Montenegro- a cheaper alternative to Croatia
 

I have written a short report on a recent trip to this newly independent country. Very few Western tourists go there- amaze your friends with tales of the unexpected!

Montenegro is a small country -south of Dubrovnik and north of Albania- with less than a million people and a rugged coastline. The fjord-like bay of Boka with its lead town of Kotor is its jewel in the crown. The country inland is mountainous, is sparsely populated with bears and wolves; and leads eventually north to the Serbian border.
I spent ten days there with three more days in Dubrovnik Croatia.
I took a JAT flight from London to Tivat via the Serbian capital of Belgrade. JAT is a lead airline into Montenegro a residual benefit of the previous union of Serbia and that country. The landscape into Belgrade airport was more flat & agricultural than I was expecting.
Montenegro airlines flies to Gatwick but their website quotes silly prices for the journey. Ryanair will take you to Podgornica, the Montenegrin capital, but only from Brussels. All of which makes the journey from the UK a bit of a chore.
The country has in the past been of a different size, has disappeared altogether and been part of- or in the orbit of- the Roman, Venetian, Ottoman, Russian, Napoleonic and Hapsburg empires. The name Montenegro is Venetian: describing a mountain above the town of Budva which is indeed black when in cloud cover, otherwise grey/green.

For the longer report go to:
http://andrewchum.blogspot.co.uk/

I enjoyed your blog. We have visited and enjoyed Sarajevo and Belgrade, and now I am intrigued by Montenegro. Thank you for sharing your report!

We were fortunate to have visited beautiful Montenegro the 1st day of its independence from Serbia. It's definitely worth the effort to get there!

If you really want cheap in that region you should go to Albania (or Macedonia if you don't need a sea beach). And Montenegro is hardly undiscovered, it's part of the "new Riviera". Sveti Stefan, for instance.

Montenegro was my favorite country. We spent about 3 days in Zabljak and hiked Bobutuv Kuk in Durmitor and it was spectacular. Kotor was beautiful as well, but I was in awe with Montenegro's national forests. So beautiful!