Budva - Tourism

Tourism

Budva is the capital of Montenegrin tourism. With over 550,000 guests in the 2010 summer season, it is by far the most popular tourist destination in Montenegro.

Because of sandy beaches in and around Budva which strech for 11,310 m (37,106.30 ft) as well as its vast cultural heritage, architecture, and vibrant nightlife the city is increasingly turning into the most attractive tourist destination in Montenegro.

Budva's most famous beach is Mogren. Nestled in-between several large cliffs it can be reached by a 500 m (1,640.42 ft) pathway from Budva's Old town. Other beaches within official city boundaries include Ričardova glava (Richard's Head), Pizana, Slovenska plaža. Many other beaches are located just outside of Budva in smaller adjacent towns and villages such as Bečići, Jaz, Trsteno, Maestral, Miločer, Sveti Stefan, Pržno, Kamenovo, Ploče, Crvena Glavica, Drobni Pijesak, Kraljičina plaža, Kraljeva plaža.

Outside the old town, Budva does not offer many historical sights. Instead, much of the city consists of new age Mediterranean-style buildings, or private lowrise dwellings. During the turbulent 1990s, Budva grew and expanded without any form of urban planning, which resulted in parts of town featuring narrow streets and numerous cul-de-sacs. This is the reason of major traffic jams during the summer season.

In the close vicinity of Budva there are exclusive resorts such as town-hotel Sveti Stefan and Miločer, places frequented by various celebrities as well as local businessmen and politicians.

There are a few notable drawbacks in development of tourism in Budva. The biggest is inadequate infrastructure of the town. The most quoted problem in Budva, as in all of the Montenegrin coast, is a shortage of tap water. Scarse watersheds around Budva became completely inadequate for the growing town in the early 2000s, so taps in Budva become dry during daytime for most of the summer months. Recently, as the number of tourists at peak times reach 100,000 in Budva, electricity shortages also became commonplace.

The other serious problem is traffic and parking in and around Budva. As most of the beaches are located around Budva, tourists returning from beaches in the afternoon usually jam the roads along the coast, so the trip from Sveti Stefan to Budva, some 10 km (6.2 mi), takes around an hour.

Car parking is also a major problem. Increasing number of tourists are coming to Budva with their own car, so there is overwhelming demand for parking space around the town center. Sometimes one has to wait in line to get a space on a parking lot up to an hour.

Hotels are usually spared these problems, as they have privileges when it comes to water and electricity supply.