Having just recently separated from Serbia and declared their independence, Montenegro is still "Under Construction".  Most of the ports are still cluttered with the remnants of old military bases, and we felt the economy is still getting used to the idea of the free market. The customs and immigration procedures are a little backward (and sometimes a little difficult), and they really haven't picked up the concept of tourism = good for business.  The general prices are tolerably less than Croatia (which has really become very expensive), but there aren't many chandleries and the markets don't carry a wide variety of items. All-in-all its a good choice for a stop-over.

Kotor is one of the biggest highlights in the Bay of Kotor.  With a great well-protected anchorage right off the town center, it makes a great sailing destination.  We spent three days anchored just off the beach, with an easy dingy ride to the town quay located right in front of the main gate into the walled old town.

Most of Kotor is a very old walled city with narrow streets, ancient churches and town squares inspired by the Venetians hundreds of years ago.  It's not a large city, but a very nice way to spend the day wondering around the narrow streets, eating at one of the picturesque restaurants and having a drink at one of the many cafe's and bars around town. 

It's important to mention that Kotor is also an official customs and check-in point when entering and exiting Montenegro.  It is a very easy (and probably the most convenient) place to dock while taking care of the formalities. We highly recommend the anchorage over the town quay/marina.  Although, not overly expensive, it is located at the very end of the open bay, hosting a stagnant brackish wash. The ferries (and small cruise ships) dock less than 200m away...not the best place for a relaxing night, and swimming is out of the question.

Checking out of Budva was probably our only bad experience in Montenegro (which was more inconvenience than anything else).  Budva is a fairly popular tourist destination, and the beaches and nightlife are very active.  We decided to anchor just off the beach for the evening, and check out of the customs office on the town quay in the morning.

In large part, the anchorage at Budva has been taken over by mooring buoys, but there is plenty of room for anchoring in several places.  We dropped anchor and settled in for a nice afternoon just off the beach.  However, just around 7:30pm, the marina marinara starts hassling a few boaters (us among them) telling us all to move because we are too close to the marina and impeding traffic.  Being about 300 meters from the marina, and safely between two moored boats (about 60m to either side), I proceeded to politely ask him how we could possibly be in a traffic lane?  Well, apparently he gets flack for doing this from other boaters all the time, because he was already worked up (probably from getting yelled at just a few minutes earlier)...he said move or go into the marina (at €102/night) or he will call the police! I asked him how far he would like us to move, and he said just go away...very rude! I asked for his name, but he refused and sped away saying he was going to get the police (of course, none showed up).

Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence.  This is the only bay in Montenegro where we encountered this problem, but we found this similar scenario in a few places in Croatia as well, primarily where there is a marina close by.  We surmise that the marina sends there marinara's out to harass yachts in the attempt to get them to come into the marina (or simply discourage anchoring in favor of the marina altogether).  We found that in Croatia, anytime the bay was adjacent with an ACI marina (the local monopoly), that they would charge for anchoring, which was rare anywhere else. It's a troubling trend, when you pay to sail in a country AND you are constantly harassed for exorbitant "anchoring taxes" in well marked anchorages (usually just before it gets dark).  We have also started to find more and more occurrences of "local agents" taking over and running town quays (usually pushing out smaller sailing yachts in favor of large cruising yachts).

All-in-all, I would recommend skipping Budva altogether in favor of the nicer parts of Montenegro and the Bay of Kotor. Checking in\out is easier, and the people seem to be much nicer!

If your looking for a great excursion to a small town where many of the locals in the area come to hang out, then Tivat is the place. Also a popular vacation spot most of the year (conveniently located about 10 miles form the international airport), it's a great place to vacation.  We didn't expect much for the little town, but ended up staying a couple days longer than planned, and really enjoyed it!

Also located about 6 miles inside the Bay of Kotor, the small town of Tivat is the host to some really great beaches, a couple nightclubs and a few nice restaurants along a great oceanside walk that is the gathering point for the community every night around dinner.

We found that one of the nicest highlights of the small tourist town was a great new marina. Porto Montenegro is a great start to what is sure to be the biggest marina in Montenegro, and one of the largest in the Mediterranean.

Currently, with only 85 standard births (and a dozen for very large yachts), Porto Montenegro is well on it's way to its 700 berth target.  It is by far, one of the cleanest and well organized under construction marinas we have ever visited (and rivals most completed marinas by far!).

The marina is currently free (until March 2010), with complementary WiFi and all the regular accommodations (Water, Power, Restrooms, Showers, etc.) I highly recommend stopping by for a few days, taking in the small town, and experiencing the local nightlife!