Known locally as ‘Hawaii’, Sveti Nikola is Montenegro’s largest island, stretching to nearly 2km. Fallow deer wander about on this uninhabited green spot, which is only a nautical mile away from Budva or Bečići Beach. Its rocky beaches make it a popular destination in summer when taxi boats regularly ferry sunseekers to and fro; those leaving from Slovenska Plaža charge about €3 per person each way (charter your own for €15 to €20).
You'll have more chance escaping the tourist hordes, discarded rubbish and blaring pop music if you hire a kayak and look for a secluded cove on the far side of the island. Local lore has it that the graves scattered around tiny, whitewashed St Nicholas’ Church (Crkva Sv Nikole) are those of crusaders who died of an unknown epidemic while they camped nearby. The church itself may date to as early as 1096.