We used Viator in September for the Montenegro day trip and it was fine--exactly as advertised. I've used them in several countries because it is so nice to make the arrangements on line before leaving home. Also, they give frequent flyer miles. Don't forget to take Euro's to spend in Montenegro. We weren't warned and had none. Very few places take credit cards.

Thanks Jane,
Did you need a visa for Montenegro ? We don't need one for Croatia but the Viator website says that you need one for the tour to Montenegro.

I am pretty sure that we did not get a visa. Are you from the US?

Take 2 on this post - 1st one must have been eaten for lunch! We used Atlas on our day trip to Montenegro in '06 - literally just days after Serbia and Montenegro officially split. We weren't sure if we'd encounter any problems because of this, but fortunately we didn't have any problems at all. We actually booked our trip on line with Atlas about 4 months before our trip and we did confirm our reservation at the Atlas office once in Dubrovnik. We took the Historical tour (Atlas also offered the Blue Tour) and enjoyed every minute of it. Of course we would have enjoyed a longer visit to both Kotor and Budva, but limited time just comes with the territory on organized tours. Crossing the border between Croatia and Montenegro (in both directions) was a breeze. If you're a US citizen, you won't need a VISA. And Jane's suggestion of having Euro's available is a good one (even though Montenegro isn't in the EU their currency is the Euro).

We also used Atlas for another day trip from Dubrovnik to Mostar and would highly recommend that as well if you have the time.

Had 2 different guides for our Atlas trips and both were excellent, very knowledgable and quite personable.

Besides Atlas, also recall both Gulliver and Elite offering day trips to Montenegro.

Hope your trip was as memorable as ours. The scenery is magnificant - ENJOY!

We booked ours with ATlas just the day before we went. We thought it was extremely well run.

Thanks Jane,Debs & NeoPatrick looks like both are fine so I guess it will depend on which is running on the day we decide to go. I saw that Viator don't run everyday but will look into the Atlas timetable.
We are from Australia but have found out that unless we are staying over 90 days we don't need a visa so it is all systems go.
Thanks again for your advice & have a happy New Year.

You might also consider just renting a car and driving in as it is really, really easy and gives you more freedom. It is cheaper too.

It is a beautiful and easy drive.

Just a thought.

I have to say that I'm not usually one for tours and am the first one to always "do it on our own", but we were thrilled that we took the Atlas tour. We were given a lot of commentary by a great guide on the bus -- and we knew little to nothing about Montenegro and its history before going. They also took us to the former palace of King Nickolai I, which was not even open to the public at that time, where we had a private tour and "history lesson". The drive up the mountain in Montenegro with 25 switchbacks (count 'em) was hardly an "easy drive" by the way. They also had prearranged a simple lunch stop at a winery in the beautiful countryside where we also had wonderful local ham and fresh cheese on great homemade bread. They took us into the city of Kodor for a number of things you could opt to do, and later ended up at the resort town of Budua. Unless we had done a lot of planning, we never would have accomplished half of what the tour covered if we had attempted to do it on our own. This was one time I was glad we took a "tour". If your goal is to just say you've been there and to see some pretty scenery, on the other hand, then I'd think driving yourself would be a good choice.

Our Viator tour was exactly like the Atlas one described above. Actually, Elite is the provider for the Viator tour. Viator just makes reservations on their web site and someone else provides the tours. It's just so easy to use Viator's web site and I have used them for several countries.

Sure it is different experience and all depends on how much freedom you like and what you want out of the trip.

There is a ton of info on the internet about Montenegro so very easy to learn a great deal before going. There is a great bookstore with English books in Dubrovnik also at good prices. It is on the main street & we loved hanging out there during our month in Dubrovnik. It is easy to do your own research!

We ran into a few small tour groups with droning on and on guides with heavy accents and we were glad that we were not stuck with that. Different strokes for different folks.

We did not see the former palace that would probably have bored us to tears ( after all we travel with a young child & have seen more than our share of palaces in the last 15 months of traveling). We did not need another at this point in time, the freedom was more valuable to us.

We did get to stop when ever we wanted and do what ever we wanted. We talked to lots of locals which we enjoyed and found some great places to swim which was lots of fun. Had a great meal ( that locals recommended), It was an easy and very fun day for us...just what we wanted.

We took our time at the views of Dubrovnik and saw one of the most spectacular sunsets on the way back over Dubrovnik from the best viewing point. We did not have to rush or be concerned about someone else's timing or needs.

We had fun talking to people on the yachts as well as exploring various areas hiking around and touring Kotor and a couple of smaller towns.

We found it a great day trip to do by yourself as many here have done. Some might prefer a tour, but there are advantages & disadvantages to all choices.

I am not against small or private tours ( we found them very helpful at Knossos & Troy) but we happened to like this one better driving and the freedom to do it as you please. YMMV. I mention it only because some people do not realize how easy and enjoyable it is to do on your own.

www.soultravelers3.com

You bring up a very good point, which may not have been clear from my post. If learning about and seeing the home of one of the last "constitutional monarchs" of Europe in a rather obscure little country that most of us know nothing about, who was light years ahead of the rest of central and eastern Europe in introducing what we would consider "democracy" for the people "bores you to tears", then by all means you should NOT take an organized tour to Montenegro. We found it absolutely fascinating, but of course, to each his own.

I just wanted to add that I took the Atlas tour and really really enjoyed it. I would second Patrick's last post. Lots of people talk about doing it on their own, but I learned so much on my tour. Plus the switchback drive over those mountains would have frightened me to death (and I'm used to mountain driving).

At one of the 'switchback' road stops on the Atlas tour, there was a souvenir vendor selling things from the hood of his car! Simply amazing he was able to do this considering how narrow the road up/down the mountain is!

Regardless of how you get to Montenegro, you'll be treated to spectacular scenery!

Cheers!

If you choose to rent a car and do the trip on your own (and it's pretty easy to do so), get a copy of the Rick Steves guidebook to Croatia. He has very good directions for a daytrip to the town of Kotor and the surrounding area.

There are many, many posts on fodors ( and other places) where people talk about how easy this is to do on your own based on their experience of doing it. Everyone had a fabulous time.

Do a search if you are curious.

I do not remember any switchbacks and most of the roads were in good condition and mostly flat. There is a reason why most drivers say it is easy!

The scenery is to die for and it is nice to be able to stop where ever you want and take that in or explore a corner or village that looks interesting. You can not do that in a tour.

All the info that you can get on a tour, you can read yourself before going.

As far as "bored to tears" , we have been traveling for 16 months straight & had just been to Athens, Ephesus, Olmpia, Rome, Venice, Istanbul, Cappadocia, Pumukkale, Pergamum, Delphi, Crete, Palace of Knossis, Mycenae, Troy,Aphrodisias,Sirince etc etc.

We stayed longer at each than most people can & have done many fine private tours and seen many fine castles etc during these many months & had just done a tour of Dubrovnic and some of the islands around there.

We just did not need another private tour at that point in time no matter how fascinating.

We spent 45 plus days in Croatia, so learned tremendous amount of the history in that part of the world as we do every place we go.

We also travel with a child who just turned 7 who loves history & knows more than many adults about history, but we pick and choose what we want to focus on. YMMV.

For us seeing the beauty, meeting natives,wandering the towns, following our guidebook on our own, swimming in a few places, eating the food was more important in this particular place at that particular moment in time.

But then we do tend to like to do things on our own unless it is a great private guide.

There is no one "right way" to do things.

"I do not remember any switchbacks and most of the roads were in good condition and mostly flat. There is a reason why most drivers say it is easy!"

Anyone who does not remember the switchbacks clearly missed one of the most spectalar roads and mountain views I've ever seen in Europe. Yes, you could easily skip doing it, but if you don't remember it, you clearly never did it!

And please don't misunderstand about visiting the "fascinating" home of King Nickolai I. It is not a "castle". It is not particularly spectacular. That wasn't the point. If you don't care about learning something about the unique history of Montenegro, then by all means you should probably skip it.

I agree wholeheartedly that there is no one "right way" to do things. I pointed out that we did this as a tour despite the fact we normally shun them, and we ended up extremely glad we did. But as I've said, it was for the history and the learning about Montenegro. Otherwise, I'd strongly suggest doing it on your own.

I'm NOT posting this to argue that our way was best, but rather to clear up a couple of misunderstandings about the "castle" and about the drive.

Ha ha! We had just come from a month on Satorini where we went up and down the most spectacular switch back in the world in our RV ( second only to the hard way into Delphi).

Not something too many people are brave enough to do..the views do not get any better than that. Or thrills!

We did not need another spectacular mountain view or switchback either.

I guess I took these words of yours wrong NeoPatrick:

"If your goal is to just say you've been there"

It is easy to do in this kind of medium where we can not hear each other talk. I thought that sounded like you felt the tour was the *only* way to do this daytrip well or learn any history about Montenegro.

My point was that one can learn history and connect with the area without the tour ( and sounds like many also did it with the tour).

I am sure there are advantages and disadvantages to both and each can be right for different people and even at different times.

I am sure someone who spends two weeks or a month there learns more than either day tripper.

It is hard to compare the value of each if you have not done both. You can not presume to know what my experience was, nor could I know yours. It sounds like we were both really thrilled with our experiences!

My original post was just wanting to make sure that the OP was aware that she could do it on her own for much less if she was interested.

I took this picture on the switchback road just outside of Kotor.

A_birdseye_view_of_the_Passage_of_Kotor-Republic_of_Montenegro.jpg

I would never attempt that drive, and I'm used to driving many of the narrow Rocky Mountain roads and passes in Colorado. We had to stop several times to wait for a cow or a sheep or goat to move out of the road. The bus driver received applause from the entire group at the end of the drive.

There are times when a tour is the way to see and do things that you just might not see or do on your own. For me, this was definitely one of those times.

Sorry, make that this link:

http://cache.virtualtourist.com/969695-A_birdseye_view_of_the_Passage_of_Kotor-Republic_of_Montenegro.jpg