meliss35

Which do you recommend Montenegro or Bosnia day trip from Dubrovnik for 2 adults and 2 kids (13 and 17 years old)during the summer? Also what tour company do you recommend and do they have a website?

Dee_Dee

I used Atlas Tours for both tours this past September. They do have a web site. I would recommend you check their site before going as not all tours are offered on all days. Their office is very conveniently located just outside the gate on the north of the town. It would be hard for me to recommend one over the other. Both were excellent & I am not a tour type person. The tour into Bosnia was very eye opening with it's Islamic culture and evidence of war. Our tour guide was excellent. I did the Montenegro Blue tour as the Montenegro History tour was not available the day I wanted to go. Again, an excellent tour. I enjoyed walking both Kotor & Budva and the boat trip to the man made island in the Bay of Kotor to explore Our Lady of the Rocks. With all that said, I believe your 13 & 17 year olds would enjoy the trip to Montenegro more as there is less bus time.

I hope this helps & I hope you enjoy your trip. Mine was fabulous & I can't wait to go back again.

nbujic

Montenegro !

Debs

Agree completely with Dee Dee's reply. Unlike her Montenegro tour, we booked the Historical trip, which we found quite interesting, as well as the Mostar one. Both trips make for a long day, as your hotel pick-up can be as early as 7am, depending on where you're staying. Drop off is between 6:30-7pm. We reserved our trips on line and didn't have any problems with them-but other posters haven't been so fortunate. We had excellent guides on each trip. If you have time to do both tours, go for it as they're quite interesting, yet very different. The Montenegro trip is about 1 hr from Dubrovnik, while Mostar is about 3. From a cultural standpoint, would recommend Mostar over Montenegro, but for sheer beauty, then Montenegro. Enjoy whichever one you decide on.

Lolo12

I have done both this past Sept. I used Atlas for the Montenegro tour and a private driver for Bosnia. I arranged the Atlas tour before I left the US and then double checked with them when I arrived in my hotel in Dubrovnik. They had changed the days for the tour and I had to scramble to rearrange my schedule. I was angry that they did not let me know beforehand. They said they e-mailed me, but I had already left. Fortunately I was able to move mountains to take their tour - it just as easily could have gone the other way. But, once we got going the tour was wonderful - the guide very knowledgeable. There were several Germans on the bus with us and the guide had to say everything in both languages - slightly annoying but tolerable. Montenegro has a lot to offer tourists.
As for Bosnia, it is an eye-opening experience, what with the bombed-out buildings and bridges in Mostar.
But, if I had to do just one trip, it would be Montenegro.
Have a good time!!

meliss35

Thanks for the info. I think we will go to Montenegro. When I go on the Atlas tour website, there is no information on the Montenegro Historical tour. The website only shows tours for more than one day.I am looking at the website www.atlas-croatia.com/. Is that the correct website?

mercy

Author: mercy
Date: 01/05/2007, 12:51 am
FORolo12
(I posted this query earlier on the Croatia site, but perhaps you did not see it. When I saw your recent posting on this site, I decided to copy it here, in hopes you would spy it here.)

I read your comments about hotels in Dubrovnik, but am interested in what tour you took which stayed at the Argosy Hotel in Dubrovnik? We are planning on one in Sept. and the ARgosy is on our list from the tour. If you see this, I'd appreciate your comments on the hotel and location mhm

Lolo12

Mercy-
The tour I took in Sept was with General Tours. It began in Dubrovnik at the Argosy Hotel ( although I arrived 6 days earlier and stayed at the Villa Argentina). I forget the order of the towns, but we went to Trogir, Split, Hvar, Zagreb, Ljubljana and maybe another town in Croatia. I have been on several escorted tours as well as going independently and I have to say that I was quite disappointed with General Tours. It was not at all up to the standards that I am used to after having traveled with Tauck ( First class all the way) and others. The itinerary was suitable for me and the size of the group was relatively small ( they promised 20, but we had 23). If you want any further info, let me know.

Lolo12

Mercy,
I just realized that I didn't really answer your question about the hotel. The Argosy is located outside of the gates of old town, not within walking distance. There is a bus that runs frequently very close to the hotel that will take you to old town.
The rooms are ok, there is a pool that is also ok and the place for breakfast is fine as well. This would not have been my first choice because I like to stay withing walking distance to where all the action is. I was here only because the tour chose it. Having said that, we did take the bus into town each night for dinner and it was not a big deal at all. In fact, we made friends with other people who were also riding into town and it became a fun ride!!!

Debs

Meliss35-yes, that's the Atlas website. Perhaps the tour you're interested in isn't offered on the day you want to travel, or maybe they haven't updated their website with all the tours yet if your trip is still quite a ways off. Sounds like you're interested in the Historical tour-maybe you can e-mail them with the specific dates of your trip and see if they have something for you.

I remember seeing numerous tour companies on the Montenegro tour-at quite a few places, the busses are literally lined up behind each other. Elite was another company that offered tours-you might want to check them out. It'll definitely be worth your time and effort to take this trip!

mercy

Lolo12: Thank you for the info about the Argosy. We are taking a tour with a company we have not used before--SmarTours. We have usually used Globus or Trafalgar, or done our own thing. However, this itinerary looked interesting since it was one of the few tours that did not visit both Vienna and Budapest--since we've been there twice, we preferred to get more of Croatia. Also, it ended in Dubrovnik which for us was a plus.

We are planning to spend three extra nights--which I'm sure won't be enough, but will already have been there 4 nights, so it will have to do. Any suggestions about places to eat? Ciao! mhm

Lolo12

Mercy, Here are a few restaurants that we ate in in Dubrovnik:
Proto - my favorite - try to get a table on the terrace,
Ragusa 2 - good food, service a bit snooty
Marco Polo - in a little alley - excellent grilled squid and sea bass
Moby Dick - also very good
Longo - don't wast your time or money here
There are many local pizzarias and other restaurants on the main and side streets of old town. Most are very good - you have to just wander around and take your pick. I found that the ones that try to lure you in usually are not as good as the others. The local wines are also very good.

meliss35

What is the difference between the Montenegro Blue tour and the Montenegro Historical tour? What is the cost for the tours? Also can you do this on your own with a rental car and is it safe on your own?

Laurie

I would also like to know if a trip to Montenegro is possible and safe with a rental car from Dubrovnik.