Dubrovnik & Montenegro: 7 Days — Adriatic’s Crown Jewel with Kotor Bay & Perast

Tour Overview

Itinerary Highlights

Day 1-2: Dubrovnik

Explore the Pearl of the Adriatic: the city walls (2km circuit), Fort Lovrijenac, Rector’s Palace, Franciscan Monastery (third-oldest pharmacy in Europe), Stradun, cable car to Mount Srđ. The city’s beauty — the perfect harmony of stone, sea, and sky — inspired Lord Byron to call it “the pearl of the Adriatic.” Two nights in Dubrovnik’s Old Town or nearby.

Day 3: Dubrovnik to Kotor — The Bay That Defies Description

Cross the border into Montenegro (45 minutes). Drive around the Bay of Kotor — often called Europe’s southernmost fjord (it’s actually a submerged river canyon, but the fjord comparisons are earned). The bay’s serpentine shape, with mountains rising 1,000m directly from the water and medieval stone villages at every cove, is one of the Mediterranean’s most dramatic landscapes. Arrive Kotor (UNESCO). The Old Town is a maze of cobblestone alleys, piazzas, and Venetian palaces, backed by the 4.5km city walls that climb 1,350 steps to the Fortress of St. John. The climb is strenuous but rewards with the postcard view: the entire bay, the cruise ships below, and the mountains of the Dinaric Alps. Overnight in Kotor.

Day 4: Perast & Our Lady of the Rocks

Morning: boat to Our Lady of the Rocks (Gospa od Škrpjela) — a tiny artificial island in the bay, built over centuries by local sailors who dropped stones on a reef after each successful voyage. The Baroque church (1630) contains 68 oil paintings by Tripo Kokolja, a 17th-century Perast artist, and a collection of silver votive tablets left by grateful sailors. Continue to Perast — a perfectly preserved Baroque town with 16 churches and 17 Venetian palaces, once home to a famous maritime academy where Russian czars sent their admirals to study. Afternoon: drive up the serpentine road to Lovćen National Park (25 hairpin turns — one of the world’s most dramatic drives). At the summit (1,660m), the Njegoš Mausoleum — the tomb of Petar II Petrović Njegoš, Montenegro’s greatest poet and ruler. The view: all of Montenegro — the Bay of Kotor, the Adriatic, Lake Skadar, and the mountains of Albania and Croatia — is said to be the most beautiful in the Balkans. Return to Kotor. Overnight in Kotor.

Day 5: Budva & Sveti Stefan

Drive to Budva — Montenegro’s beach capital, with one of the oldest settlements on the Adriatic (2,500 years). The Old Town (Stari Grad) is a miniature Dubrovnik on a peninsula — narrow alleys, stone churches, and the Citadel with views of the Budva Riviera. Continue to Sveti Stefan — the iconic fortified island village connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway, now an ultra-luxury Aman resort. Photos from the viewpoint above the island, swim at the public beach adjacent. Afternoon: return to Kotor. Overnight in Kotor.

Day 6: Kotor to Dubrovnik — The Coast Road

Return to Dubrovnik via the Herceg Novi coast road — a spectacular drive along the bay and the Konavle region (Croatia’s southernmost region, known for vineyards, traditional embroidery, and the Sokol Grad fortress). Afternoon: optional Lokrum Island boat trip (10 minutes from Dubrovnik Old Harbor) — a nature reserve with peacocks, botanical gardens, a Benedictine monastery, and a small salt lake (the “Dead Sea” of Dubrovnik — dense saltwater for floating). Farewell dinner in Dubrovnik. Overnight in Dubrovnik.

Day 7: Departure

Transfer to Dubrovnik Airport. Two Adriatic countries, one extraordinary coastline, and the walls of Dubrovnik still standing guard in memory.

Included

• 6 nights 4-star hotels (Dubrovnik, Kotor)
• Daily breakfast + 3 dinners
• Private vehicle & driver throughout
• English-speaking guide for key excursions
• Entrance: Dubrovnik walls, Kotor walls, Njegoš Mausoleum, Lovćen NP
• Boat to Our Lady of the Rocks
• Airport transfers