Montenegro to open Budva-Dubrovnik ferry line on June 29

The line will operate twice a day from Budva and twice a day from Dubrovnik, Radulovic told a news conference on Friday. A video file with his speech was uploaded on the website of local news agency Mina.

The Budva-Dubrovnik line be operated by Croatian company Kompas.

The head of Kompas, Bojan Aljinovic, said during the same conference that the Antonija catamaran with a capacity of 242 passengers will travel between Budva and Dubrovnik. The initial plan for 2024 is for the line remains open by the end of September.

Aljinovic noted that the final price calculations still lack some additional data but the probable cost of a single ticket should be around 55 euro ($60) and of a daily return ticket 69 euro.

For many years now, Kompas' fast catamaran ferries have been connecting Croatia's Istria peninsula, including the ports of Pula, Porec, Rovinj and Umag, with Italy's major seaport of Venice from May through October, Aljinovic said.

Earlier his month, Montenegro's state-owned operator of the country's Adriatic beaches, Morsko Dobro, took over port operator Luka Budva from local firm Dukley Marina, with the aim of achieving the full valorisation of Budva's sea transport potential.

Montenegrin prime minister Milojko Spajic said back then that only the state can fully implement large strategic projects at the port in Budva, including the opening of international sea lines.

Budva is the biggest Adriatic resort in Montenegro. The coastal area around it, called the Budva Riviera, is a hotspot for tourists.

($ = 0.921 euro)