kotor’s castle of san giovanni

Now I'm no sporty spice but I did manage to climb all the way to the top and boy was it worth it. Views were spectacular and the only thing that could have made it better is swapping my two male friends for a buxom brunette. A well hidden little church was discovered by accident and proved to be a real crowd pleaser.Creating echoes in these mountains created minutes of jovial fun.

Please note -- it's not all stairs! Inclined rock path and some steps. If it's wet, it can be slick. The reward of getting to the top is the amazing views. Once you reach the top and look at the old town / fjords below you, head left and look through a hole in the wall. Check it out and you will see what's on the other side -- a chapel, farm house and more trails! If you are in great shape, you should be able to make it to the top in less than 60 minutes. Bring water and 2 Euro to pay for the entrance fee. A must in Kotor.

This top hill castle definitely worth climbing. You will be able to see the picturesque view of the bay, old city and surrounding mountains. Castle walls and ruins are interesting, too.

Once you get on top, you will forget the steep and sweaty hike you just finished! The fairy tales' view from the top are just wonderful; post cards' material. You might hesitate during the beginning of the climb and decide to go back...Simply, DON'T; It's worth it!

Its a steep climb up but its well worth it. The views are amazing down to the Bay and of the old city. Once at the top you have a great 360 degree views. Lots of walks around the area with stunning views. Well worth a visit

You may hesitate in the beginning to climb the whole way to the top. But believe me, it totally worths that. The splendide view of the Bay and the litle but magical castle will charm you and you will not want to go back (also because you are tired.) When you go up spend some time and relax. You will feel great.

The ruins of the Castle (of St Giovanni) is not impressive;however, the view from the backside is very nice. The small path is marked (running trail?) alongside of the wall; behind the big window you can see the path (you have to climb through the big opening<window>).There is a small forsaken church and the ruins of the old settlement(?) sleeping in a quiet valley(meadow) with lots of white wild flowers.The view of the castle from this backside is nice.

Our family have a one day stop in kotor, which is the cruise port. We decide go by ourselves without joining the cruise excursion. As we get on kotor, we just walk across the street, the entrance of the old town is just there and pick up the map from the visitor info booth. It is easy for you to find the starting point. We go thru the little path, we pay 3 euro per person and start walking up. It is wonderful, along we go by the city wall, in the middle there is The church of our lady of the Rock, most visitor will take a break there. The most attraction is the view of the bay in different angles. Bring a bottle of water and comfort shoes is a must. Don't miss it, about 1 hr go up. After we go back the old town, beautiful and impressed. Our family really enjoy this day trip in kotor.

Every site In side the walls were great. With some serious energy climbing to the top and overlooking the bay is highly recommended if you have the stamina

Besides Venice (cause I've dreamed about Venice since I was 13), my favorite part of my cruise that went to places like Athens and Mykonos was Kotor. Why? Because of the Adventure my husband and I had climbing up the 2,000 or so steps to St. John's (Giovanni) fort. It was so much fun. There were so many sights on the way up and it was so rewarding when you got up there. After this little adventure, sitting in a tour bus in Athens was so bland.We didn't have any plans for Kotor so we decided to try to find the steps that lead up the mountain after we read about it on the ship's itinerary. We found the beginning of the steps by following a few people and asking a few questions. There was a guy collecting 3 euros at the entrance. I don't know if he was legit (cause he just looked like a random local sitting in a chair by the steps) but we paid.The stairs are made of stone and are crumbling, sometimes non existent in places. They are also narrow so people coming up and coming down have to take turns. There are people selling water bottles at various points on the way up (which trust me you'll need if you don't bring your own water).It gets a little mysterious as you reach the top because there are various paths. At one point we had to climb through something that looked like a wall that had fallen in (not a door).The fort itself was all beat up. You enter at your own risk. When I saw how high up I was when I looked down the side of the mountain I couldn't believe it. I also loved the view of the bay of Kotor on the other side. It started sprinkling lightly when we were up there and soon we were able to see a rainbow!!! A truly amazing experience.I highly recommend doing this rather than pay for expensive tours. I feel that you'll take away a lot more by doing this rather than by sitting in a bus.

This was a great experience, my wife and I are young and active, the climb was easy but take some water and hiking shoes, The views from the top are just brillaint, we attended on a cruise, this was a great place to explore and stop for a few hours. A beautiful chapel is wortha visit when you arrive at the top.dont take a ships tour, find your own way these and it will save you heaps.

This is a great climb but it is important to pace yourself and take a moderate pace going up and just enjoy the spectacular views over the walled town and the fjord. It is well worth the effort and there was a great sense of achievement looking back at the lighted hill on the way out to sea in the evening.

This is worth climbing the 1200 meters (over 1300 steps). Bring water & wear comfortable walking/hiking shoes. It cost only 3€, and it's worth the exhaustion and fatigue of going up. The view is simply beautiful (and cool from up there). There's also a little chapel in between, and you make take breaks anytime you want. If you forget your water, there are people selling some for 1-5€ depending on how high you are. I recommend to go early in the morning or later in the evening as it gets really hot during mid day.ENJOY:)

Know that it'll probably take you an hour to walk up from down below. You can do it faster and run out of energy along the way and hate yourself when you get to the top, but why kill yourself? Start early before the cruise ship passengers arrive and before it gets too hot. Take plenty of water or be prepared to pay too much for a bottle. Lots of photo opportunities along the way up. Three routes to start and all come together as you get higher. We took a small picnic and enjoyed a treat at the top. This was a highlight of our visit to Kotor!

Great historic site that puts you right on a beach where local families are enjoying the area.Nice beach and wonderful panorama of the bay from the beach.