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.