January vs May

Worth considering

Kotor in deepest winter: very few tourists, very heavy rain, and the bay dramatically moody.

• ↑January is the cheapest month in Kotor by a wide margin — accommodation in the Old Town that costs €180/night in July is available for €40–55. The entire walled city is effectively available to wander without sharing it. The walls of St. Tryphon Cathedral and the medieval lanes carry genuine atmosphere when empty.
• ↑Kotor Bay in winter is frequently shrouded in low cloud that rolls between the mountains — dramatic and photographic in a way that clear summer skies are not. The town's stone walls absorb the winter light and take on a grey-silver quality entirely different from its summer character.

Best match

The optimal window: warm, genuinely beautiful, and before the cruise ship armada arrives in force.

• ↑May is the month that experienced Adriatic travellers point to as Kotor's best. Temperatures reach 22°C, the bay is a flawless blue-green, and the cruise ship season is beginning but not yet overwhelming — fewer than 50 ships typically call in May versus 300+ across the June–September season. The Old Town in May has its authentic Venetian-influenced character intact: the cats on the piazza steps, the fishing nets on the harbour wall, the konoba owners still glad to see you.
• ↑Kayaking across the bay to Our Lady of the Rocks (Gospa od Škrpjela) — the artificial island church off Perast built from coral and ex-votos over 200 years — is one of the finest half-day activities on the Adriatic. In May you can paddle to it without sharing the water with speed boats ferrying cruise passengers.