Monte Bay Retreat

Monte Bay Retreat is a one-bedroom apartment in Perast, on Montenegro's coast, suited to couples or solo travellers — it sleeps two in a single bed, with one bathroom. The apartment sits 13km from Kotor and 36km from Budva, making it a quiet base for day trips along the Bay of Kotor, and Tivat Airport is 20km away for easy arrivals. Cavtat, across the border in Croatia, is 62km away. Free parking is available on the premises, which is useful in a small stone town like Perast. Inside, you'll find a flat-screen TV with satellite channels, and free wireless internet reaches throughout the property. Towels are provided. Shared facilities include a swimming pool open year-round, an on-site restaurant, and a bar. Guests consistently rate this property as the best value in Perast, reporting they get more for their money than at other accommodations in town.

About the area

The advantage of this corner of the bay is reach. Perast sits roughly halfway along the western shore, 13 kilometres from Kotor and about 20 from Tivat airport, which puts most of the country inside an easy morning's drive: Budva and its old town at 36 kilometres, Sveti Stefan a little beyond, the Lovćen road and the smoked ham of Njeguši above Kotor, Cetinje further inland. The Kamenari ferry shortcuts the bay in ten minutes for anyone heading north or west.

Staying put is usually the better idea. Perast has sixteen churches, seventeen palaces and no through traffic on its waterfront, and the two islets offshore — the built one with its church and votive silver, the cypress-covered natural one — are a five-minute boat ride from the quay. Swimming is off platforms into deep, clear water, and the town's kitchens handle the bay's mussels, fish and olive oil without ceremony. Days here tend to split neatly: something inland or along the coast in the morning, then back for a swim and a slow evening once the tour coaches have gone and the light drops behind St Elijah Hill.