Kotor

€15 in season (roughly April through October) for the official path up the city walls to the Church of Our Lady of Remedy and on to St John's (San Giovanni) Fortress at the top. Roughly 1,350 steps each way; budget 90 minutes up, 45 down, plus time at the top. Outside high season the path is technically free but ticket booths and gates can still be active early morning and late afternoon. The path is open 8am to 10pm in summer.

It can be. The wall path is south-facing, fully exposed, and the limestone reflects heat like a skillet. Heatstroke and dehydration calls happen on the climb every summer. Go before 9am or after 5pm in July and August, carry more water than you think (there's a small kiosk partway up but it sells out), wear actual shoes — not flip-flops — and turn around if you stop sweating. Anyone with a heart condition or recent surgery should plan for the lower wall section only.

You don't need a tour. The cheap way: bus from Kotor to Perast (€1 each way, runs roughly every 30 minutes), then a small water-taxi from the Perast waterfront to the islet — about €5 round-trip plus €3 entry to the church. The whole thing takes three hours from cruise pier to back. Group boat tours from Kotor run €25–40 per person and add a stop at the Blue Cave or Lady of the Rocks plus Perast — fine if you want it bundled, overpriced if you don't.

Yes, but it's the whole day. Lovćen National Park sits above Kotor at around 1,660m; the Njegoš Mausoleum (461 steps from the parking area, dramatic 360° view of Montenegro) is roughly an hour's drive each way via the famous switchback road. Private taxi round-trip with a wait runs €80–100; ship-sponsored tours run €100–150. The new (2024) Kotor–Lovćen cable car cuts the road portion out — €23 round-trip to the upper station, then a short taxi or hike to the mausoleum. Realistic only if your ship is in until 6pm or later.

Montenegro uses the euro anyway. The country adopted it unilaterally in 2002 and never went back. Cards work in restaurants, the fortress ticket booth, and most shops in the Old Town; carry €30–50 in small notes for the bus to Perast, water-taxis, market stalls, and tipping. ATMs are easy to find on the waterfront — use bank-branded ones (CKB, NLB, Erste) and decline the dynamic-currency-conversion offer.

Very. Violent crime against tourists is rare and the U.S. State Department lists Montenegro at Level 1 (exercise normal precautions). The realistic risks on a cruise day are pickpockets in the Old Town crush during peak summer, unlicensed taxis at the cruise pier quoting flat tourist rates with no meter, and the climb itself. Use licensed taxis (white with a roof sign and meter), keep wallets in front pockets in the Old Town squares around lunchtime, and don't outrun your fitness on the wall path.