Car Rental in Petrovac

Coast roads and the Sozina shortcut

Petrovac is on the E65/E80 (Jadranski Put), the coastal road that hugs the entire Riviera. Two hours north up that road lies the Dubrovnik border at Debeli Brijeg; in the other direction, twenty-five kilometres south is Bar and the entrance to the Sozina tunnel that cuts under the mountains to Podgorica. Visitors driving in from Podgorica Airport take the same Sozina motorway in reverse: through the tunnel, then twelve kilometres up the coast road to Petrovac. The town centre is pedestrianised on summer evenings, so most driving inside Petrovac itself is between hotels and the parking lots above the three beaches.

Both Tivat Airport and Podgorica Airport sit around 35 to 45 minutes from Petrovac; the coast road from Tivat runs 37 km south through Budva, while the Sozina route from Podgorica drops you near Bar and puts Petrovac just 12 km back north along the coast. Renting a car at either airport opens the full local circuit: the Lučice bay walk, the long Buljarica strand, the Praskvica monastery road climbing inland, and the day trip to Budva or Kotor in either direction along the coast.

From Kaštel Lastva to Petrovac

Petrovac was known as Kaštel Lastva until the early twentieth century, when it was renamed for King Peter I Karađorđević. The site has been inhabited since Roman times; in 1902, archaeologists uncovered the foundations of a Roman villa and baths in an olive grove near the Church of St Thomas, with a fourth-century mosaic floor running roughly 10 by 15 metres. The mosaic survives in situ under a glass shelter at the south edge of the town beach. The floor itself is locked, but you can see the patterns of fish and geometric motifs clearly through the windows of the shed.

At the northern end of the bay stands Kaštel Lastva itself, a small Venetian sea fortress built in the sixteenth century to guard the coast against Adriatic pirates. The complex housed the Lazaret, the oldest hospital on this stretch of coast; the same buildings are now home to the Castellana restaurant and a small nightclub overlooking the harbour. Just offshore are the two small islets of Katič and Sveta Nedjelja, the latter capped by a tiny chapel that local legend says was built in the sixteenth century by sailors who survived a wreck nearby; the church has stood as a marker for fishermen rounding this stretch of coast ever since.

The town beach and the islets

Petrovac's main beach runs along the bay below the old town, with the Kaštel Lastva fortress at one end and pine-covered slopes climbing inland. The two offshore islets are a short kayak or paddle out from shore in calm weather; Sveta Nedjelja's small church is locked but visible from the water, and Katič is uninhabited. The Roman mosaic site is signposted at the south edge of the town beach, set back behind the promenade, and is typically open for viewing during summer months.

Lučice, Buljarica, and the smaller coves

Lučice beach sits in the next bay east of the town, a fifteen-minute walk through the pine woods on the marked path, and holds Blue Flag status. The beach itself is a pine-fringed crescent of fine pebbles, smaller and quieter than the town beach, with a handful of seasonal restaurants set just back from the shore. Further south, Buljarica is one of the longest beaches on the Montenegrin coast, running for around 2.25 km between Resovo Hill and Dubovica Hill in the direction of Bar; it remains largely undeveloped, with a few seasonal beach bars and parking areas near the access road. The Sea Dance Festival, a sister event of the long-running EXIT Festival in Serbia, is held here at the end of summer most years and draws crowds along this stretch of coast. For a wider read on the coastline, our guide to Montenegro's best beaches by car covers Petrovac alongside the other named coves along the Adriatic.

Where to stay

Petrovac is built up across two ridges that frame the bay, with most accommodation clustered behind the town beach and along the road climbing toward the Roman mosaic site. There are family hotels and apartment buildings in the centre of town, and a quieter scatter of small hotels and private rentals along the path toward Lučice in the pine woods. Anyone wanting more nightlife than Petrovac offers can base in Budva fifteen minutes north and use the car to come down for the beaches; anyone looking for somewhere quieter than Petrovac itself can stay further south at Buljarica or one of the inland villages above the coast road.

Driving north and south of town

North along the coast road, Sveti Stefan is around 9 km away (about 12 minutes by car), and Budva is 17 km, both reachable in under half an hour outside of summer traffic. South of Petrovac, the road climbs over a headland past the long Buljarica strand and then drops into Bar, the country's main port, about 25 km on. The Sozina tunnel motorway from Bar to Podgorica is the fastest inland route once you're past Petrovac.

Parking and driving in season

Petrovac is compact enough to walk in a few minutes from end to end, and the central streets are pedestrianised in the evenings during summer. On-street parking is strictly enforced and towing is common in peak season, so accommodation with its own parking is the safer option. Lučice and Buljarica each have parking areas near the beach access; the more distant coves along the coast road have informal roadside parking only.

Petrovac car rental

Without a car, Petrovac is the town beach, the promenade restaurants and the short walk to the Roman mosaic. With a car rental, the rest opens up: Lučice in the next bay, Buljarica two kilometres south, the Praskvica road climbing inland, the Sozina shortcut to Skadar Lake and the mountains, and the day-trip line up to Sveti Stefan and Budva. Tivat Airport and Podgorica Airport are roughly equidistant from Petrovac; the Sozina tunnel makes the Podgorica run almost as fast as the coast road from Tivat.