Kotor With Autistic Children

Visiting Kotor with autistic children might not be the first idea that comes to mind when planning a sensory-friendly family getaway. But if, like me, you have an adventurous spirit or happen to find yourself on a Mediterranean or even Adriatic cruise, you may just end up in the charming town of Kotor with your autistic child. We recently visited Kotor (as a port stop on our cruise on Costa Deliziosa) with our three kids – two of whom are diagnosed with autism – and discovered that with some planning and plenty of flexibility, it’s possible to enjoy this picturesque Montenegrin gem while respecting your child’s sensory needs. Here is my friendly guide to navigating Kotor in a way that can be enjoyable and manageable for your autistic loved one.

Getting To Kotor

Kotor is accessible by air, land, and sea – though unlike Split, it doesn’t have its own airport. Most travellers reach Kotor by flying into one of the nearby airports or arriving via cruise ship. We actually arrived by cruise ship, which was incredibly convenient (the port is right at the Old Town’s doorstep, but our specific cruise ship did require a tender which means getting a smaller boat from the ship to the land while the ship stays docked out in the water). If you’re planning your trip to Kotor, here are the main ways to get there, with some notes for traveling with an autistic child:

• Tivat Airport (TIV): The closest airport is in Tivat, just about 8 km away. There’s no dedicated airport shuttle, but a short taxi ride through the mountain tunnel takes only 15–20 minutes. A local taxi or pre-booked transfer will cost around €15–€20 (for up to 4 people). This is a quick, low-stress option if your autistic child does best with direct, point-to-point travel. The ride is straightforward and short – great for minimizing the “are we there yet?” anxiety, or in our case the “how long until get get there?” questions. There is a local bus route from Tivat town to Kotor (costing only a couple of euros), but it isn’t very straightforward from the airport (you’d have to walk or taxi to a bus stop in Tivat).
• Podgorica Airport (TGD): Montenegro’s capital airport is about 85–90 km from Kotor (roughly a 1.5 to 2-hour drive). Public buses connect Podgorica to Kotor (taking around 2 hours and costing under €10 per person), but they can be long and potentially crowded or warm in summer. If your child can handle a 2-hour bus ride, it’s a budget-friendly route – just be prepared with snacks, tablets, or other comfort items in case of sensory overwhelm en route. A private transfer or taxi from Podgorica is faster (about 1 hour 40 minutes via the Sozina tunnel and coastal road) but quite pricey (often €80+). The benefit is door-to-door service and flexibility to stop if needed. For some families, avoiding the bus station hustle and having a calm car environment can make a big difference after a flight. We recommend weighing your child’s patience and sensory thresholds: a longer car ride with control over music/AC might beat a potentially overstimulating bus trip.
• From Dubrovnik, Croatia: If you’re coming from Croatia, Kotor is about 2–3 hours from Dubrovnik by road (depending on traffic and the border crossing). There are daily buses from Dubrovnik to Kotor, or you can drive yourself. Note that the border checkpoint can mean waits, which can be tough for autistic kids who struggle with delays. If you drive, one way to shorten the journey is by taking the small car ferry across the Bay of Kotor (Lepetane–Kamenari) instead of driving all around the bay – the ferry ride is only 5 minutes and can be a nice mini-excursion itself. Whether by bus or car, try to plan travel during your child’s calm time of day, and have those favourite snacks, noise-cancelling headphones, or travel games ready in case of unexpected waiting. You can actually do a day trip to Kotor from Dubrovnik.
• Cruise Ship: Kotor is a very popular cruise port in the Adriatic, and this was our case. If you arrive by cruise, congratulations – getting to Kotor doesn’t get any easier! You’ll tender or dock right in Kotor’s harbour or within a short boat ride in the bay outside of Kotor. The Old Town gates are a 2-minute walk from the pier. If you do this and come across an escalator, you can avoid this by finding a route across the road instead of trying to navigate the escalator with a stroller. For our family, this meant we could have a relaxed breakfast on the ship and then jump into the tender boat and head to Kotor. One thing to be aware of: the cruise port area can get chaotic when thousands of passengers disembark at once. If your child is noise-sensitive or an eloper, keep a hand on them as you exit, and consider hanging back a bit to let the crowds disperse. Since we were in no rush, we actually actually waited a while before getting off – avoiding the initial herd and giving our kids a calmer start to the day.

However you get to Kotor with autistic children, once you’re there the good news is that everything is very close by, especially in the Old Town. The small size of the town means minimal additional transfers – a relief if your child has had a long journey. When we got to Kotor, we took a few minutes just outside the Old Town to let our kids adjust (and admire the scenery of the bay and mountains) before plunging into sightseeing mode.

Where To Stay in Kotor

I don’t have a personal recommendation for a place to stay in Kotor with autistic children. We visited Kotor on a cruise ship and therefore boarded our ship again in the evening and slept there. From what I saw in my time in Kotor, Montenegro, I would stay just outside of the city walls where it is quieter and more modern and has more affordable places to stay for families.

Family-Friendly Activities in Kotor

Kotor’s stunning medieval scenery and its relaxed vibe make it a surprisingly nice place to explore with kids. The historic centre is small and pedestrian-only, which immediately removes the worry of traffic and lets you focus on discovery.

Kotor Old Town

The famous Old Town of Kotor (Stari Grad) is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the crown jewel of this city. Don’t let the term “town” fool you – it’s more like a maze-like fortress neighbourhood filled with stone-paved lanes, historic buildings, and hidden courtyards. For our family, simply wandering Kotor’s Old Town was one of the best experiences. It’s entirely pedestrianized inside the walls, meaning no cars or motorbikes zooming past – a huge plus when you have an impulsive runner or a child who scares easily with traffic noises. Our kids loved exploring here; around every corner was something to catch their eye, from old churches and quirky balconies to (most exciting for them) the friendly stray cats basking on the cobblestones.

We entered through the Sea Gate, the main entrance facing the harbour, and immediately found ourselves in the Square of Arms, the central plaza dominated by a centuries-old clock tower. Then we let curiosity lead the way. Walking the narrow alleys was like a real-life treasure hunt for the children: we spotted colourful laundry strung above us, peeked into souvenir shops selling everything from postcards to pirate hats, and counted how many cats we spotted along the way (making a game of our walks like this is more likely to keep the kids by our side as they speak back and forth with us). The absence of cars gave our sensory seekers a bit more freedom to roam within sight, and our child who often holds his ears in city streets seemed to find the Old Town extremely exciting rather than overwhelming.

That said, the Old Town can get very busy during midday when tour groups and cruise excursions flood in. The main squares and the most famous church (St. Tryphon’s Cathedral) became quite crowded and noisy late morning. This was worsened during our visit because of the rain, which meant people were flooding into anywhere they could stay dry. They seemed to not understand that personal space still exists, even if it is wet outside. We felt pushed and eventually crushed by people bashing into us and ended up making our way through the crowds of the church porch and out into the open space in the rain to get away from the shoving.

One thing we skipped was a guided tour of Kotor Old Town – we knew our kids wouldn’t have the patience to listen to a lot of historical commentary while walking in the rain this day. However, if your family would enjoy a bit more structure, you can certainly book a walking tour of Kotor’s Old Town with GetYourGuide. We chose to self-guide at our own pace (using Google maps to pick out things we wanted to see and guide us to them) to allow impromptu stops and sensory breaks, but it’s nice to know guided tours are available via GetYourGuide for those who want them.

Overall, simply experiencing the Old Town was a highlight for us. It’s free to enter and wander, and every turn brought something new to see (which helped keep our kids engaged).

City Walls & San Giovanni Fortress

You can’t miss Kotor’s city walls – they wrap around the Old Town and zigzag steeply up the mountainside to the San Giovanni Fortress (St. John’s Fortress) high above. This fortress climb is one of Kotor’s most famous activities, but we had to skip it this time. The double stroller couldn’t even handle the bumpy path that approaches the cliff, nevermind trying to get up all of the steps ahead. In total, it’s about 1,350 steps to the top fortress!

For those who can’t do the steps or choose not to, note that you can still appreciate the city walls from below. In the evening, they light up the entire zigzag of the walls on the mountain! We really enjoyed seeing them from the outside of the Old Town – we wandered around a bit outside and managed to see them from multiple different view points.

Maritime Museum of Kotor

Housed in an old palace right in the centre of town, this small museum showcases Kotor’s rich naval history. Now, I’ll admit, historical museums can be hit or miss with kids, but we have found that museums with transport are usually quite engaging.

The museum’s exhibits have some kid-friendly elements. There are numerous model ships in glass cases. For a child obsessed with vehicles (ships are vehicles, after all!), this place is gold.

For sensory considerations, note that the Maritime Museum has several small rooms on two floors, connected by a central staircase. If your child is noise-sensitive, you’ll be happy to know that there are no loud audio-visual displays or anything startling – it’s mostly a traditional exhibit format with labels and static displays. This type of museum is predictable which can make it easier for autistic children to handle.

Cats Museum (and Kotor’s Feline Friends)

One unexpected delight in Kotor is the Cats Museum. Yes, Kotor has an entire mini-museum dedicated to cats! This might sound like a quirky pit stop, and it is, but it’s also tied to something you’ll notice everywhere in Kotor: the town’s affection for cats. As soon as you set foot within the walls of Kotor, you’ll notice the cats – there are literally hundreds wandering around the city. They are the unofficial mascots of Kotor, beloved by locals and tourists alike. You’ll find many souvenirs from Kotor feature their beloved cats.

The Cats Museum is tucked in a corner of the Old Town – it is clearly marked on Google maps if you want to find it without wandering. It’s a very small space, essentially one large room filled with displays of cat-themed artwork, vintage photographs, postcards, and memorabilia from around the world. I read somewhere that the money made by the museum goes toward feeding the cats of Kotor, which is just lovely.

The Cats of Kotor

Beyond the museum, cats themselves were a constant, calming presence throughout our day in Kotor with autistic children. Finding a cat while we walk is actually a way we keep our children engaged and we help create familiarity in a new place. For our autistic kids, who sometimes struggle to connect with unfamiliar people, connecting with animals is much easier and therapeutic. We have a cat at home, so they often relate to the cats we meet and often discuss how the cats compare to our pet back home. We often have strict rules on how close they can get to cats – we like to play it safe especially as our children themselves can be unpredictable and startle animals with their movement and vocal stims. These moments were some of the happiest for our kids, and they were free!

Boat Tours on the Bay

Being right on a beautiful bay, Kotor offers plenty of opportunities to get out on the water. For many families (including ours), a boat ride can be a fantastic way to experience the scenery while giving kids a change of pace. However, we also had to consider our autistic kids’ comfort: are they okay with the noise of a motor? Will they tolerate life jackets? Can they handle being stuck on a boat for a certain time? We did not do an official boat tour with a guide, but we did have to ride a tender boat to and from the cruise ship which was an incredible experience on its own.

Our children coped very well with the boat, they sat in their designated seats for most of the ride and Luke was even falling asleep – apparently soothed by the hum of the boat engine!

Of course, not everyone will get a free boat ride in Kotor like we did, so you can look to GetYourGuide for boat tours in Kotor. If too many people are an issue for your autistic children, you can opt for a small group tour.

Our Favourite Sensory-Friendly Experience In Kotor

Gift Shopping in Kotor

Browsing through gift stores is not normally something we tend to do with the kids while we travel. They get really hung up on certain items and can’t get over the idea of leaving them behind. Then paired with pushy sellers and tourists trying to look at things over your shoulder, it just is not for us at all. But while we were in Kotor with autistic children I noticed that a lot of the stores were much more manageable for us with our autistic children. We usually went in with one or two of the kids at a time and kept the double buggy outside with the other parent and child/ren. This helped to make shopping more manageable. It also helps that the store staff aren’t looking over your shoulder or following you around. I had a lovely little time in the gift stores in Kotor with Luke where he picked out some things he really liked: magnets, keyrings for his siblings and drink coasters for his bedroom at home.

Getting Around Kotor With Autistic Children

Once you’re in Kotor, you’ll find that getting around the town with kids – including those on the spectrum – is fairly straightforward, thanks to the town’s small size. Kotor’s historic centre is compact and mostly pedestrian-only, which is a double-edged sword: on one hand, it’s fantastic because you don’t have to worry about traffic inside the Old Town, and walking is truly the best (and only) way to see everything there; on the other hand, it means a fair bit of walking on cobblestone streets and some mild hills, which can tire kids out or cause sensory fatigue from the uneven surfaces.

For our family, walking was the only mode of transport we needed in Kotor. Distances are very short – for example, it’s only about 5–10 minutes to walk from one end of the Old Town to the other, and just a couple of minutes to go from the cruise port into the town gates. We loved this because it gave us flexibility to move at our own pace, pause when needed, and it provided our kids with much-needed movement input. Both of our autistic kiddos actually seek movement to self-regulate, so being able to roam around was beneficial (versus being cooped up in a car or bus). We always factor in extra time for walking. It helps us feel less rush or overwhelmed if they are moving slowly.

We had our double stroller with us, and were able to push this almost everywhere we wanted to go. We had a couple of situations where we had to re-route slightly (it took an extra minute or two only) and by the time we met any steps or inclines/declines the buggy seats had been soaked by the rain and the kids were out walking so it was easy enough to lift the buggy up the few steps we encountered.

For getting around outside the Old Town: we actually didn’t need to much, given our short visit. But if you plan to explore beyond Kotor (say, visit nearby villages or beaches), there are local Blue Line buses and plenty of taxis. The Blue Line public buses connect Kotor to places like Perast, Risan, and Budva. They are very cheap, but keep in mind they might not run exactly on schedule and can be crowded or hot in summer. If your child is okay with a bit of unpredictability and you’re on a budget, it’s doable – just prepare for the sensory aspects. Taxis in Kotor are plentiful near the town gate and not too expensive for short hops (always agree on a price or ensure the meter is running). The benefit was door-to-door convenience and control over environment (AC on, windows up to reduce noise, etc.). If your child uses a car seat, note that Montenegrin taxis typically don’t carry them. You can consider bringing a car seat of your own.

A unique mode of “getting around” we noticed: some tourists rent bicycles or golf carts to explore the outskirts. You can even do a Tuk Tuk tour to Boka Bay. We didn’t do this (our kids are too young to safely bike on their own, and golf carts were mostly guided tours), but if you have a kiddo who loves riding and can tandem or handle a bike, Kotor’s seaside road beyond the Old Town is flat and scenic for a ride. Just be cautious on the main road – traffic can be busy and there aren’t always sidewalks outside the centre. We explored outside of the Old Town gates a little, and we were able to do so comfortably by foot.

Kotor’s scale and setup make it one of the less stressful places to navigate with autistic children – everything is close, and sometimes the journey (wandering the pretty streets) is as nice as the destination. You can find multiple options for outside of the Old Town – research and decide what is best for your family’s particular situation.

Is Kotor Autism-Friendly?

You might be wondering, in general, how autism-friendly is Kotor? The answer, based on our experience, is that Kotor doesn’t necessarily have specific autism-focused programs or accommodations (no sensory maps or autism-certified attractions that we encountered), but it is a place that can be autism-friendly in practice, thanks to its small scale, outdoor focus, and the naturally laid-back Montenegrin attitude. In other words, Kotor won’t advertise itself as an “autism-friendly city,” but we found it quite manageable and enjoyable for our autistic children with the usual planning we’d do anywhere.

Things That Make Kotor Stand Out

• Kotor’s main attractions are all within a compact area. For us, a family traveling with autistic children, this meant minimal transitions and less complex planning. We didn’t need to juggle multiple forms of transportation or long transfers – a huge relief when your child struggles with switching environments. We could walk from the historic sights to a quiet park to our ship in minutes. Fewer logistical hurdles = fewer chances for things to go wrong, which definitely reduced our overall stress level.
• Similar to Split and Dubrovnik, Kotor’s Old Town is entirely pedestrian-only. Not having to constantly watch for cars or hold hands at busy intersections was liberating. Our kids could roam a bit more freely and we could relax (well, as much as parents ever relax).
• Kotor offers many sensory experiences in a naturally pleasant way. The sound of water lapping at the bay’s edge, the feel of ancient stone walls under your fingers, the sight of green mountains against blue sky – these were all calming sensory inputs that our kids responded well to. We particularly were drawn to the river outside of the city walls that is a magical green colour.
• One thing that often stands out for autism families is food. While Kotor doesn’t have international fast-food chains (fun fact: there’s no McDonald’s anywhere in Montenegro) we were relieved to find familiar dishes on menus. Almost every restaurant in the tourist area offers things like pizza, french fries, and pasta. The comfort of recognizable food can be huge for autistic kids with limited diets. We chose a quiet, shaded restaurant patio for lunch and explicitly asked for french fries. Although the man serving us was keen to recommend certain dishes, we explained that they would not try them because they are autistic and he understood and arranged for them to have plain fries (and a plain burger for Travis).
• For kids who thrive on visual learning or have a special interest in history or architecture, Kotor is a treat. A lot of the history in Kotor is available while you are outside – something that my children love! You can walk around and see things at your own pace, taking breaks when you need to.

Now, it’s worth noting that a place being autism-friendly is a spectrum (no pun intended). Kotor doesn’t have sensory signage or specialized services. For instance, there are no autism-specific accommodations at museums (like sensory backpacks or quiet hours) that we saw. Crowds in summer can still be intense, and not every local may understand if your child is stimming or having a hard time.

Tips for a Smooth Experience

1. Plan Ahead: Research each location and contact them to discuss any special accommodations your child might need. If you can plan to arrive after check-in time you should, or try to arrange an early check-in.
2. Sensory Tools: Bring along sensory tools and comfort items that help manage sensory needs, such as noise-cancelling headphones, sensory toys, and a sensory toolkit.
3. Clear Communication: Ensure that everyone involved in the trip understands the needs and preferences of the neurodiverse individual. Clear communication can prevent misunderstandings and enhance the travel experience. Consider using PECS or an AAC. We have a free pack of travel PECS available for download.
4. Safety: Consider getting an autism card for your child, or even better – use our emergency passport for medical information and important contacts. Our absolute must have safety item for travelling with an autistic child is a TinyTags wristband or tag that can be tapped or scanned by a mobile phone – giving the person who tapped it all of the information they need to get your child back to you. TinyTags also feature a location alert to help you find your child.

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Interested in seeing more about the places we stopped on this Adriatic Cruise? Here you go: