Public boat transport becomes available in Boka – Bella Boka project worth nearly EUR 5 million

A new means of public transport by boats running on solar energy will become available to tourists and citizens of Boka by the end of July. Two fully environmentally-friendly boats will operate the sea route.

Next year, they will be joined by another 8 boats, thereby considerably reducing traffic jams on the land. This project, which is unique in the Mediterranean, is worth nearly EUR 5 million and is being carried out by the company Bella Boka. It will put Montenegro on the map of environmentally-aware states, TVCG reports.

A quick, comfortable and cheap tour of the bay, from Kotor, through Perast and Tivat, to Herceg Novi, started on July 20 with two test lines with clearly marked stops.

– By the end of next year, along with these two boats, another eight should operate the bay, which will be able to take in 35 to 60 passengers. There will also be 13 stops with electronic schedules. The plan is for this to be a regular line with departures every 20 minutes – the director of Bella Boka, Ricardo Bonetti, told TVCG.

The price of a ride will be 3 to 5 euros, which is the current price of a public bus fare in Boka, and there will also be monthly and annual tickets, as well as discounts for workers, students and pensioners.

– The idea to introduce regular sea transport is modeled after Venice, but according to our findings, there are no similar projects in Europe. The project will be 100% environmentally sustainable and integrated in the regular direct transport between municipalities. The total value of the project called Bella Boka is EUR 4,700,000, and the plan is for us to employ 60 workers exclusively from Boka – Bonetti added.

The biggest advantage of the project of Bella Boka, which is supported by the UNDP, the Ministry of Tourism and the Chamber of Commerce, is that it will unload the road traffic in the bay, especially during the tourist season. Due to traffic jams, it sometimes takes an hour and a half to two hours to travel between Kotor and Herceg Novi in summer months. Bella Boka boats will shorten the trip to 45 minutes.

Along with the transport boats, the bay will also be operated by a special vessel collecting plastic waste. According to the UNDP's estimates, sea transport will reduce the emission of harmful gases in Boka several times.

– Some statistics say that around 7,000 passengers are transported by cars and buses through Boka Kotorska each year. If half of those use this new solar boat service, the emission of carbon-dioxide will drop by over 500,000 tons – said Saska Kikovic of the UNDP.

The expectations are that the regular sea transport will also be a tourist attraction of a kind, which will enable passengers to learn about and enjoy the highlights of Boka Kotorska. Each boat will bear a recognizable name of a Boka highlight.

– I believe that the implementation of this means of transport will cause a lot of interest among tourists, as it is truly a unique opportunity to take a tour of Boka Kotorska when tourists find it suitable to do so, and I therefore expect it to be used to a great extent – emphasizes Damir Davidovic of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism.

Regular sea transport around Boka was present in late 19th century. It is to be expected that, in addition to tourists, citizens of Boka will also use this means of transport.

UNDP Montenegro Country Office Podgorica

Ministarstvo prostornog planiranja, urbanizma i državne imovine Crne Gore

Privredna komora Crne Gore

Bella Boka

solar powered boats

boat transport for tourists

tour of the bay by boat

Ricardo Bonetti

Saška Kiković

Damir Davidović

Bella Boka boats