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Guide · The swim
Blue Cave Montenegro swimming: what the swim is really like
Blue Cave Montenegro swimming now starts with a jump off the boat outside the entrance. Here is why boats stay out, what waits inside, and how to make the most of your minutes in the blue.
Check availabilityfrom $53 · cancel without a fee
Editorial team, blue-cave-montenegro.comUpdated October 25, 2026about 6 min to read16 sources
The essentials
- 01Boats stay out
- Motor-powered boats may not enter the cave area since 2026.1
- 02You swim in
- Boats anchor 10 to 20 m outside on one listing.
- 03Water inside
- Between 3 and 4 m deep, under a vault about 9 m high.2
- 04Best light
- Sunny summer days, especially before noon.3
- 05Your time
- An optional 30-minute swim on the booked tour.
The swim begins outside the entrance
For years the picture of the Blue Cave was a speedboat floating inside a glowing room. That picture is out of date. A new navigation-safety rulebook from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs bans motor-powered vessels from the Blue Cave area, and only boats without a motor may go in.14 On a speedboat tour you now stop outside, climb down the ladder and swim the last stretch yourself.
The ministry spelled out why. Earlier seasons saw several speedboats entering the cave at once, boats coming too close to swimmers, and skippers taking boats inside in bad weather and then struggling to get out safely.5 In June 2026, on a single day of inspections, 12 vessels were sanctioned for breaking navigation rules and a boat found in the cave area was taken out of service on the spot.6 The rule is enforced, so expect your skipper to keep his distance.
How far you swim depends on the boat. One listing says the boat anchors 10 to 20 m outside the entrance so guests swim in, with life jackets provided. A private boat from Herceg Novi also anchors a short distance away and lets guests swim in when the sea allows. Some older listing texts still describe boats entering the cave; the ministry's rule from 2026 is the one that counts now.7
Step by step
From the boat into the blue
-
Before you go
Swimsuit on
Wear it under your clothes from the start.
-
At the cave
Boat stops outside
Motor boats may not enter the cave area.4
-
In the water
Swim to the mouth
One listing anchors 10 to 20 m away.
-
Inside
Float and look down
The sea is 3 to 4 m deep under the vault.2
-
Back aboard
Towel and dry layer
The ride back is fast and breezy.
Inside the Blue Cave: the room you swim into
Once you are through the mouth, the space opens into an almost round chamber with a vaulted ceiling, the shape left by the sea grinding away at the rock.8 The cave formed beneath a cliff about 30 m high and has two openings: the larger, about 4 m high, on the south-east side, and a much smaller one to the south-west.9 You swim in through the big one.
Inside the Blue Cave the numbers are modest, which is part of the charm. From the water to the top of the vault it is about 9 m, the sea is 3 to 4 m deep, and the cave covers about 100 square metres at sea level.2 It is small enough to cross in a few strokes and deep enough that you will not touch the bottom, so float rather than stand.
The sound changes the moment you are in. Voices bounce off the vault, the slap of water against rock becomes loud, and the outside world shrinks to a bright arch of daylight. Spend your first minute just treading water and looking down: the floor is where the colour comes from.
Time in the water
How long each tour stays at the Blue Cave
| Tour | Start | Cave stop | Snorkel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booked speedboat | Kotor | 30 min | Masks if available |
| Same stops | Park Slobode | 30 min | Swim only |
| Longer Perast stop | Kotor | 25 min | Yes |
| Speedboat & Perast | Park Slobode | 20 min | Yes |
| Beach day | Tivat | 15 min | Swim only |
| Catamaran | Kotor, Tivat, Budva | 1 hr | Swim stops |
Cave stops and snorkeling as each listing states them; the swim is optional and depends on the sea on the day.
Swim-first tours
Three boats with time to swim
Most reviewed
Anchors 10 to 20 m outSame stops, anchored out
From Park Slobode
- Length
- 3 hrs
- Cave swim
- 30 min
- Life jackets
- Provided
- Price
- from $61
Longest at the caveCatamaran day
Kotor, Tivat or Budva
- Length
- 8 hrs
- At the cave
- 1 hr
- Lunch
- Not included
- Price
- from $109
Decision helper
Should you swim into the cave?
Be honest about your day
On sunny summer days, and especially in the morning, the sun's rays bounce off the surface of the sea and are reflected into the cave through the smaller opening, giving the sea and the vault of the cave a particular shade of blue, which is how it got the name Blue Cave.
Why the water glows, and when it glows most
The blue is not a trick of the camera. On sunny summer days, especially in the morning before noon, sunlight reflects off the sea surface and into the cave through the smaller opening, giving both the water and the vault a particular shade of blue that gave the cave its name.3 Light enters, bounces and fills the chamber from below.
The national tourism organisation calls the water so deep a blue that the cave is known as the Sapphire of Boka.10 That glow is at its strongest when the sun is bright, so a grey day or a late afternoon visit gives a softer, darker blue. If you can choose the start time of your tour, the morning slots put you at the cave closer to the hours the municipality describes.3
Do not be disappointed if your photos look flat. Phones struggle with the contrast between the bright entrance and the dark vault. Shoot with your back to the entrance and the camera aimed down at the water, or take a short video instead of a photo; the shimmering floor reads better in motion.
Pack list
For the swim at the cave
01
Wear and bring
- Swimsuit under your clothes
- Your own mask, if you have one
- A towel and a dry layer
02
Protect
- A waterproof pouch for your phone
- A cover-up for the islet church
- A life jacket if deep water worries you
Cost calculator
A swim at the cave for your group
Starting totals for tours with a swim at the Blue Cave.
People
Total from$105
each from $53
Check availabilityfree cancellationA total here is the lowest per-person starting price on GetYourGuide times the size of your group, converted with the European Central Bank's daily reference rate; the date and option you pick set the final amount.
Video
Swimming Inside the Glowing Blue Cave
The YouTube player stays off until you press play.
Blue Cave Montenegro snorkeling and the gear to bring
The booked tour includes snorkeling masks, subject to availability, plus life jackets, life rafts and a first aid kit on board. If you care about your mask fitting, bring your own; a shared mask that leaks spoils the few minutes you have. Several other boats also list snorkeling at the cave, with stops of 20 to 30 minutes.
Blue Cave Montenegro snorkeling is less about fish than about light. With your face in the water you see the bright patch of the entrance turned upside down on the floor and the blue spreading across it. The sea along this coast is famously clear: the national tourism organisation gives a sea transparency of 38 to 56 m.11
Wear your swimsuit under your clothes from the start, because there is no changing room on a speedboat, and pack a towel plus something dry to pull on for the return. If you will also step onto the islet of Our Lady of the Rocks earlier in the morning, remember that swimwear is not allowed there, so keep a T-shirt and shorts on top until the cave.
How warm is the water?
The bathing season here is long. The national tourism organisation puts the swimming season at 180 days a year, from May to October.12 For Herceg Novi, the town closest to the cave, the municipality gives a water temperature of 22 to 26 degrees from May to September, with air temperatures above 25 degrees on average over the same months.13
After a hot ride on the open deck, the first plunge can feel colder than any number on paper. The government's portal for digital nomads says the sea reaches up to 27 degrees at its warmest.14 If you feel the cold, a short wetsuit is worth packing at the edges of the season, in May or October.
Wind changes everything. The cave faces the open sea, and when waves build the skipper may not stop at all; the booked tour changes its route or offers another tour in big waves. On those days no amount of warm water helps, so keep a flexible morning in case you need to rebook.
Safety for confident and nervous swimmers
You do not have to swim. The cave stop is optional on the booked tour, and staying on board is an honest choice. One Tivat listing warns that you can still get wet at the cave even if you stay on the boat, so protect your phone either way.
If you are unsure in deep water, ask for a life jacket before you get in and swim close to someone from your group. The distance from the boat to the entrance is short on most days, but the water is deep and the rock walls offer nothing to hold. Children should swim with an adult right beside them, and anyone with a heart or breathing condition should decide on board rather than halfway to the entrance.
Look out for boats. The new rules came partly because boats used to come too close to swimmers at the cave.5 Swim straight to the entrance and straight back, keep your head up between strokes, and follow the crew's signal when it is time to return.
A cave on its way to protection
The rules may tighten further. On the initiative of the Municipality of Herceg Novi, the Blue Cave was entered in the national register of speleological objects, a first step toward the status of a protected area.15 The next step is a protection study that the municipality has started, a precondition for declaring the cave a protected natural area.16
That could change how the cave is visited in future seasons, from the number of swimmers at once to who may run trips there. Check the latest rules just before your trip, and treat any listing text written before the 2026 season with caution.7
For now the best advice is simple: go early, go on a sunny day, bring your own mask and swim in calmly. The cave is small, the moment is short, and the light does the rest.
Into the blue
Church, tunnel, fortress, then a swim
3 hours by speedboat from Kotor, with an optional 30-minute swim at the cave.
You ask,we answer.
Can you swim in the Blue Cave in Montenegro?
Yes, from your boat. Boats anchor outside and you swim in; one listing says 10 to 20 m out.
Can boats go inside the Blue Cave?
Not motor boats. Since the 2026 rulebook only vessels without a motor may enter the cave area.47
How deep is the water in the Blue Cave?
3 to 4 m. The vault is about 9 m above the water and the cave covers about 100 square metres.2
When is the light best in the Blue Cave?
Sunny summer mornings. The municipality says the blue is strongest on sunny days, especially before noon.3
How long can I swim at the cave?
30 minutes on the booked tour. The swim is optional; other boats give from 15 minutes to an hour.
Are snorkeling masks provided?
Yes, when available. The booked tour includes masks subject to availability, and life jackets.
How warm is the sea near the Blue Cave?
22 to 26 degrees in season. Herceg Novi gives that range from May to September.13
Do I have to swim?
No. The swim is optional and you can stay on the boat.
Sources
Where the information comes from
- 1Government of Montenegro - Ministry of Maritime Affairs (Ministarstvo pomorstva)Radulović: Zabrana ulaska plovilima u Plavu špilju↩
- 2Municipality of Herceg Novi (Opština Herceg Novi)Novska rivijera i Orjen↩
- 3Municipality of Herceg Novi (Opština Herceg Novi)Novska rivijera i Orjen↩
- 4Government of Montenegro - Ministry of Maritime Affairs (Ministarstvo pomorstva)Radulović: Zabrana ulaska plovilima u Plavu špilju↩
- 5Government of Montenegro - Ministry of Maritime Affairs (Ministarstvo pomorstva)Radulović: Zabrana ulaska plovilima u Plavu špilju↩
- 6Government of Montenegro - Ministry of Maritime Affairs (Ministarstvo pomorstva)Radulović: Pravila plovidbe važiće za sve, cilj je sigurno ljeto na moru i jezeru↩
- 7Government of Montenegro - Ministry of Maritime Affairs (Ministarstvo pomorstva)Radulović: Pravila plovidbe važiće za sve, cilj je sigurno ljeto na moru i jezeru↩
- 8Municipality of Herceg Novi (Opština Herceg Novi)Izletišta↩
- 9Municipality of Herceg Novi (Opština Herceg Novi)Novska rivijera i Orjen↩
- 10National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro (montenegro.travel)Bay of Kotor↩
- 11National Tourism Organisation of MontenegroFacts about Montenegro↩
- 12National Tourism Organisation of MontenegroVacations on Montenegro's Adriatic coast↩
- 13Municipality of Herceg Novi (official website)Sights↩
- 14Government of Montenegro (digitalnomads.gov.me)Sunny days↩
- 15Municipality of Herceg Novi (Opština Herceg Novi)Plava špilja od septembra u Registru speleoloških objekata, posjeta samo uz dozvolu↩
- 16Municipality of Herceg Novi (Opština Herceg Novi)Plava špilja od septembra u Registru speleoloških objekata, posjeta samo uz dozvolu↩
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