Paging Debs – Montenegro day trip from Dubrovnik
 

Debs,
You mentioned on a different thread that you took the Montenegro ‘Historical tour’. Can you please tell us more about it?
We’ll be in Croatia in Sept, and still trying to figure out which tour (the Historical or the Blue one) to take. Any idea what the difference is? Any info about the tour, and a Croatia trip report :) appreciated, thanks

I'm also interested in one of the tours. The historical tour is the only one that works with my schedule. The information on the Atlas website is somewhat helpful, but I'd like to know more, too.

I did email them about the length of the tour. They replied quickly and said it would last until 7:30 PM. It sounds like a long day on a bus.

It is an awfully long day, but come on, can you really "do" a whole country in less than a day?

I posted a link to a part of my trip report that describes that tour on another thread, q.v. It was in 2004, but I would think little has changed in Montenegro since then, except it has now become independent.

We thought the trip was quite stunning, and instructive in showing the differences between Croatia and Montenegro. Well worth the cost and time, IMHO.

:-)

The historical tour goes along the Bay of Kotor, stopping for a tour and visit in the old walled town of Kotor, Then it goes up the mountains (where there are incredible views and roads you would NOT want to drive on yourself) stopping for lunch in a small village and continuing inland to Centjie, the old capital and stops at a museum that was the home of Nicholas I. It then comes back out along the coast to Budva where you stop for another break and strolling around that walled town. In my opinion it's incredibly interesting and well worth the long day.

I highly recommend this tour. I think the Blue tour stays mainly in the coastal areas.

Thank you both, the historical tour sounds really interesting. I think it will make for a nice change after the Croatian coastline drive and a few days in Hvar.

I am also interested in the Atlas tour to Kotor. Do you their website??

Lolo, the website for Atlas is http://www.atlas-croatia.com/en/. To find the daytrips, click on the town you will be daytripping from (in this case Dubrovnik) and then click on "excursions" and enter the days you will be in Dubrovnik. It will give you a list of tours available.

We too are taking an Atlas tour to Montenegro. However, we will be there in November and the only tour available is the Montenegro historical tour, which is fine because its the one I want. Can't wait!

Tracy

Thanks tcreath. I checked and the only one they have on the days I have free is the Blue tour, Pearls of Montenegro. Is this the historical one?

oops - I just checked again and I found out it is not the historical tour. That one is given on another day. If we do some juggling, we can make it. Is the historical tour so much better??

We took the Montenegro Blue tour last October and loved it. It also includes a lot of history but stays on the coast, which is stunning.

Both are available in our time frame - the MB tour says to bring your swimsuit - does it spend time at a beach or something? I think I could do that on my own time, I would rather be seeing sites I that would be difficult to see on my own. I think I will go for the Historical Tour.

Augh - the frustration of having written a long post only to have it vanish. Sorry, need to regroup and try again.

Wow, Debs - that bites. Not that it helps now, but I always highlight and copy my text just before I hit "post my reply", just in case.

Topping for Debs - Hoping that you have a few minutes to recreate your missing posting!

The Montenegro posts are excellent and I can only fine tune it with observations from our trip. We booked our trip with Atlas via the internet about 3 months before the trip. We also booked their day trip to Mostar for the day after the Montenegro tour. It's hotel pick-up (we stayed at the Kompas Hotel in Lapad with a 7:10am pick up for each trip-there were already people on board, but most of the other trippers were yet to be picked up). You must remember to bring your passport with you when leaving Croatia. Both times, when leaving Croatia, our bus was boarded when crossing the border and our passports checked-this just took a few minutes and really didn't cause any delay. Just a quick note about the buses-they are long haul buses, very modern and quite comfortable. Lots of overhead storage space. Each trip had a language mix of customers-our Montenegro trip was English speaking and German speaking, while the Mostar trip was English speaking and French speaking. Each guide did an excellent job with commentary in both languages.
These are all day trips-we were dropped off back at the Kompas at 7:10pm and more suited to adults rather than perhaps toddlers and small children. This is a very long day for adults and the 18-month old on the Montenegro trip was fast asleep many times and fussy many times. There are also issues with 'comfort stops'. The bus does stop, but not necessarily when a child might need to. Don't get me wrong, by all means take older children along on these trips, but it might not be the right venue for younger ones. Let me say that Montenegro is stunningly beautiful. The historical tour heads inland after passing thru the charming and picturesque small towns of of Risan and Perast on your way to Kotor. (in fact, on your return to Dubrovnik, rather than winding back along the road, you'll catch a 5-minute ferry ride from Perast-again, keep the camera handy as you can get out of the bus for some great shots). The old town in Kotor is a mini Dubrovnik with all its charms. We visited about 10 days after Montenegro voted to a 'divorce' from Serbia (in fact it was mentioned a few times that this had happened). You'll have about 45 minutes or so to explore the old town and there are shops, alley ways, churches, restaurants to keep you entertained. After leaving Kotor, you'll head up the mountain (in fact, way up) for a lunch stop (simple ham and cheese sandwiches and home made honey wine-not included in tour price) before your visit to the former capital city of Cetinje. There are also a couple of stands selling beautiful handmade items and a small post office (I collect stamps for my photo album and was able to get a Montenegro stamp for it). What separates you from these 2 things, however, are 32 winding hairpin turns that seem to go on forever. The scenery becomes more dramatic as you ascend the mountain. At the top, you'll stop (along with numerous bus tours-in fact, there are quite a few companies out of Dubrovnik all doing the same tour, leaving at the same time-others that I can remember the names of besides Atlas are Elite and Gulliver) and have one of the most beautiful views you can imagine-the Bay of Kotor. Your stop will be brief, but long enough for a picture or two, and to visit the souvenir sellers who've set up shop (i.e. using the hood of their car). These 32 turns are amazing-what awaits you on one side is a sheer cliff while the other affords you a solid mountain of rock! This is NOT the place I would have wanted to take my drivers license test! Moving up the mountain, you reach your goal of Cetinje and visiting King Nikola's Palace (now the State Musuem). Of course, all the buses arrive at basically the same time, and with many languages being spoken, you're given a time to when your tour will begin (we had to wait about 45 minutes for the English tour). Make the most of your time by exploring the city, which is quite small. In fact, if your interest doesn't lie in visiting the Palace (your admission ticket is included in the cost of your tour), wander around Cetinje-you'll be told what time you need to be back on the bus so it won't leave without you. (The parents of the 18-month old commented that the changing facilities weren't much to speak of nor very clean). You'll descend and have a wonderful view of the 'Stone Sea'-acres of boulders that look like a sea floor bed-to your next stop of the coastal city of Budva. If you're still awake at this point, you'll catch a glimpse of Stevi Stefan (my husband missed it) before reaching your last stop at Budva. You'll have about an hour or so to explore here-first stop will be in The Citadel for a small sandwich and glass of wine(included in tour price-sit on the ocean side for a spectacular view of St Nikola island. Like at Kotor, it'll be time to head back to the bus and be on your way again. Budva is again a mini-Dubrovnik with Churches, shops, restaurants to occupy your time.

Personally I'm glad we took the Historical tour. If time permitted, we would have taken the Blue tour as well. We found the tour to be an excellent value for what it offered. Sure, your time was limited at your stops, however, I know we wouldn't have appreciated (nor understood) anything without the excellent commentary of our guide Sandra. We would have missed the beauty of the Bay of Kotor had we decided to rent a car and explore on our own. In this case, leaving the driving to someone else was money well spent.

The Altas tour was very professional and our guide did an excellent job with the commentary-in 2 languages no less! The bus driver was the unsung hero, however, especially as he expertly wound his way up and down the mountain-something I would not want to have done! We had a picture perfect clear day for our trip, which only added to the beauty surrounding us.

I would highly recommend a visit to Montenegro, either on your own, or as a day trip, from Dubrovnik.

Sorry it took so long to get this posted but thanks for the gentle reminders to do so. Ask away if you have any questions and I hope your trip will be as memorable as ours was!

Lina - how does the Blue tour differ from the historical tour that Debs described to vividly?
Debs - you gave a wonderful description of the tour - it sounds wonderful.
I would like to know the differences between the 2 tours so I can make up my mind which one to take as I can't do both.
Atlas's website doesn't give specific details.

THANK YOU DEBS!

This really hit the nail on the head as to what to expect on the historical tour.

I can understand and appreciate how frustrated you must have been to compose all this info the first time and then lose it! I am a very poor typist and even my short reply takes an annoyingly long time, LOL.

I was contemplating taking our rental car on our own tour, but don't really know anything about Montenegro, so a guide might make all the difference.

My recommendation would be to take an organized tour to Montenegro-especially if you're leaning towards the Historical one. A good tour guide really did make the difference on this trip in that it enabled us to grasp what we were seeing - and also the fact that we left the driving to someone else allowed us to really sit back and enjoy the sights-which was the purpose of the trip in the 1st place!

According to the Atlas brochure I picked up, the difference between the two trips is that the Blue tour (which is also a full day trip) stays on the coast with a more detailed visit to the city of Perast than the Historical tour offers. There are two small islands (one man made, one natural-something we learned from our guide) in the Bay of Kotor, and you'll take a boat to visit one of them (Our Lady of Skrpjel), before continuing on to the town of Kotor. After Kotor, the next stop will be Stevi Stefan, which is connected to the mainland by a bridge and is (or will be) an exclusive resort and this will also serve as your lunch stop. We passed by this on the way to Budva from the Historical tour and it looked like an amazing place! Before returning to Dubrovnik, you'll make your final stop at Budva.

There is much less driving on this tour than one the Historical one (besides, you won't be going up the mountain), so I would imagine you'll have more free time at each stop than you would on the Historical tour.

You'll see more of Montenegro on the Historical tour as it goes inland rather than hugs the coastline, however, the coastline is so beautiful that it just seems to call out your name.

When we booked our trip, only the Historical tour was offered, but that would have been our preference anyway even if the Blue tour was available. It all comes down to where your interest lies.

As we always say on our trips, IF we had another day, what would we have done? In this case, that question would have been easily answered by taking the Blue tour!

And Cheesehead-thanks for the suggestion of copying text!

Debs,
Thanks a lot for the detailed responses…but I still can’t make up my mind.
I would love the historical tour, the drive up in the mountains and the views…but with only a few short stops, I don’t know.
I would love the Blue tour, the beautiful coast, the sea views…but no view from the top of the mountain…arrgh
Should we just rent a car and drive it ourselves? Has anyone done that? The 32 hair pin turns sound really intimidating, what do you think?
Am I the only one torn between all these 3 options?
Thanks

You are not the only one XYZ99, I am so glad you started this thread, I was going to do a huge search to try to compare reports of both tours - this is less work!

I think I will have to give hubby a break on this one though, if we would decide to drive UP the mountain, the bus tour would be best. The hairpin turns sound bad, especially since we are apparently going to do the drive of death on Hvar when we go from Sucaraj to Hvar Town. I need to save my nerves for later.

The coast trip sounds good too! I think on that tour they tell you to bring swimwear though. I honestly don't know if I am interested in a swim stop on tour time. I can do that on my own. Maybe that is just in case you fall off the boat, LOL.

We will be spending a lot of time on the coast in the days before and after the tour, so by the time I take the tour perhaps going inland will not seem so bad.

When I rented the car it asked me if I was going into Serbia, (I said no) but did not mention Montenegro. Maybe I am being dense about world geography and politics but if one drives into Montenegro are you really driving into Serbia too?

Yes, this really has been a good thread xyz99. Thanks Debs for all the detail on the tours. Not that I have to decide today, but this is big help. I'm thinking of some of the same things as the others and HappyCheesehead--funny the swimwear thing.

As I do a little more research and think of my own likes and dislikes, what I'd really like is a shorter day that doesn't cover so much, but allows a little more time in places--and requires a little less Dramamine. It could just stop in Kotor. My whole trip is just a "sampler" anyway. I can always go back and probably will.

Maybe renting a car for a day is the way to do it. Or, has anyone heard of a leisurely tour that starts at say 9 and ends at 4?

I'm ready to book our Atlas Montenegro Historical tour but before I do, I'm wondering if there's a private guide who will take us in his car.I'm not crazy about time & sight restrictions.
Thanks, Deb for your helpful comments.

Happy Cheesehead-Montenegro voted to succeed from their union with Serbia just recently, May 21st or something like that, and officially declared their independence from Serbia on June 3, 2006. This was the last official 2-region union that existed from what was once Yugoslavia. To your point about will you be driving into Serbia, the answer is no as both Montenegro and Serbia are now separate countries.

I might also suggest contacting Atlas and questioning them about beach time on the Blue tour-it would seem to make sense that not everyone on this tour would be interested in swimming-leaving even more time to explore either Budva and/or Stevi Stefan.

Also forgot to mention that the Euro is the official currency in Montenegro, even though they are not members of the EU and would suggest having Euros with you rather than the Croatian Kuna for your purchases.

Syl - The official website for Dubrovnik is www.tzdubrovnik.hr - you might want to look into that to see what they would suggest about hiring a private guide to customize a day trip to Montenegro, or try www.visit-montenegro.com for that same type of information, however, arranging a privite tour originating in Montenegro poses the problem of getting there in the first place! Good luck!

To all who are visiting Montenegro, please post your trip reports!!!

Happy C,
I did not know about the swimsuit thing, definitely not interested…can do that on my own. I’d rather spend the extra time in Kotor, it looks gorgeous.

Jeff, Syl,
I have the same problem – I would love the tour, but with more time spent for the stops (maybe less stops?). I don’t mind it being a full day, but I have the feeling that the time spent on the bus is way too long compared to the time spent exploring Montenegro.

Has anyone rented a car for a day for a Montenegro trip? Or Syl idea of a private guide sounds great, too. I would love to hear some opinions on either option.
Thanks

Well, I can't say for sure they take you swimming, but in the Atlas description of the tour they end with "Sportswear and swimwear reccomended". Maybe it is just that one of the stops has a nice swimming area and you could choose to explore the town instead of swimming.

Now I am wondering whether we could do this ourselves.

CAUTION: The following statements contain language that explicitly indicate I am currently miffed with DH.

So, he is out of town right now and as we were talking on the phone a bit ago I mention that maybe we could take a day trip on our own to Montenegro. Well, right away he starts spouting out that it might not be safe going on our own, Montenegro is a 4th world country, there is a history of violence, blah,blah,blah. Apparently he feels there are perils in Montenegro that would be neutralized by us being on a bus instead of on our own. I shot back that he doesn't know the first thing about Montenegro (and well, neither do I, politically, but at least I am up for adventure)since he hasn't even looked into any of this.
We are going to have a car anyway and per AutoEurope we are fine to go into Montenegro.

So, the question becomes - is it safe to go on ones own to Montengro by ourselves? I am just mainly speaking of driving along the Bay of Kotor and along the coast.

If so, I might try to dig up some research to replace what a guide might be giving us. I have a feeling the Montenegro section of the local Borders might not be a very big one.....

HappyC,
I guess I am lucky – I asked DH about the 2 tours, which one would he like, and he asked why can’t we drive ourselves….maybe we will :)

We will drop the car as soon as we get to Dubrovnik, then have 4 nights there. I was thinking of renting a car for a day for the Montenegro trip (and maybe for another day, for the Peljesac Peninsula, but this is a different thread).

I have no idea how safe Montenegro is, but I guess it is – and I’m not the adventurous type. I think it’s just a matter of getting a map, set an itinerary and go. I’ll keep you posted with our plans/decisions, please do the same.

Debs gave an excellent description of both tours. There is another thread here ("daytrip from dubrovnik" or something similar) that has more info. When we went on the Blue tour in October, we definitely had a hilltop view over the Bay of Kotor, too. I have pictures from there! I am generally not a fan of bus tours, but we learned so much from the guide while on the road. At each stop, however, we were on our own and didn't have to stay with the group. We LOVED the stop in Perast where we boarded a boat and went to the island to visit St. Mary of the Rocks church. It is incredibly beautiful. Apparently it is the church (patron church?) of seamen and when they won a battle or survived a storm, they would bring a gift of thanksgiving to the church. The artwork and icons are amazing. There is also a large piece of framed needlework done by a woman awaiting her seafaring husband, stitched with silk thread and her own hair...which changed from brown to gray over the 25 years she waited for him and worked on the masterpiece. I took dozens of pictures of the church, the island it's on, the ironwork, artwork, etc.

Since Sveti Stefan was closed for the season, we didn't eat there, but the restaurant is right on the beach. I assume that some folks on the tour might opt to play/lie on the beach rather than eat or tour the resort.

Both tours stop in Budva, which we didn't like at all. It lacks the charm of Kotor and the other towns we saw.

I'm sure that both Atlas tours are very good. You may get more history by going to the capital but less time on the coast. We didn't feel the day was too rushed or too long with the Blue tour...got back to Dubrovnik in time to eat dinner and catch the folk dancing show outside the Ploce gate.

The headline on this one took me back a bit, and in time! Glad to see it wasn't what I thought, LOL!!

HappyCheeseHead (love your name, I was born in WI) and xyz99,

Have either one of you decided if you are going to take the Montenegro Historical tour or go on your own ? I am trying to decide the same thing. Debs comments on the tour make it sound really good, but I was thinking it would be nice to go at our own pace. On the other hand it sounds like the tour is good history wise and not to mention for the driving aspect up the mountain.

We will be driving to Mostar and staying 2 nights and that doesnt seem to be a problem at all, but I have seen less about going to Montenegro...

Hi Former Cheesehead Kellyee21!

Hubby and I are still in the midst of "debate" on this one. The debate is less heated now, LOL. I am finding it a wee bit difficult to find the background info that a guide might provide on a tour. I went to Borders on Saturday and could find zippo about Montenegro in the tourism books there. I would have to do a deeper internet search to try to get background for a self guided tour.

I did verify with AutoEurope (rental through Sixt) does allow the car to go into Montenegro.

So, my answer is, I don't know yet.

When are you going??

We will arrive in Dubrovnik this Sunday after a couple days in Mostar. This was a really last minute trip and I just finished making reservations today. We will also spend 5 days on Korcula to do some diving. We really arent into bus tours but this one sounds quite good.

We will be in Dubrovnik in October and were thinking we'd wait till we got there to arrange our tour to Montenegro. The historical tour is the one that interests us . . . but from what I'm reading here, it is sounding as if we'd best book it well in advance, even though we'll be there in October. Do you all recommend that?

We're also thinking about going with a private guide, for more time where we'd like, etc. Anyone have recommendations?

Alert to all poster herein...driving alone into Montenegro poses no danger. It is safe and you will be welcomed. I've driven in the Old Yugoslavia through Montenegro, illegally popping into Albania, and driving in the Kosovo Region..never had the slightest problem. Remember, the newest independent nation of Montenegro will do anything to keep its reputation clean for tourism's sake..go and enjoy and don't think twice about it.
Stu T.

Stu T-
Thanks for the encouragement. It's what I wanted to hear.

Happy C-
Going with Sixt directly seems to be less money than with AutoEurope. I usually use AE and know they match. I still have plenty of time to decide on tour vs. car, but am leaning towards a car.

We ended up booking the historical tour, not because of the driving part, but because the tour goes basically where we would go anyways and thought we would enjoy the information from the guide. Just booked it last night for July 12, so if it is not sold out by now for summer, it is probably not necessary to book too far in advance for the fall.

Hi Jeff:

There must be someting about my rental that Sixt doesn't like when I try to rent direct from them. I tried a few times over the course of the last months. They are still about 315-320 US for my week for an ECMR, and my AE rental is only $263.

Thanks for the suggestiion though!

Have FUN, Kellyee21, you are almost out the door! Can't wait for a trip report after you get back - even a little one!

Kellee, be sure to call and confirm when you get to Dubrovnik. If you didn't read Images2 comment about booking online, her online reservation didn't get noted by Atlas.

Hi Happy CheeseHead-

I think the difference is that I'd only rent for one day. Usually I rent for a minimum of 3 days with AutoEurope. Perhaps I don't even need to reserve in advance for one day, and shouldn't worry about it. Maybe there are local companies that I can just rent from when I get there. Any thoughts?

Of course, I haven't completely given up on finding a more leisurely tour that doesn't cover so much and make for such a long day.

HappyCheeseHead, Thanks! I will definitely do a trip report, I also take lots of photos so be forewarned, hahaha!

Thanks for the tip Catbert, will call to confirm !

Kellyee21: We LOVE photos! By the way, if you see any interesting "crossing" signs, like Wild Boar crossing, or dinosaur crossing (just kidding about that one) take a pic for Callalilli - she accidently deleted almost all her pictures of Croatia!

Jeff: I think Economy Car Rentals (you will need to google the website) has been mentioned by tcreath as saving her some $$. Someone here recommended it and it got a mention on the Slow Trav boards too, if I recall.