|
Fabulous Four Days in Montenegro
This report is part of 37 days we spent in Europe (Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia between September 5-October 12). We initially booked, with credit card miles, flights in and out of Athens without any fixed itinerary. Then, we were invited to a family grape harvest in Sicily. Eventually, Athens airport became our base, and we went through there seven times. This created an opportunity for multiple distinct trips. This is one of them.
Day One: Athens to Dubrovnik to Montenegro Other than booking four nights in Kotor, Montenegro, we simply did zero other planning for this portion of our trip. We didn’t know what to expect. The closest we had been was a cruise ship stop years ago in Dubrovnik, Croatia. We flew over northern Greece and marveled at the long stretch of beautiful mountains and lakes. Even spotted Corfu island off the coast, a beautiful place we once visited. Our plane swooped over Dubrovnik, arguably one of the most photogenic places in the world. The Dubrovnik airport was small and modern. The many rental car places were lined up outside in neat little offices one after the other. In minutes, we spotted the unspoiled hills of Montenegro and saw the first of many warnings for wild boars. Fortunately, we didn’t see any. There are two border crossings for customs. The line on the Croatia side was really long, even though it looked larger than the one a short distance away to enter Montenegro. In that short distance, we got our first peek at mountains meeting the sea. And, then, once we reached the customs booth, we were on our way to the Montenegro border crossing. Although it was the same number of cars heading in that direction, and Montenegro had fewer booths, there were no lines there. In all four of our round trip border crossings here, we simply handed them our passports and documents that the rental car company provided, showing we paid road taxes. No questions; not one word was exchanged. We were so taken by the beauty of Montenegro, even for this short visit, this report will be especially heavy on photographs. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3ce75f6e7.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1f1412c3d.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...dda0075bf.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fb35f13a5.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...079a7afa9.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...afa299eba.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...38c58f01d.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a1bd4f516.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4c4b9b9be.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7c7ceec9c.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...51fee3b1b.jpeg |
Where did you stay in Montenegro? We hired a private driver in Dubrovnik to drive us around the Bay of Kotor for a day. We stopped in Budva, Kotor, and Perast. Our driver gave us a lot of history about Croatia and Montenegro. It was one of the best days of our trip. Lucky you to spend 4 days there. That's the best way to see a place if you have the time.
|
Originally Posted by KarenWoo
(Post 17437288)
Where did you stay in Montenegro? We hired a private driver in Dubrovnik to drive us around the Bay of Kotor for a day. We stopped in Budva, Kotor, and Perast. Our driver gave us a lot of history about Croatia and Montenegro. It was one of the best days of our trip. Lucky you to spend 4 days there. That's the best way to see a place if you have the time.
|
Looking forward to seeing and hearing more!
|
Whitehall, your private speedboat tour sounds awesome! What did you think of Herceg-Novi? I chose the places we wanted to stop. However, our driver told us that he thinks Herceg Novi is nicer and more interesting than Budva, and we were willing to change our itinerary. But the agency he works for wouldn't allow him to do that. Apparently, in the past when the driver suggested a different itinerary than what the client chose, the client was not happy, so the agency doesn't like changing the itinerary at the last minute. We enjoyed Budva but I always wondered about Herceg-Novi.
|
Originally Posted by KarenWoo
(Post 17437327)
Whitehall, your private speedboat tour sounds awesome! What did you think of Herceg-Novi? I chose the places we wanted to stop. However, our driver told us that he thinks Herceg Novi is nicer and more interesting than Budva, and we were willing to change our itinerary. But the agency he works for wouldn't allow him to do that. Apparently, in the past when the driver suggested a different itinerary than what the client chose, the client was not happy, so the agency doesn't like changing the itinerary at the last minute. We enjoyed Budva but I always wondered about Herceg-Novi.
|
You really get around, Whitehall.
I’m more than a little envious of all your interesting travels. Great photos. |
Originally Posted by Adelaidean
(Post 17437486)
You really get around, Whitehall.
I’m more than a little envious of all your interesting travels. Great photos. |
Day One: Drive Along Kotor Bay
The winding waterfront drive along Kotor Bay is magnificent with the mountains framing the steep backdrop to the sea. I will limit the photos of this ride, because an unplanned boat ride in a couple of days will cover much of this same route, from an even better perspective.
I will start with a not-so-pretty photo of roadside advertising that we saw a lot in this part of Montenegro, where they use existing concrete embankments to sell billboard space. But soon the wide expanse of Kotor Bay makes you forget that. The entire drive around the bay is a long one, so getting around is simplified in some areas by ferries that we didn’t try. We also noticed that the bay is full of various fish farming activities. One car accident on the narrow road halted movement for a little while. When we post the photos of our boat ride, you will see how easy it is to get distracted on this road. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d7c2159f3.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6ebb3b490.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ca4f242fc.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fde1b65c6.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f64b5a5c4.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3edba1af5.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cdaf25e58.jpeg |
Days One to Four: Kotor Cruise Ships
Let me get this out of the way. And, if you don’t like editorials in trip reports, I apologize and encourage you to skip this post.
We have cruised many times, and we certainly don’t criticize those who go on them. We would never have had an opportunity to see some of the islands of Greece without them. And, without cruise ships, we would have never been able to visit a couple dozen Caribbean islands before deciding to build a former house on one of them (one that only gets tiny cruise ships). But, over the years, we have seen the darker side, as these ships get bigger and bigger. This includes the impact to the environment, the questionable local economic benefits, and the obvious over-tourism in precious small old towns like Kotor. There are other forums for rants, so I will simply say when you drive into Kotor, the cruise ships are so large, they look like they are blocking the street. There can be two or three of these behemoths a day in Kotor, and when the passengers leave, Kotor is uncrowded but still vibrant. One of our days here was cruise ship free, and it was simply the most enjoyable day in town. We have never seen water as crystal clear as this Bay, and even the Adriatic Sea, but wonder what impact these ships will have on that going forward. Fortunately, as in other places of the world, like Venice, there is a growing movement to re-assess rules and limits on cruise ships here, especially as there are reports that the cruise ship impact has even threatened Kotor’s UNESCO heritage status. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1cb9dd18a.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bd21dfb02.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...04efa3f49.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...19dec5e8f.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9e025ff67.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8c5159193.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3ef2080c4.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ba8ac76ad.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...607e6bbdb.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...11ee030a7.jpeg |
I really like your photos of Herceg-Novi. It looks very nice and very inviting.
I am shocked at the size of the cruise ships!!!! I think we were very lucky because we must have chosen a day to visit the Bay of Kotor when either there weren't any cruise ships in port or perhaps there was only one ship. I know I would certainly remember seeing numerous ships the size of the ones in your photos. I hope more and more places limit the amount of cruise ships that can visit a port. Disgorging that amount of people into small cities and old towns is just bad for the environment and irresponsible! When we were in Santorini this past May we saw only one or two cruise ships at the most in the caldera. And they can't dock right at the port. The passengers take tender boats to the island. |
Originally Posted by KarenWoo
(Post 17437772)
I really like your photos of Herceg-Novi. It looks very nice and very inviting.
I am shocked at the size of the cruise ships!!!! I think we were very lucky because we must have chosen a day to visit the Bay of Kotor when either there weren't any cruise ships in port or perhaps there was only one ship. I know I would certainly remember seeing numerous ships the size of the ones in your photos. I hope more and more places limit the amount of cruise ships that can visit a port. Disgorging that amount of people into small cities and old towns is just bad for the environment and irresponsible! When we were in Santorini this past May we saw only one or two cruise ships at the most in the caldera. And they can't dock right at the port. The passengers take tender boats to the island. |
Day One: Kotor First Look
Stuffed way up at the end of the Bay, Kotor is the crown jewel of Montenegro. It is hard to believe that much of this picture perfect town was destroyed by a 1979 earthquake. Everything seems perfectly original and restored. Somehow, the cruise ships wind their way up here, and they hover high close to the outside walls of this ancient place. So, most visitors here see it in one day. And if they miss out on the steep climb along the beautiful fortifications above, they won’t enjoy the best views. The narrow streets, under the glow of lights from the upper fort, house many shops and restaurants, which are busy but relaxed in the evening when the cruisers leave. And, lots of young people populate the restaurants and bars at night.
We saw many visitors spending time with the oodles of cats that roam the old town. And that seems to be one of the themes in gift shops, and there is even a museum here about cats. Getting in an out of tiny Kotor can be a bit annoying, due to traffic in the immediate area, but we still found it to be a great base to explore the region. There were several Orthodox churches and one large Catholic cathedral. And numerous gelato shops. Our apartment is located on the other side of the moat that surrounds part of the old walled town. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...97fbee898.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...394918596.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a3f941978.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8b3f29342.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4235e8506.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...49cbce53c.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...07ecbda78.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...eec090bc2.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ae3deef2d.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...099b797db.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3f20ecbe3.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8813b6c46.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d4c285ae7.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3c6811334.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e222fdf73.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6661ae99d.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d742eee61.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...aa0b1ea12.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d4e3aa6ab.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0991c47e8.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2c5e605fa.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...52a8a8ef3.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...43b19945e.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cd908eeaa.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a82022e6e.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...47b4df137.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...61232c9c7.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9aaf7ed74.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...017dd9526.jpeg |
I love your photos of Kotor! You do a wonderful job capturing the place with your photos and your commentary. Because we were visiting the Bay of Kotor for only a day, we did not have time to climb the stairs above the city. And I don't think I could do it physically anyways. I had hip replacement surgery several months before our trip, and I remember it was very warm and humid the day we were in Kotor. So I would not have attempted the climb if we had the time, but I always knew we missed out on the best scenery.
We have only a few photos of Kotor since our visit was short. Your photos give a better idea of how pretty it is. I know that some people on travel forums advise people not to visit Kotor if they have seen Dubrovnik, but I disagree with this advice. Kotor is very pretty and well worth visiting. I wish we had had more time. |
Originally Posted by KarenWoo
(Post 17437897)
I love your photos of Kotor! You do a wonderful job capturing the place with your photos and your commentary. Because we were visiting the Bay of Kotor for only a day, we did not have time to climb the stairs above the city. And I don't think I could do it physically anyways. I had hip replacement surgery several months before our trip, and I remember it was very warm and humid the day we were in Kotor. So I would not have attempted the climb if we had the time, but I always knew we missed out on the best scenery.
We have only a few photos of Kotor since our visit was short. Your photos give a better idea of how pretty it is. I know that some people on travel forums advise people not to visit Kotor if they have seen Dubrovnik, but I disagree with this advice. Kotor is very pretty and well worth visiting. I wish we had had more time. |
Day Two: Kotor Fortress
We started our day crossing the moat to the old city and noticed that the narrow streets don't even allow delivery vehicles. All goods and returns are carted to the bridge over the moat.
The Fortress of St. John, or the Kotor Fortress, is a magnificent and extensive series of castle-like ruins above Kotor itself. Well-above. There is a fee to climb up to the fortress, but it requires quite a climb over steep old rocks and steps. For those able to navigate it, the views make it worth the difficulty. We didn’t count the steps, and, in some places, it was inclines of just relatively flat rock, but we were told there were more than 1300. It takes about 40 minutes or so for the climb up. Along the way, there is a small Catholic chapel that’s been there a while, but probably not the 1700 or so years since the fortress was first built. We walked up along the walls of the fortress, but there were even more challenging hiking trails from below and behind the fortress, where we could see further ruins and another old church. We were impressed with the many bags along the route for people to deposit their empty water bottles. We were less impressed when we saw most of them overflowing. And, then we were truly disappointed when we saw cavernous ruins near the top stuffed full of these bags of plastic bottles. Although this hike is strenuous and slippery, we saw one guy, who appeared to run off into the woods to relieve himself, carrying two large coolers up the steps. Not recommended. Lots of photos follow for those who would prefer to take this hike vicariously. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b5f6750a7.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2eacdb3c8.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...137d649d1.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0cffd1ff4.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...814032c86.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...738f77f2b.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0609a9425.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4270718ef.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b01a220b3.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6bc34dff0.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...51835ad55.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b13eec748.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...43e38262a.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4bed4dcfa.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...631f74ab4.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5f3dda5a3.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3fa00c389.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...51f394b76.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9136d8ecf.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...03d5a5fba.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9dbcc9002.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...93edca27e.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6aa1e6285.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...dbf4f5b66.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3c4b4797c.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a1c07826f.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...12de96d97.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7ea9dde0f.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...258ec41d0.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9a5b30e94.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ad16303e4.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c6300896e.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ad3f30751.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5ff1ab961.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8603b97b2.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...051202e0f.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...92160c6ea.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0eb06f2cd.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6a7aa2fdb.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4ac373a20.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...adc2508f9.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...56187cf14.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c78a2e6f0.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c0b3e6a05.jpeg |
Day Two: Tivat & Porto Montenegro
On our way out of the walls of Kotor for our next destination, someone pointed our attention to the fish congregating in the moat. Thousands of fish, decent size, we didn’t identify literally piled on top of each other. But time to check out another nearby town.
If you haven’t heard of Tivat and its Porto Montenegro community,.this Balkan Riviera destination is well on its way to becoming the next Monaco, Saint Tropez, Costa Smerelda or Capri. The first hint of wealth came as we drove by an airport full of private jets, reminding us of Aspen. We parked in an older area of the town and walked in via a large community park, where there were young kids from an international school enjoying classes outside. This once dumpy port town got big buck investors, like controversial Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, the world’s richest man Bernard Arnault, and the government of Dubai, and they created a nautical village. We found this new hotspot to be full of super yachts, with elegant shops, restaurants and condos. Montenegro is only the size of Connecticut, but it has more than 200 miles of Mediterranean coastline and 300 plus days of annual sunshine. And, a friendly citizenship by investment scheme that allows the wealthy to buy passports from a country soon to be part of the EU. The existing village covers a lot of ground, but it is expected to double or triple in size, with the marina going from the current 450 berths to 850. We aren’t sure if this is a possible hideout for some Russian mega yachts, but we heard a lot of crew speaking Russian. We also quickly identified a yacht belonging to the richest billionaire in Israel, another owned by a Kuwaiti zillionaire, as well as the largest sailboat in the world, sitting while its Russian billionaire owner’s estate is being litigated. The one problem is that places like this have owners with so many other homes around the globe, we felt like we were the only people walking around. A couple of the restaurants had some activity, and we picked an Italian place for lunch with a waterfront deck. Great food and service, at very reasonable prices. Salads even came with a flight of three different olive oils from Montenegro. It’s a place where billionaires and crew people get around on golf carts and electric scooters, and Rolex keeps track of the time. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...318b71f28d.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...034064835.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6713abc1c.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b39d976df.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1378e1225.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e09ee3e69.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fa0141c15.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...440ed1eda.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b9ac17d1e.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c2af80b2c.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8532413a8.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...81a00f8f8.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...910fc7cd7.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c6102af72.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...50b11a379.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cfc3e065d.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...848176561.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a3a781669.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6ee47375e.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9712b7983.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...74a6847ba.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3c095071d.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6088e10a6.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...dc17d0e94.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f32a6e486.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a6b05487b.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...57e95387e.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...337cef01f.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3d5256735.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a7ccb3fd5.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...724396d54.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b25dc6b2d.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6a6d68fc9.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...624e44122.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...293cbac6d.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1e3f1723a.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a5acd3eeb.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a915ace14.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...88088d642.jpeg |
Wow!!! The view from the stairs in Kotor is spectacular! I know we missed out by not doing that hike, and I also love wandering around ruins, but there is no way I could have physically done that hike. I really admire you for climbing 1300 stairs UP and then DOWN! It's very interesting to see the details of the stairs, too. You take great photos! Now I know what we missed.
|
Originally Posted by KarenWoo
(Post 17438299)
Wow!!! The view from the stairs in Kotor is spectacular! I know we missed out by not doing that hike, and I also love wandering around ruins, but there is no way I could have physically done that hike. I really admire you for climbing 1300 stairs UP and then DOWN! It's very interesting to see the details of the stairs, too. You take great photos! Now I know what we missed.
|
Day Two: Budva
Budva is the busiest tourist area in Montenegro. It’s a sprawling, mostly modern city with a growing number of high-rise condos. It’s late night party scene, big beach area, lots of restaurants and bars make it a favorite for all income groups.
Its old town, with narrow streets and squares, is more than 2500 years old, but only holds a tiny point of land on the local waterfront. But, for us, it was the best part. It is full of impeccable restaurants and shops (one with ruins on its lower level). Many of the terraces at homes, restaurants and bars are covered in grape vines and leaves. On the waterfront, Budva’s Citadela Fortress was, as usual, built to protect Budva from attacks. Construction started in the 9th century, but the buildings that you see today were put there by the Venetians during the Renaissance. This includes library rooms that house rare books today. We walked the city walls, which provided a glimpse of the old town from above, as well as a nice look at the Adriatic. However, it was not as big or as exciting as Dubrovnik’s city wall. Budva’s promenade runs from the old town to Sveti Stefan, a small island turned into an exclusive hotel frequented by celebrities. The walk is about 15 minutes, and we should have tried that. Sveti Stefan was on our list of “must sees”, even though we were told you need a hotel or restaurant reservation to get on the island. We got close in our rental car, but the narrow roads along the way to the island was cluttered with people squeezing into limited parking spaces, and we turned around. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f3f9e657c.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7e604b724c.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...696c1681b.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...804d2736e.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...38295f914.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9e65b80bb.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e6e754925.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ed4671a5a.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6f5de71d7.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...34159a4fd.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0e646dd2c.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c1214d006.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...aa1a90f59.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c9215cbb0.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b4455d961.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fa3a82890.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ffbe5cc79.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...23055b4e6.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...66385cc36.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...29bb92d2c.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...356f4f25d.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...882315260.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cb495b417.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...96a66be7b.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...771df3ea9.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b49e98dc5.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...351d259e84.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f75bd278e.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...edc8fbba6.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5a7205412.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...45889b9d4.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...21c66e996.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cd33c0008.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...dbeb62d08.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...abd7b6ee4.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...03c9ad0a1.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...811c7d9dd.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4f255ff7e.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2cfb48394.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...77752fc74.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b87cf34bc.jpeg Sveti Stefan |
Thank you for posting this great report. It is wonderful to see people visit for a bit longer than the day trip from Dubrovnik.
Montenegro does not get 300 days of sun a year though :) in fact, it gets an insane amount of rain. Weather looks perfect when you were there! |
Originally Posted by rialtogrl
(Post 17438466)
Thank you for posting this great report. It is wonderful to see people visit for a bit longer than the day trip from Dubrovnik.
Montenegro does not get 300 days of sun a year though :) in fact, it gets an insane amount of rain. Weather looks perfect when you were there! |
Originally Posted by whitehall
(Post 17438480)
rialtogrl Thank you for your comments and that correction on the number of sunny days in Montenegro each year.. I saw that higher number somewhere, but upon further review it seems like 240 days of sunshine is more like it and when it rains, it pours, especially September through April. We feel even luckier.
One thing I love about Montenegro.. the rain and the storms. Nothing is halfway, this is for sure. |
Day Three: Kotor Bay to Adriatic Speedboat
There are all sorts of boat excursions available for Kotor Bay. We negotiated our own discounted version on a small private speedboat at an earlier hour than most want to go. The speedboat literally hopped over the waves, with a constant bam, bam, bam on your butt. I loved it; my wife not so much; and I appreciate her even more for putting up with it for three hours.
We did slow down for many of the regular stops. Our captain was an affable young story-teller with excellent English with plans to go to Miami and captain a yacht for a millionaire sometime in 2023. There are any number of picture perfect villages hugging the bay, but nearby Perast is so beautiful, most tour boats allow passengers to disembark there for a few minutes. We scratched that and decided to drive over there and have a late lunch later. Just off Perast is a postage stamp sized island big enough to barely fit Our Lady of the Rocks Catholic Church. The man-made island was created by locals piling up rocks and shipwrecks full of rocks. To this day, there is an annual celebration, where locals toss rocks, purportedly to very slowly widen the island. This tiny place was surrounded with tour boats and so many people, we opted not to pay the extra fee and visit the church. St. George Island is a real island, right next to Our Lady of the Rocks. It has an old 1,000 year-old monastery, and, according to our skipper was purchased for $5M by someone who wanted to keep it as is. The web says the local catholic church owns it. We soon learned that our captain was a story teller when he showed us a rusty shipwreck that he said was from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and was put there by Johnny Depp, who spends a lot of time at his house above on the hill, overlooking a resort he also owns. We could not find any of that to be true. Funny thing is I started telling him about the owners of various mega yachts we had seen the day before at Porto Montenegro, and we overheard him telling another skipper these stories when we were back in the harbor. Maybe we gave him a new, and perhaps more accurate, story line for his future passengers. Our skipper had a whale of a story about Mamula Island, a restored 19th century fort. This fort was converted by Mussolini into a concentration camp during WWII. The captain said the fort was turned into a hotel by another Russian oligarch. He was partially right. It is owned by a billionaire, but one from Montenegro, originally from Egypt. The $200M our skipper said was paid for the crumbling fort was actually less than 10% of that. The $10,000 daily room rates are actually about $1,000. And access to the island, its 32 rooms restaurant and spa, which appeared to be about half a mile from the mainland is not by private tunnel, as he told us, but by private shuttle boats. We drove into two of several old WWII tunnels, where the Yugoslavs hid Hitler’s submarines. One had an old vessel, which we were TOLD was the last surviving one of its type from WWII. We were also TOLD that the layers of screening on the outside was to provide camouflage from any air surveillance by the Allies. We were TOLD that the camouflage “rocks” still there on these screens were actually styrofoam, which we checked was invented during WWII, so maybe. We had the tunnels to ourselves. Our last stop was the “Blue Cave”, where we were finally competing with other tour boats. But not the kind of back-up at Capri's blue grotto. The blue/green waters were spectacular and invited some of the passengers to jump in. Once we got to the island hotel fort and the blue cave, we are outside of Kotor Bay and in the open Adriatic, maybe 75 minutes away from our starting point. The captain allowed me to drive the boat for half that time at full hopping speed in the open waters and back into parts of the bay where speed is not limited. He cautioned about fines if I got too close to land; and he took over, as we got closer to populated areas again, suggesting that the authorities wouldn’t take kindly to his allowing me to operate the boat. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9c57219d6.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2159fb75a.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8bb538c10.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cfbfecbba.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0bb55f5d2.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7f8c3f9f8.jpeg Our Lady of the Rocks https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...dc54d0e00.jpeg St. George Island https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...dd9b8cd56.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0e08cdbb3.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...262385f52.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...edd807f8b.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0e69467ac.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5aaa959b8.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f3dd55fff.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...876df9915.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cf1354eda.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4d257bd1a.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c3762e1b5.jpeg Mamula Island https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3b9f7dff1.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0e2b476b6.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b801da8a0.jpeg Blue Cave https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5a4c9db89.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f4bdbaa8f.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2667a0ec6.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...85559a43d.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...49aca0824.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...954ccef41.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9039f1435.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...623c12c18.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9967f6647.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6fa63fe2d.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5b2e8a28c.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cecdd9e78.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...516caae2e.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...eedb99f85.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f8773f3e3.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6fd4675b9.jpeg Perast https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...da92b378a.jpeg |
I love your photos of Budva! I think you were very smart to spend 4 days in Montenegro. I can tell by your photos that we didn't see nearly as much as you did of Budva and the other places. We enjoyed Budva's old town. I remember we left Dubrovnik very early in the morning so we didn't have time for breakfast. But that was fine because we enjoyed a delicious breakfast in Budva's Old Town and then explored a bit. We didn't have time to walk along the walls which would have been nice or visit the fortress. I am enjoying reliving our trip through your report and photos and learning more.
Your speed boat trip sounds like a lot of fun but I think all the bumping across waves would bother me, too! Your story-telling captain sounds like a hoot! I am sure he make the trip even more enjoyable. |
Fabulous report, as always. Thanks for the effort in sharing this.
|
The speedboat does seem awesome! I think your photos will make everyone want to visit Montenegro..
|
KarenWoo Adelaidean Thank you.
rialtogrl We thought it would be a great place to live, until you told us about all the rain. A lot of English is spoken and friendly people. |
Originally Posted by whitehall
(Post 17438746)
KarenWoo Adelaidean Thank you.
rialtogrl We thought it would be a great place to live, until you told us about all the rain. A lot of English is spoken and friendly people. |
Day Three: Perlast
The most scenic waterfront town on Kotor Bay is Perast. It overlooks those two small islands with churches I mentioned in the prior post. With lots of dining, only inches from the water, it was the perfect spot for lunch and we can imagine sunset there.
There is one main street, mostly used by golf carts, with very limited access for cars and only for the 300 people who live there. One of the few cars we saw parked near the town was an older Mercedes with only New York plates. One other oddity was a bocce ball court that had advertising on the walls, as well as what appeared to be pro-Fidel Castro propaganda. Most of the churches in Perast are Catholic, and the oldest dates to 900 AD. Iconic looking town. Not much to do, but wow. Reminded us a little of Hallstatt in Austria. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a7f3ff546.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...739931c3f.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...47de14c0d.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...62b250c85.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3c6367f95.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...29caa3cef.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f4d9c10f1.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bc01778fd.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1d9cd1592.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b2278bdf5.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5c4a489a6.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...34db8d0a0.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...89ac0cd37.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...76159ada7.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e521d8a59.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e7a4b974e.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...496cfc898.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...dfa6b1d0f.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...074b3178d.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c6938c6d1.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bf51598df.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e9b50c1b6.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b679a6986.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b40111a1d.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f85a05a712.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...79b7dca51.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bb60ca39f.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...280fc1414.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7f6fb2e71.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...626ed2bc4.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...911a06b38.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...02599def3.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...97c6dec8d.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7692301b8.jpeg Many of the old restored buildings in the village center, behind wrought iron gates, have been converted into a high end resort hotel. |
Sorry for the misspelling of Perast. I usually do one last review and possible edit after posting, but this one went to moderators overnight. They must be having spam issues again.
|
Day Four: Lovcen National Park
Another nice day, and we decided to head for the hills. In many rural areas of the US, we see some shabby mobile homes and junk cars. We don’t recall seeing anything like that in Montenegro. In fact, our climb toward and up to Lovcen National Park included mostly manicured properties and homes. There were some narrow, but good, roads and then, surprisingly, a wide, modern highway for the last stretch to the national park.
We found a little out-of-the-way modern hotel for a nice quiet outside breakfast. There were two large mountains in the distance, one was Montenegro’s tallest with communication towers; the other was Mt. Lovcen, our destination. We saw so few cars coming and going on the road up, we were surprised to see a line for National Park tickets. The toll was only two euros, but the friendly ticket taker was engaged in a long animated chat with the first car. You can visit there to enjoy the magnificent views for the token mountain entry fee, but there’s an extra five euro fee if you want to to visit the burial mausoleum of Montengero's most revered royal, leader and poet from the 1800's, Prince Peter. A very stately and elaborate tomb. To get there, you need to navigate a massive, curving and steep staircase through the mountain (see yellow line on one photo). We counted over 400 steps. There were no elevators and lots of heavy breathing by guests. Mt. Lovcen is sometimes referred to as "Black Mountain", hence the source of the name for "Montenegro" itself. It offers 360 degree views to the Adriatic to the Albanian Alps to Cetinje, the former royal capital of the country, just below (and our next stop). https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4987e6af8.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b287f4bf0.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...46436e2ab.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f94ab8200.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...43650e465.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8010775eb.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9fd52e776.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...52dd3830a.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...509675f76.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7aa11e5f4.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8488b1b24.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...23823a632.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9d28635f6.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bc4f00db1.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d961f7a10.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...315b1299e.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...602f00190.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...51bf969ba.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f2b542ef4.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...50de1af49.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...986a3d8cd.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ce2e4dae3.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...39e853335.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0ad212141.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...55e68cbab.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0a8742abb.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...edf239ff2.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...975ea1fff.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8e217a3e3.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...891d4d8f3.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...02533598a.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...da41581fd.jpeg |
Day Four: Cetinje
Cetinje, beginning in the 1400’s, was the royal capital of Montenegro. Although, some of the stately buildings, remain and are kept in good shape, little was open. Since we were the only obvious tourists in town on this gorgeous day, that was not a surprise.
The most striking buildings were on the edge of town, a complex that made up the Monastery of St. Peter of Cetinje. A monk invited us into the courtyard of the orthodox complex, after providing my wife with a large scarf-like covering. We were told that absolutely no photographs were allowed. Several more priests beckoned us into an extremely tiny but elaborately decorated space with icons and other relics. Ironically, we had a difficult time navigating the small space as the several priests, obviously visiting, were busily taking photos of each other and selfies of themselves in a less than solemn manner. When we pointed to stairs and other passages from the outer courtyard within the huge complex, we got a negative finger wag, indicating our very brief tour was over. In town, the streets, which reminded us of a western town in the US, were empty. There were neat colorful buildings, suggesting that maybe they get some summer visitors. But on this beautiful September day, we couldn’t find a restaurant busy enough to predict a good place for lunch. It ended its time as the country’s capital in 1946, two years after Communist partisans summarily executed 28 local civilians, whom they claimed, without trial, were collaborating with the Germans, who were occupying Montenegro at the time. We googled Cetinje to find out why it was so quiet, and we learned about a more recent massacre. Just a few weeks earlier, 11 people, including the shooter, were killed in a mass shooting in this small town that started over an argument with family members over unpaid rent. Maybe not such a big deal in the US, but a real biggie in Montenegro. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1b360b78b.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...43e3460f1.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bbedb210c.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...22534ee1d.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2a4aadd32.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2a67dd967.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7eb7352d9.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...535177a0a.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a7bf30853.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c0db76fc0.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d1ffc70b7.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8e4aa0187.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1c812b115.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cbb216dd8.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f4186c7b2.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e2abf33c1.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9053f49e9.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3cecea04c.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b52b58621.jpeg |
Day Four: Lustica Bay
Between Budva and Herceg-Novi on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast is a peninsula and small previously undeveloped bay.
Samih Sawiris, an Egyptian born billionaire spotted an old military training ground on Lustica Bay and created a new seaside village aptly named Lustica Bay. Sawiris headed up a successful Swiss real estate development company and had called Montenegro his home for several years. This isn’t quite the billionaire haven that Porto Montenegro is, but, as a destination for mere millionaires, it also is a quite impressive, built from scratch, waterfront village. Again, most of the homes, although reported to be sold, sit empty, perhaps mostly because mid-September is off season for this largely summer community. The hotel was operating, the restaurants open, and again we got to take advantage of great food at a fairly priced restaurant. And, lots of top notch service when there are only two tables occupied. Admittedly, we were a little early for dinner, but it’s nice when someone with deep pockets is subsidizing the place to keep it open and looking like a Disney park. The clouds were rolling in. As we left the next morning, it was quiet enough and raining enough that the border guard for Montenegro had to run out of a larger building to get into his booth to accept our papers. Thanks to all for reading this report. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a24b9d69b.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9eb04ef80.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f6eba3398.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7ec57960c.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7096495bd.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f73131f9e.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e1d06b327.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...16abe6f37.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...42687ecb1.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a01b33b62.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2ce37130c.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...11912fa7e.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f9b65e6a6.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7c2cd1ab7.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c77f378bb.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ce96b9dfe.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5aaf986bb.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3ffa4d7e70.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c8574d74e.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5f4c53938.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...14800eaff.jpeg |
Thank you again for sharing your observations and photos. Your photos really do capture the beauty of Montenegro. Lots more to see - Durmitor, and Lake Skadar for starters - if you decide to come back!
(and.. Cetinje is always quiet in the afternoon, except weekends (usually) but in the evening it gets busy with everyone out, kids playing and all cafe tables full. Friday and Saturday evenings are a fashion show on the main drag, Another reason to come back!) |
Great photos and Iike seeing that the capital has cleaned up so well since the 90s when I was last up there (used to be armed men lounging in the street).
The crystal clean water will stop if those fat-giant ships keep going in there, they should hold their human waste in tanks until they hit international waters (just off shore) but they have bypass valves and litigation shows they dump where they want. |
Originally Posted by rialtogrl
(Post 17439540)
Thank you again for sharing your observations and photos. Your photos really do capture the beauty of Montenegro. Lots more to see - Durmitor, and Lake Skadar for starters - if you decide to come back!
(and.. Cetinje is always quiet in the afternoon, except weekends (usually) but in the evening it gets busy with everyone out, kids playing and all cafe tables full. Friday and Saturday evenings are a fashion show on the main drag, Another reason to come back!)
Originally Posted by bilboburgler
(Post 17439546)
Great photos and Iike seeing that the capital has cleaned up so well since the 90s when I was last up there (used to be armed men lounging in the street).
The crystal clean water will stop if those fat-giant ships keep going in there, they should hold their human waste in tanks until they hit international waters (just off shore) but they have bypass valves and litigation shows they dump where they want. |
Whitehall - Thanks for the great Montenegro Trip Report. We are just starting to plan our Slovenia, Croatia tour. Starting with a 14 day Rick Steves touring ending in Dubrovnik. If I read your report correctly you rented a car in Dubrovnik and headed to Montenegro. Any problems taking a car into Montenegro from Croatia? Also, I don't think we will have 4 days for Montenegro. If you had only a couple of days would you stay in Perast? And do days trip on either side of that town? Someone mentioned visiting Hercog Novi instead of Budva? Again, amazing pictures.
|
Originally Posted by Tdiddy12
(Post 17534798)
Whitehall - Thanks for the great Montenegro Trip Report. We are just starting to plan our Slovenia, Croatia tour. Starting with a 14 day Rick Steves touring ending in Dubrovnik. If I read your report correctly you rented a car in Dubrovnik and headed to Montenegro. Any problems taking a car into Montenegro from Croatia? Also, I don't think we will have 4 days for Montenegro. If you had only a couple of days would you stay in Perast? And do days trip on either side of that town? Someone mentioned visiting Hercog Novi instead of Budva? Again, amazing pictures.
|
| All times are GMT -8. The time now is 03:19 AM. |