Detailed overview of the city of Petrovac in Montenegro. I’ll tell you about accommodation, the best restaurants in Petrovac, the rating of beaches, as well as a list of the city’s must-see attractions. And most importantly, you will be able to understand whether to go to Petrovac on vacation or not. Most honest review.
Table of contents:
- Petrovac na moru: general points and a very brief history
- How to get there
- Apartments and hotels in Petrovac
- The best restaurants in Petrovac
- Beach holidays and beaches in the city of Petrovac
- What to see in the city and surroundings
It will be difficult for you to plan your dream trip to Montenegro without these websites
Petrovac na moru: general points and a very brief history
Petrovac (full name – Petrovac-na-moru) is located on the Adriatic coast and is part of the Budva Riviera. It is only 18 km to Budva along a beautiful road along the sea, and only 9 km to the most Instagrammable island of Montenegro, Sveti Stefan. You can even go there by boat.
You will find a map of the city’s attractions, beaches and the best restaurants later in the article, and now the most important:
- Petrovac city coordinates on the map: 42.205597747843406, 18.940805758035808
- Population: 3 thousand people according to the census. The city has grown a lot in recent years. It is certainly not as big as Budva or Bar. But Petrovac is no longer a small town that can be walked in 20 minutes from end to end, it takes about 40 minutes.
Important:
Due to its favorable location in the center of the coast of Montenegro, Petrovac is conveniently accessible from both airports in the country and from the capital Podgorica. As a result, there are a lot of tourists during the high season. There are many of them everywhere in Montenegro, but especially in Petrovac. Since, in addition, residents of Podgorica also come here for weekends and vacations.
A very brief history of the city. You can read more details on Wikipedia.
- Today it is still unclear when the city was founded.
- Petrovac was first mentioned in documents from the 12th century.
- But during excavations in the city, ancient buildings were discovered with Roman mosaics from the 3rd century BC on the floor. These mosaics can be viewed today.
- Therefore, it is considered that Petrovac was founded even before the Romans. At least there were already people living in settlements here. And this is the 3rd-4th century BC. Actually, all the ancient cities of the Montenegrin coast arose during this time period.
- The golden age began in the 15th century when the Venetian Republic took control of this coast. But by the 19th century, Petrovac was almost completely destroyed as a result of constant wars and military conflicts.
And today Petrovac na moru is not famous for the long list of medieval attractions like its neighbors such as Budva. There is no old town or iconic historical monuments that are well preserved. Only one Venetian fortress on the headland on the main beach.
How to get there
It’s very brief here. I won’t tell you how to get there by taxi or car, the roads are excellent, the distance in Montenegro is small. From both airports in Tivat and Podgorica – less than 45 km to Petrovac.
- Read about airport transfer and taxi in Montenegro at the link, find out the prices and where you can order. And in general, how to travel by taxi around the country.
How to get to Petrovac by bus? There are a few things to note here:
- There are no direct buses from both airports. In any case, you will need to go with a transfer, or even more than one.
- The bus network is well developed only on the road along the coast.
- There are no other roads along the coast. It goes from Tivat to the southernmost city of Ulcinj.
It’s important to know:
Any bus that runs on the routes: Bar – Budva, Ulcinj – Budva, Kotor – Bar, they all stop at Petrovac. There are no problems at all to get from Bar or Budva to Petrovac, buses run frequently. The only problem is getting there from airports.
The schedule during one season may change, always check the current one at the bus station.
Apartments and hotels in Petrovac
As I said, Petrovac has grown a lot over the past few years. And all this is only due to tourism. In the high season, there are 20 times more tourists here than local residents, most of whom rent apartments.
There are several large hotels in Petrovac, as well as smaller hotels, small condominiums and family apart-hotels. But most of all private apartments that are rented by locals.
- In the article on the link you will read everything you need to know about accommodation in Montenegro. What’s the difference between hotel and apartment hotel and so on. And most importantly, there will be accommodation features that may surprise or upset some a little.
Below you will find the dynamic rating of apartments and hotels in Petrovac. You can click on any option, read reviews, see photos and prices.
- See all options of accommodation in Petrovac and its surroundings here: booking.com
The best restaurants in Petrovac
A lot of tourists means a lot of cafes and restaurants. By the way, in Montenegro it has never been a problem to find a place to eat. There are a huge number of taverns, bars, restaurants and they are at every step.
In Montenegro most of the cafes and restaurants offer Montenegrin and Mediterranean cuisine. Often in one cafe the menu has dishes of both cuisines.
- Montenegrin cuisine: a lot of meat and fresh vegetables.
- Mediterranean cuisine: pizza, pasta, risotto, seafood
Below you will find some good restaurants and taverns in Petrovac that we liked, where large servings and affordable prices. Definitely cheaper than pictured above. All cafes will be marked on the sights map below in the article.
- Restaurant Fortuna
- Konoba Mediterraneo (Konoba is translated from Montenegrin as a tavern).
- Restaurant Ambassador. Here the prices are already slightly higher, but the restaurant is located almost at the Castello fortress with a gorgeous view.
- Konoba Katic. Excellent and inexpensive cafe, large servings, there are fresh oysters on the menu.
About oysters:
If you want to taste the freshest oysters on an oyster farm, then you need to go to the Bay of Kotor. There are about 10 oyster farms. I recommend Perast city. Two farms are located just 1 km from this town. A detailed overview of Perast: attractions, restaurants, accommodation in the article at the link.
Beach holidays and Petrovac beaches
And this is an interesting topic, everything is not so simple here. There are beaches in Petrovac. There are definitely more of them than in any resort of the Bay of Kotor. But all the beaches of the city are quite narrow.
In the high season in July and August, there are a lot of tourists here. Even locals come from Podgorica
Good to know:
Renting two sun loungers and an umbrella in August on the main Petrovac beach costs 15 euros per day. I even saw it once for 20 euros, and there were no free sun loungers. And the sun loungers are very close to each other. You can reach out with your hand to a person on a nearby sun lounger.
All beaches from this list will also be marked on the map below:
- Petrovac beach is the main beach of the city. Pebble. The length of the beach is only 500-600 meters. The width of the beach is 5-10 meters.
- Coordinates: 42.2054945203668, 18.94085505870643
- The beach is located in the bay, there are no winds and waves
- Depth starts 5 meters from the shore. Swimming is not comfortable for children.
About the beaches in Montenegro:
Almost all beaches in the country are free, and any tourist can relax on any beach. Entrepreneurs rent part of the beach, put sun loungers there and rent them to tourists. By law, there should always be a part of the beach where you can just relax on a towel. But in practice, the beaches are completely occupied with sun loungers very tightly, and there is not even free space for a towel. In Petrovac with a narrow beach, this problem becomes urgent.
- Perazica Do beach. Semi-wild semi-equipped beach 1.5 km north of Petrovac. You can get there either by car, or you can walk along the so-called “health path”, through a coniferous forest, rocks and pedestrian tunnels. I’ll tell you more about the trail below.
- Coordinates: 42.21040801698496, 18.925843152334956
- The length of the beach is 500 meters. Half is occupied by sunbeds. The second half is unequipped. In the far corner on the rocks there is a small nudist beach.
- In the article on the link you will find a list of nudist beaches in Montenegro.
- The beach is famous for the unfinished and abandoned hotel of 20 floors, the construction of which was stopped 15 years ago.
South of Petrovac there are two more great beaches in the villages of Lucice and Buljarica. In fact, these villages are already part of Petrovac.
- Lucice beach. This is a completely sandy beach, which is rare for this region of the Adriatic. The beach is quite small, only 200 meters long. Usually half of the beach is occupied by sun loungers, and the other half is for those who have towels.
- Coordinates: 42.20050952604672, 18.9508732
- The beach is shallow, with rocks and trees all around. No wind or waves.
- This beach is ideal for children. In fact, there are most of them here.
- Walk from the main beach of Petrovac 700 meters or 10-15 minutes.
- Buljarica beach in the village of Buljarica. If you look at the photo of the Lucice beach above, then on the left begins an equipped walking path to the Buljarica beach. 30 minutes through the coniferous forest and you are on the beach.
- Coordinates: 42.19152837109588, 18.967234479227567
- This is the second longest beach in the country – 2.5 km.
- The beach is partly pebbly, partly sandy, and in the southern part – large pebbles.
- The northern part of the beach closer to Petrovac is occupied by sun loungers. Renting sun loungers here is 8-10 euros, and not 15-20 as in Petrovac.
- The central and southern parts of the beach are wild. Tourists come to the center on motorhomes and park their campers right at the edge of the beach.
- The southern part of Buljarica beach is almost without people, there are very large pebbles and this is a nudist beach.
- From the center of Petrovac to Buljarica beach, walk along the equipped hiking trail along the seashore and rocks for about 45 minutes.
And here is one photo for you, so that you understand how many people are on the main Petrovac beach in August.
Attractions in and around Petrovac
Petrovac is a city for a beach and relaxing holiday. There are almost no sights here. And those 4-5 locations in the city interesting for tourists can be visited in two to three hours.
Map of attractions in Petrovac
Green marks – beaches
Purple – cafes and restaurants
Attractions are marked with dark red
So, the most interesting sights of Petrovac:
- Fortress Castello aka Castio Fortress. It can be seen from any point of the promenade and Petrovac beach. Quite small, but very Instagrammable. There is a small museum, a wine tavern, an observation deck, and even a cannon 🙂
- Coordinates: 42.205268275553955, 18.937113355015036
- Most of the fortress and the pier are free of charge and 24/7.
- Time to visit: 15-30 minutes.
Author rating:
Although the fortress is very small, it is well preserved and very different from the fortresses in other cities along the coast. When you are in Petrovac, you are unlikely to pass by it. It is the center of attraction for the entire tourist life of the city. By the way, the health trail to Perazica Do beach starts from here.
- Health trail to Perazica Do beach. This is a paved, illuminated footpath from the Castello fortress to the beach with an abandoned hotel. The whole way passes through a coniferous forest with beautiful sea views. There will be three pedestrian tunnels along the way.
- The coordinates of the beginning of the trail of health on Perazica Do: 42.20665, 18.93747
- Trail length: about 1.5 km
- Walk in one direction at a leisurely pace for 30-40 minutes
- The trail is free and available 24/7. You can walk even at night, there is lighting.
Author rating:
10 points out of 10. If you come to Petrovac, be sure to take a walk along the path of health at any time of the year.
- Another health trail from Lucica beach to Bulianica beach. The beginning of the trail is marked on the map. The trail is also paved and there is lighting, but there are no tunnels anymore. There are benches and seating areas.
- The coordinates of the beginning of the trail 42.19938959594116, 18.951499307697517
- I liked the previous trail better, the views are more beautiful there.
- But this path leads to a very long beach, where you can definitely find a place to sunbathe, especially in August.
- The path is free and open 24/7
Author rating:
8 points out of 10. If you are going to rest in Petrovac, then visit both. And if you come here for one day, then it’s better to go along the path to Perazica Do beach. Tourists also walk from Bulianitsa beach to Perazica Do beach along both trails and the Petrovac promenade. The distance of the route is only 6 km, it is easy for everyone to pass in 2 hours.
- Viewpoint Zvezda: 42.20187, 18.94564. Easy climb up the hill, beautiful sea views.
- Orthodox monastery Rezevici: 42.21504, 18.92412.
- Roman mosaics of the 3rd century BC: 42.208539039615175, 18.939701544569633. Located inside a small building, you can look at the mosaic through the glass. Opening hours are unclear. Everything looks abandoned. The attraction is free. 5 minutes per visit is enough.
- Another 9 km from Petrovac there is the island of Sveti Stefan – the symbol of Montenegro. The link to the review was at the top of the article. Skadar Lake National Park is 25 km away. There you can take a boat trip on one of the most famous lakes in the Balkans. Overview of this national park at the link.
And there are two more attractions that many will definitely like. Two uninhabited islands: Katic Island and Sveta Nedelja Island (Holy Sunday Island). Both islands are located next to each other, 1 km from the Petrovac beach. You can see them from any place in the city. The dimensions of each island are literally 70 by 70 meters and they are not actually islands, but reefs..
- Sveta Nedelja Island. There is a Sveta Nedelja church at the top of the cliff. It is always open, you can go ashore, climb the steep steps to the church.
- Sveta Nedelja Island coordinates: 42.19833, 18.93653
- Katic Island. There is a small lighthouse on the island. You can’t land on the island. But it’s easy to swim around.
- Katic Island coordinates: 42.19585, 18.93572
- You can rent a boat on the beach for 20-30 euros for 1 hour and you will be taken around the islands, landed on the Sveta Nedelja island.
- And you can rent a SUP or a kayak there on the beach and swim there on your own. Take it for 2 hours, that’s enough time for sure.
Author rating:
10 points out of 10. Definitely a cool place. And a boat trip, and a desert island, the views are gorgeous. I recommend to everyone. We swam in a kayak – we were simply delighted.
In conclusion: Petrovac is a very cool city in a very cool location. There is always good weather, little wind, calm sea and excellent beach holidays. There is something to see here, it is convenient to get to other sights and other cities of Montenegro. There is only one drawback: there are too many tourists in July-August, and the main beach is overcrowded. And very expensive sun lounger rentals. But in May and October it’s just fine here!
Resources to help you plan your dream trip to Montenegro
- Flights at the best prices with discounts
- Car rental in Montenegro (cheaper – only by bus):
- Discovery Cars – a large international resource
- LocalRent – work with local rental companies. Leader in car rental in Montenegro.
- Hotels and apartments all over the country: Booking
- Tours, excursions and activities (including extreme ones):
- Comprehensive travel insurance: EKTA
- eSIM virtual sim card with internet in Montenegro
- Taxi and transfers from Montenegro airports: Intui.Travel