Kotor · Montenegro
January
Kotor in deepest winter: very few tourists, very heavy rain, and the bay dramatically moody.
Worth considering
#9 of 12 months
There are better months for Kotor — see the full ranking below.
See when to go instead →Climate
High
10°C
Low
3°C
Rain
250mm
Sun
3.2hrs/day
30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5
How January scores in Kotor
Weather
Below average
Value
Perfect
Crowds
Perfect
Events
Below average
Atmosphere
Good
What you gain in January
- ↑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.
- ↑Kotor Carnival preparations begin in January — the town has a strong Venetian-influenced carnival tradition and early events, rehearsals, and costume preparations bring local colour to the off-season.
What you sacrifice
- ↓January delivers some of Europe's heaviest rainfall relative to destination size: 250mm in a single month, frequently arriving as sustained heavy rain for days at a time. The Boka Kotorska (Bay of Kotor) sits in a geographic pocket between the Dinaric Alps and the Adriatic that funnels precipitation — Kotor receives over 3,000mm annually, one of the highest figures in Europe. January is among the worst months.
- ↓Most tourist-facing businesses — boat tours, kayak rentals, many restaurants in the Old Town — are closed until spring. The experience is limited to the city itself and the immediate surroundings.
How January compares to May (best month)
| Factor | January | May ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | 3 | 9 |
| Value | 10 | 7 |
| Crowds | 10 | 7 |
January in other destinations
Lisbon (13.6°C)Barcelona (13.2°C)Tokyo (9.8°C)Bali (30.2°C)Santorini (13.4°C)Paris (7°C)New York (3.3°C)Marrakech (17.3°C)Amsterdam (5.6°C)Maldives (30.1°C)Rome (11.6°C)Bangkok (31.1°C)Istanbul (8.7°C)Vienna (3.2°C)Seoul (1.1°C)Dubrovnik (11.1°C)Rio de Janeiro (30.9°C)Kyoto (9.2°C)Phuket (31.5°C)Cape Town (26.1°C)Prague (2°C)Amalfi Coast (12°C)Mexico City (21°C)Medellín (28°C)Fiji (31°C)London (8°C)Sydney (26°C)Iceland (2°C)Tulum (28°C)Dubai (24°C)Singapore (30°C)Hoi An (24°C)Chiang Mai (29°C)Miami (24.1°C)Florence (9.2°C)Queenstown (22°C)Madrid (9.4°C)Porto (14°C)Edinburgh (7°C)Copenhagen (4°C)Budapest (4°C)Kraków (2°C)Tbilisi (6°C)Palawan (29°C)Hanoi (18°C)Osaka (9°C)Goa (32°C)Cusco (19°C)Buenos Aires (30°C)Mykonos (13°C)Zanzibar (32°C)Sri Lanka (31°C)Costa Rica (25°C)Cancun (28°C)Krabi (32°C)Athens (13°C)Seville (15°C)Cartagena (31°C)Siem Reap (29°C)Havana (26°C)Split (10°C)Taipei (19°C)Kuala Lumpur (32°C)Valletta (15°C)Ho Chi Minh City (33°C)Hawaii (27°C)Cappadocia (4°C)Dominican Republic (28°C)Jamaica (30°C)Tanzania (28°C)Seychelles (30°C)Nepal (18°C)Jordan (12°C)Azores (17°C)Bora Bora (30°C)Los Angeles (19.8°C)Cairo (19.1°C)Kenya (26.8°C)Jaipur (22.2°C)Las Vegas (13.9°C)San Francisco (13.2°C)Madeira (19.5°C)Vancouver (6.9°C)Muscat (26.4°C)Lima (26.2°C)Cinque Terre (11°C)Tel Aviv (18°C)Santiago (30°C)Bogotá (19°C)Bruges (5.8°C)Penang (31.5°C)Lombok (30.8°C)Cape Verde (26.2°C)Fez (13.8°C)Kerala (31°C)Kigali (26°C)Hong Kong (18°C)Oslo (-1°C)Auckland (24°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Kotor, not across destinations. Methodology →