Becici or Buljarica Beach on the Montenegro Coast
Published 2026-08-27. Conditions described are typical and never guaranteed.
Here is the short version before you read another word. If you want soft sand under a full resort strip, calm water you can wade into with a child on your hip, and a paddleboard waiting on the shore, book Becici Beach. If you want a wild, near empty bay with room to walk for an hour and the odd wave when the wind turns, drive the short way south to Buljarica Beach. These two shores sit on the same coast and could not be more different in temperament. One is built for ease. The other is built for space. Neither is better overall, and the honest answer to which you should pick depends entirely on the kind of day you are chasing and, on any given morning, on the forecast.
Who each beach is really for
Becici suits paddleboarders, families and anyone who prizes rare soft sand and flat, sheltered water with services close behind. It is a nearly two kilometre sweep of soft sand and fine gravel that runs from the Zavala peninsula to Rafailovici, with a gentle slope into the water that makes entry easy and swimming genuinely relaxed. The bay sits sheltered by the hills, so it reads calm and almost lake like on most days. That is the whole appeal: you get a proper sandy beach day on a coast that mostly deals in pebble, and you get it with bars, restaurants, sunbed hire and watersports within a few steps of your towel.
Buljarica suits active travellers and space seekers. It is a roughly two and a half kilometre run that shifts between sand and pebble along its length, the longest beach on this part of the riviera and one of the least built. The bay faces open sea, so it picks up swell and wind when the sheltered town beaches stay flat. Behind it sits a wetland, and beyond the small cluster of seasonal bars at the north end there is almost no shade and no service at all. People come here for nature over scene, for room to roam, and for the quiet that a lack of development buys.
Becici is the easy day with everything laid on. Buljarica is the empty day you have to earn.
Sand and footing
This is the clearest split of all. Becici is soft sand and fine gravel, a rare long sandy stretch on this coast, and the gentle shelve makes it forgiving for small feet and nervous swimmers. You can arrive with a bucket and a low expectation of drama and get exactly the day you pictured.
Buljarica changes underfoot as you walk it, moving between sand and pebble along its length, so reef shoes earn their place here rather than being an optional extra. That variety is part of the character, but if your idea of a beach is warm sand between the toes for the whole afternoon, Becici wins this one outright. The flip: if you find a busy sandy resort strip claustrophobic, the mixed footing at Buljarica comes with an emptiness that no sunbed row can match.
Water and conditions
Because Becici is tucked behind hills, the bay stays calm and clear and shelves gently, which is why it ranks among the better swimming and paddling spots on this coast. On most mornings it is close to flat, which is close to ideal for stand up paddle and kayak. Hire is available along the sand, and the early hours are the window before the afternoon breeze picks up. Conditions here are typical rather than guaranteed, and lifeguard cover is seasonal and never assured, so swim within your depth and keep clear of the watersports lanes.
Buljarica is the opposite proposition. The open bay is exposed to swell and wind, so it can throw up rideable waves and a real chop when a southerly runs, and that is exactly the moment the sheltered beaches nearby sit glassy. On a still day it settles to a clear, deep blue swim that is worth the drive. But there is no reliable lifeguard cover, and the open water can run a current and a shore break when the wind is up, so this is a bay to read before you commit. Take care on a swell day, and never swim alone.
This is the condition that flips the whole comparison. On a calm, windless week in high summer, both bays swim beautifully and the choice comes down to whether you want facilities or solitude. When a southerly blows, Becici stays the sensible easy swim while Buljarica turns into the closest thing this stretch has to a surf beach. A surfer with their own kit checks the forecast and heads to Buljarica. A family with a toddler checks the same forecast and is glad they booked Becici.
Facilities and shade
If you want to arrive light and buy your way to comfort, Becici is the answer. It is a full resort beach with sunbed hire, bars, restaurants, paddleboard and kayak rental, and a long promenade that links it to Budva one way and to Rafailovici and Kamenovo the other. There is free public access along the sand, but large stretches are given over to paid sunbed and umbrella concessions and beach clubs, especially in front of the hotels. Those rates and any minimum spend are independent and to be confirmed, so treat prices as unverified until you are there.
Buljarica gives you almost nothing, and that is the point. A couple of seasonal beach bars and some sunbeds sit at the northern end near the access road, and the rest of the bay has no shade, no loungers and no services. Come self sufficient with water, food and sun cover, because there is nowhere to top up once you walk south. For a family that wants a cold drink and a clean changing room within reach, this is a mark against Buljarica. For anyone who finds a resort strip exhausting, the lack of it is precisely why they came.
Crowd and atmosphere
Becici is calm and easy but busy and built up in summer, so the early hours and the far ends are where the space hides. Aim for the Rafailovici end for a quieter patch and rocks worth a snorkel, and know that the middle of the bay in July and August is a proper resort scene, lively and full. If you like the buzz, this is a feature. If you do not, plan around it.
Buljarica holds its quiet even in peak season because it is so long and so undeveloped. The northern end near the bars and the easiest parking is where people cluster, and the empty southern two thirds is where the solitude and the wetland birdlife are. May and October are quiet and atmospheric for a walk, and the shoulder months often hold cleaner air and better wind for anyone watching the swell. If your measure of a good beach is how few people you can see, Buljarica wins comfortably.
When the other one wins
- Choose Becici, even if you love wild beaches, when you have young children, non swimmers, or a windy forecast, because the sheltered bay and the gentle entry stay manageable when the open coast does not.
- Choose Becici when you want to arrive with nothing and rent a board, grab lunch and settle in, all without a car.
- Choose Buljarica, even if you love a facilities strip, when the crowds at the town beaches feel like too much and you want an hour of walking on near empty shore.
- Choose Buljarica when a southerly is running and you want the swell the sheltered bays never see, provided you are a confident swimmer reading the water carefully.
If both leave you wanting more sand and more quiet than either can give at once, the coast has other answers. A steep path leads down to the golden cove at Drobni Pijesak, and the pebble sweep at Jaz Beach soaks up a crowd without feeling packed. The bright turquoise water at Kamenovo sits a short promenade walk from Becici for anyone who wants a lively club scene on the pebbles.
Plan your day and enquire about a club
Both beaches reward an early start, and both reward checking the wind before you commit. For families weighing the easy option, our family friendly guide is a useful next read, and anyone chasing the empty end of the coast should browse our quiet shore picks. To compare venues, check hours and enquire about a club day on this stretch, start with the Montenegro coast beach clubs page and take the rates and any minimum spend as details to confirm directly.