Five Hidden Beaches Between Petrovac and Bar Worth the Detour

The stretch most tourists skip

Between Petrovac na Moru and Bar lies a section of Montenegro’s coast that rarely appears in the headlines. The Budva Riviera to the north has monopolised the marketing attention; Bar itself is more famous as a ferry port than a coastal destination. The twenty kilometres between them contain some of the most interesting beaches on the Adriatic — less developed, less crowded, and in several cases accessible only by a short walk down an unmarked path.

These five beaches are not secret in any absolute sense. Montenegro’s coastal community knows all of them. But they don’t appear on the beach-ranking apps that drive tourist traffic, and that absence is your advantage.

1. Lučice

Lučice sits about three kilometres south of Petrovac, accessible either by a coastal hiking path from Petrovac (30–40 minutes on a decent trail) or by a narrow road that descends steeply from the main highway to a small parking area. The beach itself is a crescent of fine grey pebble backed by Mediterranean pine and stone, enclosed by limestone headlands on both sides.

What distinguishes Lučice is its scale and its calm. The beach is perhaps 150 metres long and the headlands provide significant shelter from the afternoon wind that affects the more exposed Petrovac bay. The water here is typically among the clearest on this section of coast — the combination of the enclosed bay and limited boat traffic keeps the visibility excellent.

Facilities are minimal: a seasonal beach bar operates from a stone structure at the north end, offering drinks and simple food through the summer months. There are no sunlounger rental operations. Bring your own towel and find your own stretch of pebble.

The coastal path from Petrovac that connects to Lučice continues south toward Reževići, making it possible to combine multiple beaches in a single morning walk. The path is well-maintained for most of its length but requires appropriate footwear — flip-flops are insufficient.

2. Drobni Pijesak

The name translates as “fine sand,” and the name is accurate — Drobni Pijesak is one of the few genuinely sandy beaches on this section of the coast, which is otherwise predominantly pebble.

The beach is small, perhaps 80 metres, and reached by a steep path down from the coastal road. There is no parking at the bottom; the only option is to pull off on the highway above and walk down. In high season, arrive early — the combination of sandy substrate and small size means Drobni Pijesak fills quickly on peak days, and the steep access path deters sunloungers and organised beach operations, keeping it pleasingly informal.

The water here is shallow for a good distance from shore, which makes it particularly well-suited for children who want to stand and splash rather than swim. Combined with the sandy bottom (unusual on this coast), it’s one of the better spots for families who want a lower-key alternative to the facilities of Petrovac’s main beach.

There are no facilities whatsoever at Drobni Pijesak. Bring everything you need.

3. Reževići

Reževići is slightly different from the other beaches on this list because it sits adjacent to a medieval monastery of the same name — the Monastery of Reževići, a Serbian Orthodox foundation dating to the thirteenth century, sits on the headland above the beach and is visible from the water.

The beach itself is pebble, medium-sized, and set in a bay that offers reasonable protection from open-sea swell. What makes it worth singling out is the combination of the monastic setting — the cypress trees on the headland, the old stone walls visible from the water — and the relative quiet that the slightly awkward access maintains. You reach it via a narrow road from the village of Reževići; in high season, the last few hundred metres may require parking and walking.

The monastery is open to visitors and worth the short climb from the beach if you’re interested in Balkan medieval architecture. The church interior retains some original fresco fragments. Dress appropriately: shoulders and knees covered.

A small seasonal konoba operates near the beach access and serves locally-caught fish at prices well below the Budva and Petrovac establishments. The grilled sea bass here was, on my last visit, excellent and approximately half the price of an equivalent plate in Budva Old Town.

4. Sutomore north beach

Sutomore is the town, and Sutomore’s main beach is neither hidden nor particularly remarkable — it’s a long, crowded strand that functions as a budget resort area popular with domestic tourists. What most visitors miss is the small beach on the north side of the rocky headland that separates Sutomore from the adjacent bay.

To reach it, walk along the main Sutomore beach to its northern end and then take the coastal path over the rocks for about five minutes. The beach on the other side holds perhaps fifty people comfortably, has calmer water than the main beach due to the headland’s shelter, and is almost never at capacity because the five-minute rocky walk eliminates the tourist traffic that piles onto the main strand.

The water quality on the north side is noticeably better than on the main Sutomore beach, which receives run-off from the town. The seabed is rock and coarse pebble — bring water shoes.

This is not a beautiful beach in the manner of Lučice or Reževići. It’s a functional escape from the overcrowding of the main beach, useful primarily in peak July and August when the main strand feels genuinely impossible.

5. Buljarica

Buljarica is the largest beach on this list and arguably the best, which is why it’s appearing increasingly on regional travel lists. It remains significantly quieter than Petrovac’s main beach because development behind it has been limited — the Buljarica wetland area, home to significant birdlife, sits immediately behind the beach and has constrained the hotel and apartment construction that would otherwise have changed its character.

The beach stretches nearly two kilometres of mixed sand and fine pebble. The south end is backed by the wetland reed beds; the north end connects to the access road and has the greater concentration of seasonal bars and sunlounger rental. The further south you walk, the quieter it becomes.

Combine the beaches with a Bar region food tour

Buljarica is well-suited to combining with a day in Bar. The beach is roughly equidistant between Bar and Petrovac, and a morning at Buljarica followed by an afternoon in Stari Bar makes for a day that covers both the coast and the inland heritage of this under-visited southern stretch.

The water at Buljarica is excellent — clear, with a gentle gradient suitable for uncertain swimmers. The wetland behind provides a soundtrack of birdsong that’s audible when the wind is off the sea, which is an unusual pleasure on a Montenegrin beach. Herons, egrets, and in migration season, a significant variety of wading birds use the wetland as a staging area.

A note on access and season

All five beaches on this list are at their best in June, September, and early October. July and August bring more visitors even to the quieter spots, and the coastal roads narrow significantly when both directions of traffic include vehicles stopped for parking.

See these waters from a snorkeling boat trip

If you’re based in Budva or Petrovac and want to explore this stretch, a boat-based approach — renting a small motorboat or joining a tour — gives you access to the most remote sections of beach that are difficult by land, and the perspective from the water shows you the coastline as a continuous geological formation rather than a series of disconnected access points.

The boat option also allows you to anchor in the small coves between the named beaches — there are several accessible only by water, which remain essentially private for the duration of your visit.

The broader point

This stretch of coast between Petrovac and Bar represents Montenegro’s tourism situation in miniature. The infrastructure of mass tourism — sunlounger monopolies, beach clubs, branded parasols extending to the waterline — hasn’t reached here yet. Whether it will depends partly on how quickly Montenegrin tourism develops its southern coast.

For now, the rewards go to travellers willing to do a little research, drive a few kilometres off the main resort strip, and walk down an unmarked path to a beach with no facilities and clear water. That transaction — small effort, significant return — is exactly what this corner of the Adriatic still offers.