Blue Cave, Submarine Base & Our Lady of the Rocks
This is the bay at speed, and it covers a surprising amount of ground for three hours. You run out past Perast and its two islands, step onto Our Lady of the Rocks, nose into a tunnel cut through a mountainside to hide navy vessels, pass the fortress island of Mamula, and finish by swimming into a sea cave that turns the water an improbable blue. It is the trip most people mean when they say they want to see the bay from the water.
Highlights
- Perast and its two island churches from the water
- Twenty minutes ashore at Our Lady of the Rocks
- Inside a Cold War submarine tunnel
- The fortress island of Mamula
- A swim into the Blue Cave
What to expect
- Out past Perast
Leave Kotor and run down the bay, passing the baroque waterfront of Perast with its two islands sitting just offshore.
- Our Lady of the Rocks
Step onto the island itself. The church is 15th century and there is a small maritime museum attached. Shoulders and knees covered, no swimwear.
- The submarine tunnel
Head into a tunnel bored into the mountainside, built to hide Yugoslav navy vessels from the air. It is cool, echoing and far bigger inside than it looks.
- Mamula
Pass the island fortress on the way toward open water. It has a grim wartime history and an unmistakable silhouette.
- Swimming the Blue Cave
Engines stay outside the cave now, so the boat anchors at the mouth and you swim the last stretch. Sunlight comes up through the water rather than down onto it, which is what produces the glow.
Included
- Speedboat trip around the bay
- Local skipper and English-speaking guide
- Every stop on the route
- Swim time at the cave
Not included
- Church entry on Our Lady of the Rocks, paid on the day
- Food and drinks
- Hotel pickup unless added at booking
- Towel and snorkel gear
Good to know
Yes, by swimming. Motorised boats are no longer allowed inside, so the boat anchors just outside and you swim in, which keeps the cave quiet and clean.
