newyorker

I will be traveling with my family (3 kids 7-10 years old) for 15 days in Croatia and Montenegro. I am planning on spending 6 nights in Plitvice, Trogir and Dubrovnik. 2 nights in Kotor and 2 nights in Budva. One night in Cavtat (early flight next morning out of Dubrovnik. My question is whether to spend the 4 other nights on a Croatian island (probably Brac) or whether to spend it in Montenegro (more time in Budvar and/or time further south of Budvar). The limited information I can find about Montenegro leads me to believe that the beaches are nicer there. Has anyone spent time on the beaches in Montenegro and Croatia? Please help if you can.

danalou55

You can call me this week if you like and, and I can give you the details on the amazing trip my family of four took last June. I'm swamped planning a trip to Europe we just decided to do last week, and it'll be much faster to just give you the info voive to voice and you can take notes. Email me at [email protected]get Montenegro, go to Hvar, Croatia ~ it's breathtaking. All four of us (two teenaged boys, and my husband) were thrilled we only did Montenegro as a day trip at the last minute instead of staying there for two nights. I couldn't find much info either, because it's early in the tourism thing there, and just became a country two years ago. We've never been so happy to get back to breathtaking Dubrovnik. Montenegro simply isn't ready for prime time, and the border crossing takes FOREVER. We all agreed the trip to Montenegro was a total waste of time, save the pretty scenery around Kotor Bay. The beaches were appallingly awful at this point. Most of the beachesin Kotor you are warned NOT to swim in, because they're so dirty. Even the so called beautiful beaches were simply dreadful by any standard as far as we were concerned. maybe when Aman resorts finishes their reort in Budva it will be OK. I would spend more time around Trogir and Split, and in the island day trips you can take from Dubrovnik.

We started in LjubLjana, the capitol of Slovenia, which we LOVED, drove 45 minutes north to unbelievable Lake Bled, which I still dream about, then south to Slovenia's amazing underground Postojna Caverns (like something out of Lord of the Rings, Gorum's haunt and all very close), and into Croatia's Istrian Peninsula to stay in the lovely town of Rovinj, with a stop to see one of the world's six remaining coliseums in Pula a half an hour down the road.

yorkshire

I think any knock on Croatia's beaches would be that they are primarily pebble, and some are hard rock. Some of the best ones can be difficult to get to without a car. Brac's zlatni rat is quite famous and would be easy for children to access, as the sea is shallow and the pebbles round (hence "softer" in a matter of speaking). This is a great guide to Croatian beaches:
www.croatia-beaches.com
I have not been south of Budva, but I have read there are some nice sandy beaches--if you go far enough south.
A lot of this depends on what month you are visiting. You may want to stick to Croatia if only to cut down on your driving/traveling time.

tower

first ran into the Budva and vicinity beaches in 1968..Tito Time. No tourists...few locals...good stretch of beach...BUT a long, wind-y ride from Dub. We once stayed in Sveti Stephan (no beach except a pebble strewn neck of land , more of a short causeway connecting SvS with the mainland). We last visited in 2004 and I was surprised to see the enormous crowds (even in early spring) in both the Dub area and in Budva...things have changed...some for the better, more for the worse. Stay in Dub area, a pretty fair beach between the Villa Dub and the Argentina Hotel....but busy as can be for your time in the country. Many Croatian beaches are nudies...so be aware.

stu t.

newyorker

I just got back from 17 days in Croatia and Montenegro. As far as the beaches are concerned, there is no comparison between Croatia and Montenegro. Montenegro has world class clean beaches. The two best ones we were at were the Long Beach near Ulcinj, and Przno, around 20 minute drive from Kotor. The long beach is exactly that - 7 miles of pure sandy beach and heavenly. Przno is also a beautiful sandy beach in a bay but a bit more crowded. The Bay of Kotor is beautiful and dramatic, but not good for swimming. You can, but it is not too clean. However, along the Adriatic coast there are incredible beaches in Montenegro.

As far as Croatia is concerned, we spend 3 days at Zlatni Rat which is an interesting, nice beach. It forms a crown and the eastern side is pretty calm, but the western side (which also has a nude beach component) can be a little wavy, especially in the afternoon. The beach though is very pebbly (hurts your feet to walk on beach unless you are wearing shoes) and the water depth drops off pretty fast so you are in over 6 feet of water after around 15 feet from shore. Not great for kids. In Montenegro you can go out 100 feet and still be in water around 4 feet deep - great for kids.

We were also at beaches at the tip of the Cavtat peninsula, Lokrum, Hvar, and Parmizano (not sure of the spelling of the latter). The tiny sandy beach at Parmizano was the best that we were at in Croatia. We enjoyed all the beaches in Croatia, but they cannot be compared to the incredible beaches in Montenegro.

thefinleydog

I agree with newyorker as far as the Montenegro beaches are concerned. We have been to MNE 3 times, just getting back from our last trip. This time, we visited Przno and Ulcinj beaches. It sounds like you are going to Budva, which is pretty touristy (imagine Atlantic City with a nice small beach). I would recommend taking the water taxi or the minibus (white) to Jaz beach. It's a pebbly beach, so buy some water shoes at Lands End. Jaz is a quiet beach, and there's a good, simple restaurant for lunch (down the beach in front of the campground). Or, you could take a water taxi or boat out to Hawaii Island off of Budva (no facilities, so take water and lunch or have the boat pick you up and take you to lunch).
Ulcinj is great, but too far from where you are staying.
Przno is a 15-30 minute ride from Przno, so you could get there if you have a car.
Have fun!