Sveti Nikola: Budva's Car-Free Island Escape
Sveti Nikola is Budva's car-free island paradise just 1 km offshore, offering quiet beaches, snorkelling, wild deer, and
0 accommodations available
Sveti Nikola is the largest island in Montenegro, a wooded ridge of rock about a kilometre off the Budva shore and in view from every terrace on the town's waterfront. It runs roughly two kilometres end to end, is uninhabited, and is covered in pine and Mediterranean scrub that comes down almost to the waterline. Budva locals have called it Hawaii for decades, and in July the nickname is not far off the mark: the boats run all day and the beaches fill.
0 accommodations in Sveti Nikola
No accommodation listed in Sveti Nikola yet. Check back soon!
Search thousands of hotels and apartments with live prices.
We may earn a commission from partner links. This helps us keep Montenegro.com free for travelers.
Search hotels, apartments and guest houses with live availability.
We may earn a commission from partner links. This helps us keep Montenegro.com free for travelers.
The largest island on the Montenegrin coast, lying about a kilometre off Budva. It is roughly two kilometres long, uninhabited apart from seasonal beach service, and covered in low pine and scrub. Locals call it Hawaii.
By taxi boat from Budva's old town quay or from Slovenska beach, a crossing of about ten minutes. Boats run continuously through the summer day; the last returns are in the early evening, and services stop outside the season.
Three pebble beaches on the landward side, with clear, deep water and far better visibility than the town beaches opposite. Sunbeds and a couple of bars operate in summer; the far side of the island is rocky and empty.
A nickname from the Yugoslav tourism years, when the island's beaches were marketed as an exotic escape from the mainland. The name stuck locally, and boatmen still use it rather than Sveti Nikola.
The ruins of a small church that gives the island its name, and a path across the interior through pine and maquis. It is a short walk, and it gets you away from the beach crowds within ten minutes.
Yes, for the water quality alone — it is noticeably clearer than Budva's own beaches. Go early or late in the day, take what you need, and treat it as a half-day rather than a full excursion.