Jaz is where Budva goes when it wants room to breathe. The beach runs roughly 1.2 km along an open bay a few kilometres west of town, over the hill on the road to Tivat, and it is really two beaches in one. The near end is organised: rows of sunbeds, beach bars, cafes, and a big parking area behind the sand. Keep walking and the infrastructure thins out until you reach the far end, which stays wild and free, including a naturist section that has been there for decades.
The setting is a natural amphitheatre of green hills behind a wide arc of fine gravel and sand, and that shape is why Jaz doubles as Montenegro’s main open-air concert site. The Rolling Stones and Madonna have both played here, and for several summers the bay hosted the Sea Dance festival. If your dates coincide with a major event, expect the beach to be given over to it; the rest of the season it is simply a spacious, relaxed alternative to the town coves.
The water is clear and open, with a gently shelving entry that works for families, though it is more exposed than Budva’s sheltered coves, so on windy days you will notice actual waves. Sunbeds are paid at the organised end; the long free stretch costs nothing.
Getting there: about 4 km west of Budva on the Jadranska magistrala, roughly a 10-minute drive, with taxis and seasonal local buses covering the same route. Parking behind the beach is plentiful by local standards, which in August still means arriving before noon.
