Does the above picture look like hell on earth to you?

If your answer is an easy ‘yes’, you’ve come to the perfect place.

To many, the epitome of summer means heading to a beach that has become nearly invisible due to the infestation of tourists that span its seas and shores like some sort of patchwork quilt.

It’s a tricky thing to understand. Although I’ve come to the conclusion over recent times that humans are, generally speaking, quite difficult to comprehend as a whole.

But enough of my ramblings about how beach preferences are emblematic of deeply-entrenched societal dilemmas.

You find yourself in the beautiful coastal city of Budva. And although Montenegro as a whole remains under the radar for most tourists, there’s no doubt that its most popular beaches resemble the one above in peak season.

Which is why I’m going to give you a list of quiet beaches where you can escape the crowds near Budva.

Why escape the main beaches?

Most Montenegro itineraries (not mine, though, naturally) will have you visiting the same couple of beaches.

Mogren Beach is the famous beach a short walk away from the old town in Budva. It’s the perfect example for the type of beach we’re not looking for here.

$30/day rental chairs, overlapping towels, having to play hopscotch between the few spare square centimeters of sand to make your away along the beach.

Incidentally, it does happen to be a naturally stunning beach. There’s a reason why it’s so popular. But stay tuned, and I’ll mention a nearby spot that’s even better (and quiet!).

There’s no need to deal with this when there’s plenty of unmarked territory along Montenegro’s coast.

So let’s get into it.

The best quiet beaches near Budva

Before I even get into the beaches, I need to mention a pattern that you’ll see throughout this list.

The best quiet beaches near Budva all have something in common: you’ve got to put some work in to get there.

Even a short 10-15 minute hike will create just enough of a barrier to keep most sunburned tourists glued to their beach chairs back in Budva.

Hiking can be tough in the heat of summer, but just keep in mind the cool, peaceful waters ahead and you’ll power through it.

Skočidjevojská zátoka (Skočidjevojka Bay)

Our list starts off with quite the mouthful.

Skočidjevojka Bay is located (as are most of the beaches on this list) south of Budva.

It’s between Sveti Stefan and the town of Petrovac, and takes about 20 minutes to drive to.

Note: Plug in the exact spot I have above into Google Maps. It will bring you directly to a spot where you can park.

Once you’ve parked, you’ll see a small path starting from the left-hand side of the road (a little behind you) that looks like it’s heading to a little house.

You make a right turn and eventually you should reach a long staircase that goes down for around 10 minutes or so to the beach.

The beach is absolutely gorgeous, with the clearest turquoise waters and small multi-colored rocks forming the shore.

Odds are you’ll be alone, or perhaps accompanied by an old couple who take issue at the slightest amount of noise as we were.

Not to mention, you get a free killer workout on the way back up those stairs.

Kraljičina Plaža (Queen’s Beach)

This one’s a bit more of a trip, taking around 40 minutes to drive to from Budva.

Queen’s Beach isn’t exactly a secret, which is why I was surprised to find it as quiet as it was.

If you ask about it in the nearby town of Čanj, odds are you’ll be told that the beach is only accessible by boat, which is operated down over there by ‘my friend’, for ‘only 10 euro’.

Codswallop.

There’s a perfectly good hiking trail that takes around 25 minutes.

Note: This is the closest spot I could mark on the map. You’re going to want to walk up the road past the marker and make a right turn up a short steep road to a parking lot. The trail entry will be on your right.

The hike isn’t particularly challenging, and gives some magnificent views as you get closer to the beach.

If you want the beach to be truly quiet, you’ll have to come either earlier or later in the day.

The beach is gorgeous- my favorite part were the small red, green, and golden rocks that make up the shore. The only problem here that bothered me was the amount of garbage in some areas of the beach.

Zagorski Pijesak Beach

Zagorski Pijesak Beach is the only beach on this list to the north of Budva, about a 25 minute drive or so.

I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures- if you want to see how stunning this spot is, there are plenty on Google reviews.

As per the theme, you need to hike around 20 minutes to reach it. It’s decently steep, so make sure you’re in good physical shape.

The beach is really magnificent and has a wild feel to it.

Sveti Stefan Beach (Shockingly!)

It might be pushing it to call this one ‘quiet’, but it was way emptier than I imagined and with the incredible resort as a backdrop, I couldn’t leave it off the list.

It’s under 20 minutes away from Budva, and there’s no hike for this one.

However, you often have to wait for parking, which costs €4 per hour (which likely has something to do with the smaller-than-expected crowds). You can probably also park further away and walk down, but we were lazy so I couldn’t tell you.

If you do decide to pay for parking, do keep track of the time. Or else learn the hard way that staying for 4 hours and 30 seconds costs the exact same price as 5 hours.

Even at midday, there was plenty of space to throw down a towel and go for a swim. Although similarly to Queen’s Beach, you’ll find it emptiest early and late in the day.

Don’t forget to take a walk down to the island. The resort is currently closed, but you can still get quite close.

Blue Lagune off Mogren Beach

I alluded to this one earlier.

So this one’s not really a beach.

You’re going to go to Mogren Beach, and swim, kayak or paddle-board around the far side. What you’ll find are sheer cliffs descending into the water, with caves and small passageways formed in the rocks.

And the water. The most electric of blues.

This was the highlight of the entirety of the coast in Montenegro for me. Don’t skip it. It’s baffling to me how thousands of people spend the day packed together like sardines on Mogren Beach, when this sits just minutes away.

There’s also some awesome spots for cliff jumping.

And while there’s no ‘beach’, there are plenty of spots to climb up onto the rocks and lie down. If you take a kayak or paddle-board, you can bring a towel and set it wherever you like.

Unfortunately, I haven’t got any photos because I swam. So you’re just going to have to trust me on this one.

Crvena Stijena (Red Rock Beach)

This last one is the hardest to reach of all. It’s another beach they say is only accessible by sea, which is almost true.

First off, it’s the furthest away from Budva, a bit over an hour’s drive. And the last 10 minutes are quite the adventure, especially if your car isn’t built for off-roading.

If you’ve then made it with your car in one piece… well, quite honestly, you’ve only just begun.

You’ll then partake in a 15-20 minute steep hike down to a spot where you can see the cove, almost completely empty and stunning below you.

But how do you get down to the beach?

Well, you jump.

Yes, in order to get to Crvena Stijena without a boat, you’re going to have to hurl yourself off rocks about 12 meters (40 feet) high into the waters below.

If you haven’t been cliff jumping before, this will take a large amount of guts. But what awaits you below might just be worth it. Possibly the best quiet beach (just not so near Budva).

So lay down your stuff on some rock (there’s no way to take anything with you) and plummet into those turquoise seas, then paddle your way to an empty beach (with a few boaters perhaps, the filthy cheaters).

Just be careful and stay safe. If you can find a local to guide you, even better.

Note: The jump isn’t the dangerous part- the way back up is! Make sure you have good water shoes with a grip and decent climbing abilities. Not for the faint of heart!

Tips for actually enjoying quiet beaches

• Rent a car (with a good suspension if possible). This one is pretty obvious. Public transportation will not bring you close to just about any of these spots.
  
  If you can, rent a car with a good suspension, or at least one that sits higher up. It can be easy to scratch up the bumper on a lot of these rocky trails, so best not to worry about any later issues upon return.
  
• Bring food and water. These beaches are often well away from any sort of civilization, and what you bring is all you’re going to have.
  
• Bring a good pair of water shoes. These will do you well for the short hikes, as well as in the water where the rocks under your feet are often quite uncomfortable.
  
  You can buy them locally, or you can get my favorites from Amazon here.
  
• Try and find your own! A lot of these beaches were found by me and my friends scouring Google Maps on satellite view for little coves.
  
  Find one that looks nice, and has reviews saying that a short hike is needed. This will almost guarantee you a beautiful and quiet beach.

Alternatives: boat escapes

There are many beaches that are accessible by land (including some they say are not), but the reality is that a boat opens the door to a truly infinite amount of little coves along the Montenegrin coast.

The terrain here causes many coves to be completely surrounded by high cliffs. And when those cliffs get too high for us to jump from, a boat becomes the only option.

Now, boats can be expensive. The best option is to hire a guide to take you to all the best spots.

But there’s still a great option if you’re on more of a budget.

In Budva, when you walk out towards Mogren Beach, you’ll see a dock with small boats and a stand you can rent from.

We paid 40 euros for an hour at sunset, and it was an incredible time. Bring a few beers, and shoot over to the island off the shore. I highly recommend.

You can also obviously rent for a longer period of time during the day, allowing you time to get to more secluded areas. I forgot to mention, but the boats are quite slow.

They can get busy, so you may want to go there and reserve in advance.

And there you have it! Some of the best quiet beaches near Budva, and in Montenegro in general.

And don’t forget- there are so many, so if you put in the effort you can find plenty on your own.

If you find something particularly special, leave details in the comments below!