| Budva Будва |
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  Budva
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| Coordinates: 42°17′17″N 18°50′33″E / 42.28806°N 18.8425°E | |||
| Country |  Montenegro |
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| Settlements | 33 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Rajko Kuljača (DPS) (DPS - SDP) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 122 km2 (47.1 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2003 census) | |||
| - Total | 10,918 | ||
| - Density | 130/km2 (336.7/sq mi) | ||
| - Municipality | 15,909 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 86000 | ||
| Area code | +382 33 | ||
| ISO 3166-2 code | ME-05 | ||
| Car plates | BD | ||
| Website | www.budva.com | ||
Budva (Serbian: Будва, Budva; Italian: Budua, Greek Βοδοα, Vòdhoa) is a coastal town in Montenegro. It has around 15,000 inhabitants, and is a centre of Budva municipality. The coastal area around Budva, called the Budvanska rivijera, is the centre of Montenegro's tourism, and is well known for its sandy beaches, diverse nightlife, and beautiful examples of Mediterranean architecture.
Budva is 2,500 years old, which makes it one of the oldest settlements on the Adriatic sea coast.
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There is vast archaeological evidence that places Budva among the oldest urban settlements of the Adriatic coast. Substantial documentary evidence provides historical references dating back to the 5th century BC.
A legend recounts that Budva was founded by Cadmus the Phoenician, a hero exiled out of Thebes, Greece, finding a shelter in this place for himself and his wife Harmonia. Two other civilizations also left innumerable traces: the Greek and the Roman. Upon the fall of the Roman empire and its division into east and west, the defensive barrier which separated the two powers happened to run across this area, subsequently making a lasting impact on the history and culture of this town. In the Middle Ages, Budva was reigned by a succession of Doclean kings, Serbian and Zetan aristocrats.
The Venetians ruled the town for nearly 400 years, from 1420 to 1797. Budva, called Budua in those centuries, was part of the Venetian Republic region of The Bay of Kotor (Boka Kotorska) and was fortified by powerful Venetian walls against Ottoman conquests. According to the historian Luigi Paulucci in his book "Le Bocche di Cattaro nel 1810" (The Bay of Kotor in 1810), most of the population spoke the venetian language until the beginning of the nineteenth century,
In the very turbulent years that followed, Budva saw a change of several of its supreme rulers – Austria, France and Russia. A union of Boka Kotorska (and Budva) with Montenegro took place for a brief period (1813–1814), but from 1814 until 1918 Budva remained under Austrian Empire. After WWI, in 1918 Serbian army entered Budva abandoned by Austrian forces and it came under the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and was later annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1941.
During World War II many people of this area died in the fight against fascist invaders. Budva was finally liberated from Nazi rule on 22 November 1944 and, after belonging once again to Yugoslavia, is now part of the newly independent Montenegro.
A catastrophic earthquake struck Budva on 15 April 1979. Much of old town was devastated, but today there is little evidence of the catastrophe – almost all the buildings were restored to their original form.
Budva is the administrative centre of Budva municipality, which includes the neighbouring towns of Bečići and Petrovac, and has a population of 16,095 (2003 census)[1]. The town itself has 14,458.
2003 population Census[1] - 16,095 citizens:
The Old Town in Budva has many different tales and stories of its origin. Scholars and Historians believe it to be originally an island, which later joined the shore to form a sand isthmus. The Old Town, along with the city of Budva was said to have been discovered by a Greek sailor by the name of Boutoua. Eventually the Roman Empire took over the whole Montenegrin coast influencing it greatly.
Much of the architecture in the Old Town is of Venetian origin. Doors, hinges, windows, balconies and many other small but noticeable things seem to hold the Roman style of the Republic of Venice. There are also three main churches in the old town. The first is St. Ivan's which was built in the 7th century AD, second St. Mary's of Punta dating from 840 and the third, The Holy Trinity, which was built in 1804. The venetian walls of the Old town are a famous tourist attraction.
The Old Town is also famous for the earthquakes it suffered in 1979, where the whole town had to be rebuilt; it took 8 years (until 1987) for it to be completely finished.
Budva is the capital of Montenegrin tourism. With over 330,000 guests in the 2007 summer season, it is by far the most popular tourist destination in Montenegro.
Because of its 11,310 m (37,106.30 ft) of sandy beaches in and around Budva, and its vast cultural heritage, beautiful architecture, and vibrant nightlife, Budva is increasingly attracting foreign tourists. This makes it the most attractive tourist destination in Montenegro.
Due to its nightlife, Budva is popular among young people. They move in crowds from open-air clubs that are lined along the main promenade, and then to closed nightclubs around 01:00am, which are usually crowded until morning. Budva also boasts some of the highest prices of drinks and food in the region.
Budva's most famous beach is Mogren. Nestled in-between several large cliffs it is accessed by a 500 m (1,640.42 ft) pathway from Budva's Old town. Other beaches within official city limits include Ričardova glava (Richard's Head), Pizana, Slovenska (Slovenian Beach), Guvance. 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 and Kamenovo.
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 near vicinity of the town 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 Montenegrin coast, is shortage of tap water. Scarse watersheds around Budva became completely inadequate for growing town in the early 2000s, so taps in Budva become dry during daytime for most of the summer months. Recently, as number of tourists at peak times reach 100,000 in Budva, electricity shortages also became a 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.
Budva is connected to inland Montenegro by two-laned highways. There are two ways to reach Budva from Podgorica - either through Cetinje, or through the Sozina tunnel (opened 2005). Either way, Podgorica, the capital and main road junction in Montenegro, is around 60 km (37 mi) away.
Budva is connected to the rest of coastal towns of Montenegro by the Adriatic Highway, which extends from Ulcinj in the far south to Herceg Novi, and on to the Croatia.
Tivat Airport is 20 km (12 mi) away. There are regular flights to Belgrade and Zurich, and dozens of charter planes land daily on Tivat airport during the summer season.
Podgorica Airport is 65 km (40 mi) away, and it has regular flights to Belgrade and other European destinations throughout the year.
Budva has a typical Mediterranean climate, with warm summers and mild winters, and 230 sunny days in a year. Budva comes among the warmest Mediterranean towns with an average temperature of 8 °C (46 °F) in January and 27.9 °C (82.2 °F) in July. The average summertime temperature is 23.1 °C (73.6 °F) and 9.3 °C (48.7 °F) in the winter. The temperature of the sea reaches up to 24.7 °C (76.5 °F) in the summer months, while it keeps between 18 and 19 °C (
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- Invalid output type {4}="def", in {{Convert|18|and|19|def|...}}. ) in the autumn.
Budva is twinned with:
Novi Sad, Serbia Velika Plana, Serbia
Banská Bystrica, Slovakia (since 2001) [2]
Ohrid, Macedonia
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Budva is a coastal tourist resort in Montenegro. It is often called "Montenegrin Miami", because it is the most crowded and most popular tourist resort in Montenegro, with beaches and vibrant nightlife.
Budva [1] is on the central part of Montenegrin coast, called "Budvanska Rivijera". It has developed around a small peninsula, on which the old town is situated. It is by far most visited destination in Montenegro, attracting mostly domestic, Russian, Serbian and other Eastern European tourists with an old town, bars and nightclubs, and beaches mostly consisting of small rocks. It is base for mass tourism, while in it's near vicinity there are luxury resorts such as Sveti Stefan or Miločer.
There are as many as 35 beaches in the greater area, mostly rock and a little sand (8 beaches are marked with blue flags).
During the summer in particular, the day and night-life offers opportunities to enjoy theatre plays and performances, music events and entertainment programs.
Many nightclubs use half prostitutes to attract customers, and families might be offended by the open display of almost naked girls in the street. There is mainly one street, the main promenade, where all the action happens.
Budva appears to be undergoing poorly planned, unchecked growth with towering unattractive apartment buildings and hotels being built wherever there is open space - which unfortunately includes building directly on the seaside. As of the summer of 2009, the most notable of such developments includes a multi-storey building under construction directly outside the walls of old town that blocks what was once a stunning view of the beach, sea and sky from the stone paved area around old town, and greatly detracts from the beauty of the old town area.
Many tourists may find Budva disappointing and cheesy because of the over-crowded beaches filled with chairs, umbrellas and constantly thumping house music, the carnival atmosphere, the litter on the streets, beaches and inside of old town, and the excessively high prices in relation to quality for accommodation, drinks, food and taxi service.
Tivat Airport [2] is 8km away. The following airlines operate to/from Tivat Airport: Air Moldova (Chiṣinǎu, seasonal), Jat Airways (Belgrade), KrasAir (Moscow-Domodedovo), Montenegro Airlines (Belgrade, Copenhagen, London-Gatwick, Moscow-Domodedovo, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Pristina, Rome-Fiumicino, Skopje, St Petersburg), Moskovia Airlines (Moscow-Domodedovo) Rossiya (St Petersburg), S7 Airlines (Moscow-Domodedovo), Transaero Airlines (Moscow-Domodedovo)
Podgorica airport [3] is 65km away, and has flights throughout the year to Belgrade, Budapest, Zurich, Frankfurt, Ljubljana, Paris, Rome, Vienna and as of October 2008, London- Gatwick. Buses run between Podgorica and Budva year round. Taxis run €50 to €100. (Fix a price beforehand, do not just accept the meter!)
Dubrovnik airport [4](DBV) in Croatia is around 80km away from Budva, and maintains flights to many European destinations throughout the year, providing a good alternative to the Montenegrin airports.
Budva is very well connected by bus with cities within Montenegro and major cities in neighboring countries. Buses are usually on schedule though the schedules vary from season to season, with more buses running during the summer. There is no good online source for the frequently changing schedules so it's best to call the bus station directly at +382 33 456 000.
The bus station is a 20 minute walk, or €5 taxi ride, from the old town.
Buses to Sarajevo run daily at 8:10 (Balkan Express minibus) and the journey takes about 7 hours, stopping at Podgorica and other cities. €16.5 one-way.
Buses to Herceg Novi (and vice-versa) run daily approximately every 30 minutes. The journey takes 1.5 hours and costs around €6 one-way.
Buses to Dubrovnik continuing to Split runs 3 times a week. There are daily buses during the summer in the morning (check current bus schedule for accurate time) which can get full quickly so arrive early to get a ticket. The journey takes around 3 hours. There is a spectacular view from the bus during this route.
In the summer, Olimpia Express [5] run reasonably priced shuttle buses from just outside old town to Jaz beach (every 2-3 hours ), Petrovac (every 2 hours), and Sveti Stefan (every 30 minutes or less for 1.50€):
You can also get into Inter-City-Busses,for example Igalo-Bar etc.
If you came to Budva with your own car, use it inside the city only when you have to. Traffic is terribly congested during the summer, and parking space around the old town is almost impossible to find, and very expensive when you do.
A little tourist "train" operates between Budva and nearby Bečići through the main Budva promenade.
Taxis are abundant in Budva, but are not cheap - a ride anywhere within Budva will cost you around €5 - and prices vary depending on which taxi company you happen to get. Try to choose a taxi that has a rate card displayed and a meter visible on the dash - and then watch to insure the meter is set appropriately when starting - to avoid getting ripped off.
There are many tourist boats that dock in Budva harbor which offer rides to nearby beaches, Sv. Nikola island, or one-day trips to various destinations on Montenegrin coast, but these are also expensive. Unlike other seaside cities, there are no €1 water taxis here.
Old town is packed primarily with boutiques selling very expensive shoes and clothing, but beware of counterfeited variants of world famous brands.
The main Budva promenade has a long string of stands with very cheap - in quality, not always in price - clothing, sunglasses, souvenirs, etc.
Friendly service in Budva shops is not the norm. Service people usually do not smile or make eye contact and are often brusque.
There is a wide choice of places to eat at in Budva. In old town you will find almost anything: from pizza-places, bakeries to seafood and Chinese restaurants. Across the harbor, at the very coast, there are some premium fresh seafood restaurants, notably "Jadran" and "Donna".
Along the entire promenade there are many fast food places, offering barbecue, giros, pancakes, slices of pizza, icecream...with affordable prices. A McDonalds seasonal restaurant is open on the promenade during the summer.
Budva is full of cafes, bars and nightclubs. During the high season it is hard to find a place to sit. Espresso will cost from €1 to €1.50. Coke and other soft drinks and juices will cost from €1.50 up to €3.50. Local beer costs an average of €2.50 and mixed drinks can go from €7 and up.
There are a variety of bars and clubs to go out in Budva. There are many outdoor bars and cafes just located outside the walls outside of Stari Grad. Most play loud club style music.
Bars are allowed to play music until 1AM, when the crowds move to some of the nightclubs.
Always ask for a bill, as they must provide it by law. If you don't - it's likely that they'll overcharge your drinks, especially if they see you are a foreigner!
Accommodation in Budva is abundant, and varies from renting a room for €10 to handsomely priced five-star hotels.
There are big differences in prices of accommodation - not only between types of accommodation but for same accommodation during different times of the year. For example, a hostel-like room that rents for €7 per person/per night during the off-season can rent for €20 and up per person/per night during July and August.
There are 84, mostly three- and four-star hotels (capacity of over 13,000 beds), about 100 private villas and bed and breakfast inns and private accommodation (60,000 beds) of various options.
During the summer it is easy just to come to the bus station and find local people offering rooms. Be aware, though, that there is a problem with water in Budva, and you should confirm that the accommodation you choose insures the availability of water.
The prices range from €7 to €15 for a person/night/private room, with the cheaper rooms requiring a shared bathroom and/or kitchen.
Within Stari Grad, the old city, you can find wi-fi internet access at The Prince English Pub.
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