Petrovac
Petrovačka plaža
A 600-metre crescent of reddish sand and fine shingle with a town promenade along its whole length and two chapel-topped islets offshore.
Our verdict
Petrovac is the family beach of the southern riviera: the sand really is red from the local rock, the water stays shallow and calm near the shore, and everything — cafés, gelato, restaurants, the bus terminus — sits on the promenade behind it. The Venetian Castello anchors the harbour end and the Katič and Sveta Nedjelja islets, now inside a protected marine area, give the bay its postcard. It is busy in July and August but it is a town, not a resort strip, and the better swimming at Lučice is a fifteen-minute walk over the headland.
Petrovac, in facts
The shore
Facilities
Access
Rules and character
Facts verified September 28, 2026 · Length: Budva Tourist Organisation (600 m, 9,525 m²); our city hub and 25-best list agree
Petrovac in pictures
Photographs and footage: Montenegro.com, CC BY 4.0
Map
Getting there
13 km
Budva
18 km
Bar
28 km
Kotor
Straight-line distances — Montenegro's roads are mountain roads, so the drive is longer.
- On the The Roman Road walkThe Roman Road
- By busBudva–Petrovac (Mediteran Express, roughly hourly 06:10–23:10, terminus in town)
- By carPetrovac is 20 km south of Budva on the coast road; leave the car at the edge of town and walk in — the seafront is a promenade
- 5 min on footflat — From the bus terminus or the car parks at the edge of town along the promenade
Water and awards
not confirmed
Calm and shallow near the shore; no dated official sample quoted in our guides — check the Morsko Dobro monitor
No award we can cite for this beach. Absence is information too.
Know before you swim
- Boats run in and out of the harbour under the Castello — keep to the buoyed bathing zone at that end
- The islets look close but are several hundred metres out across open water with boat traffic: do not swim to them
- The bay opens to the south-west, so a jugo sends swell straight onto the beach and the red shingle shifts underfoot
- Water-sports hire works from the beach in season — watch for the towing lane
Nearby beaches
Stay near Petrovac
All stays in Petrovac →
Questions
- Is Petrovac beach sandy?
- Reddish sand mixed with fine shingle — the Budva Tourist Organisation calls it a sand beach, our hub says sand and shingle. It is comfortable barefoot and the bottom near the shore is shallow.
- Can I swim to the islets?
- No. Katič and Sveta Nedjelja are several hundred metres offshore across open water used by boats. The protected marine area extends to the islets; see them from the Castello or on a boat trip from the harbour.
- How do I get to Lučice and Buljarica from here?
- On foot along the coastal path through the pines from the south-eastern end of the beach: Lučice is about 15 minutes, and the Roman Road walk continues over the next headland to Buljarica — around 8 km in all.
Sources
- Budva Tourist Organisation (budva.travel) — attraction 33 (Petrovačka plaža) and the public-transport page (Mediteran Express routes)
- montenegro.com — Petrovac city hub
- montenegro.com — “25 Best Beaches in Montenegro” (2026 list)
- OpenStreetMap — beach way 156809755