Rent a Car in Petrovac

Delivery to your Petrovac apartment or hotel is free on most cars in the bay-shaped town centre, and the Sozina tunnel north to Podgorica and the ferry-relevant Bar port are both inside half an hour.

Petrovac's small centre and busy summer parking favour a small, easy-to-park car.

Coast roads and the Sozina shortcut

Petrovac sits midway down the Riviera, so most arrivals rent a car at Podgorica Airport and take the Sozina tunnel to the coast, reaching the town from Bar 12 km to the south; Tivat Airport is the alternative, 37 km north on the coast road. From Petrovac the E65 runs both ways along the Riviera, with Sveti Stefan 9 km north, Budva 17 km, and Kotor under 40 km, while south of town the road passes Buljarica beach and Bar before the Sozina tunnel puts Podgorica about 45 minutes away. The town centre is pedestrianised on summer evenings, so most driving is between accommodation and the parking areas above the three beaches.

With a rental car, the Petrovac circuit covers Lučice beach in the next bay east, the long Buljarica strand to the south, the Praskvica monastery road climbing inland, and day trips to Sveti Stefan and Budva to the north. The Sozina shortcut also makes Skadar Lake and the mountain interior easy half-day excursions from a Petrovac base.

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, and 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, and 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, and 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, and Sveta Nedjelja's small church is locked but visible from the water, while 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, and 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 EXIT Festival in Serbia, is held here at the end of summer most years and draws crowds to this stretch of coast.

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, while anyone looking for somewhere quieter than Petrovac itself can stay further south at Buljarica, north at Reževići where the monastery coves stay quiet even in August, or in one of the inland villages above the coast road.

Driving your rental car 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, and 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, including 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, and the Sozina tunnel makes the Podgorica run almost as fast as the coast road from Tivat.

Insurance for your Petrovac car rental

Petrovac sits about 18 km south of Budva on the coastal road, a route of tunnels, bends and a fair amount of loose chipping thrown up by summer traffic. Windscreen chips are the most common claim on this stretch, and they are specifically excluded from standard collision cover, so the cover tier you pick matters more than the parking here.

If the coast road is your main artery, glass cover is worth having, so check what the glass tier adds before you book.

When does a Petrovac car rental make sense as your base?

A walled bay 18 km south of Budva gives Petrovac a slower rhythm than the resort towns, and a car keeps that calm while opening the wider south. The wild 2.25 km strand at Buljarica lies a couple of minutes over the next headland, and the buzz of Budva stays a half-hour coastal run north for the nights you want more going on, so the town doubles as a quiet harbour and a launchpad.

What travellers ask about Petrovac car rental

Three beaches, a Roman mosaic and a fortress sound like a stay you could do on foot, and the town centre largely is, but the rental questions start once you want Lučice over the headland or the Sozina shortcut inland. Below are the points travellers raise once they realise how much sits just beyond the bay.