our Lady of the Rocks and the Blue Cave by speedboat instead. The full menu of trips is on our day trips page.
Tips
- Go early. Perast is tiny and gets busy with day-trippers by late morning; earlier means easier parking and calmer photos.
- Agree the boat price on the quay. Around €5 return is standard from the waterfront boatmen; don't pay car-park touts €15–20.
- Carry cash for the boat, the church entry and parking — cards aren't much use for these.
- Don't rush it. An hour or two is plenty, but a coffee on the waterfront is half the pleasure.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the boat to Our Lady of the Rocks?
Around €5 per person for the return trip, bought directly from a boatman on the Perast waterfront. Touts nearer the car parks sometimes quote €15–20 for the same short ride, so walk down to the quay and agree the price first. Church and museum entry on the island is a small extra fee of about €1–2.
How do you get to Perast from Bečići without a car?
Take a coach from Budva or Bečići to Kotor, then the local Blue Line bus from Kotor to Perast — it costs around €2–2.50, runs roughly hourly, and hugs the bay shore. Alternatively, a Bay of Kotor boat tour from Kotor or Budva includes a stop at Our Lady of the Rocks.
Can you drive into Perast?
No — Perast is completely car-free. You park in the lots at either end of the village, which cost about €8 for the day in summer, and walk in; it's only a 15–20 minute stroll end to end. Spaces fill fast at midday in peak season, so arrive earlier in the morning.
How long do you need in Perast?
Not long — an hour or two covers it comfortably. Reckon on 15–20 minutes to walk the waterfront, 20–30 minutes on Our Lady of the Rocks including the boat and church, and time for a coffee with a bay view. That's why most people pair Perast with nearby Kotor to fill a full day.
What is Our Lady of the Rocks?
It's a man-made island off Perast, built up over centuries on a reef by local sailors who dropped a stone on returning safely from each voyage. It's crowned by a 17th-century blue-domed church and a small museum of votive offerings. The stone-dropping tradition is still marked each year on 22 July in the Fašinada, when a flotilla of boats circles the islet at sunset laying fresh stones.
