Five Day Trips, Two Ways to Do Them
Organised tours are easy — someone else drives, someone else plans. But you're on their schedule, in their bus, eating at their restaurant. We priced up five of the most popular day trips from Tivat both as a tour bus excursion and as a self-drive in a hire car.
The numbers tell a clear story.
1. Bay of Kotor Loop (Kotor + Perast + Risan)
- Tour bus: Tour bus: €45–€65 per person. Half-day group tour with 30 minutes in Perast, 90 minutes in Kotor. Lunch not included. No Risan stop. Fixed departure at 9am, return by 2pm.
- Rental car: Rental car: €20/day + €5 fuel + €4 parking = €29 total. Leave when you want, spend as long as you want in each village, take the Verige ferry, eat where locals eat. A couple pays €15 each — less than half the tour price.
2. Dubrovnik Day Trip
- Tour bus: Tour bus: €55–€85 per person. Full-day excursion. 3 hours in Dubrovnik old town. Lunch stop at a tour-partner restaurant. No flexibility to visit Cavtat or the cable car.
- Rental car: Rental car: €20/day + €10 fuel + €5 parking + €0 border (Green Card free) = €35 total. Stop at Cavtat, take the cable car, eat at a restaurant you choose, leave before the evening border queue. A couple pays €18 each.
3. Lovcen National Park & Cetinje
- Tour bus: Tour bus: €50–€70 per person. Coach tour via the serpentine road. 45 minutes at the Njegos Mausoleum, 60 minutes in Cetinje. Fixed lunch at a tourist restaurant.
- Rental car: Rental car: €20/day + €8 fuel + €2 park entry = €30 total. Drive the 25 hairpin bends at your own pace, stop at every viewpoint, spend the afternoon in Cetinje's museums. A couple pays €15 each.
4. Skadar Lake
- Tour bus: Tour bus: €55–€75 per person. Includes a boat ride (often a short 30-minute circuit). Wine tasting at a tour-selected vineyard. Fixed schedule — no time for swimming or walking.
- Rental car: Rental car: €20/day + €12 fuel + €4 entry + €15 boat (pay locally) = €51 total. Book your own boat for a full hour, pick your own vineyard, swim at Murici beach. A couple pays €26 each — and gets a better boat trip.
5. Sveti Stefan & Budva Riviera
- Tour bus: Tour bus: €35–€50 per person. Bus drops you at Budva and Sveti Stefan viewpoint. 2 hours total. No beach time, no Przno lunch, no flexibility.
- Rental car: Rental car: €20/day + €4 fuel + €5 parking = €29 total. Stop at Jaz Beach, lunch at Przno, afternoon at Sveti Stefan beach, golden hour at the viewpoint. A couple pays €15 each.
The Pattern
For solo travellers, a tour bus is simpler but more expensive. For two or more people, a rental car is cheaper on every single route — often by 50% or more.
But the real savings aren't in the price. They're in the experience. A hire car gives you three extra hours per trip that a tour bus spends loading, driving to hotels, and sitting in traffic. You eat at better restaurants, see more places, and leave when you're ready — not when the guide blows the whistle.
A week's hire car from TIV costs €140–€175. A week of daily tour bus trips costs €300–€500 per person. For a couple, the car pays for itself by lunchtime on day one.