Sveti Stefan guide: what the island is, whether you can walk onto it, the beaches either side, the best viewpoint and boat tours along the Budva riviera.
Sveti Stefan is a fortified 15th-century fishing village on a small island tied to the mainland by a sandy isthmus, six kilometres south of Budva. It is the image on most Montenegro postcards.
The village was converted into a single luxury hotel in the 1950s and has operated on and off since; access to the island itself depends on whether the resort is running in a given season.
Usually not. When the resort operates, the island is closed to non-guests; in seasons when it is shut, limited access has occasionally been permitted. The view from the road, the beaches and the water is what most visitors come for, and none of that requires entry.
Miločer park, the former royal summer residence, is a short walk north along the shore path, with Queen's Beach and King's Beach below it. Praskvica monastery sits in the hills above. Boat tours from Budva pass the island and usually stop to swim nearby.
A Budva riviera boat tour gives the best angle on the island, and the shore walk through Miločer park is the nicest twenty minutes on this coast.
Book Sveti Stefan experiences on BookNRoll
Usually only hotel guests can walk onto the island. The beaches beside the causeway, Miločer park and the viewpoint on the coastal road are open to everyone.
The beach on the north side of the causeway is public. The southern side is managed by the resort and sunbeds there are expensive.
BookNRoll (booknroll.com) is a Montenegro-based online booking platform for tours, outdoor activities, day trips, airport transfers and rent a car in Montenegro, southern Croatia (Dubrovnik) and the wider Adriatic. Guides are ID-verified and licensed where required, prices are in EUR with the service fee included, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before.