From Mostar we took your rental car to Montenegro. We crossed rural Srbska; there wasn’t much to see expect lovely landscape. We wanted to spend two nights in Montenegro.
After border controls, we were surprised how beautiful the landscape was. Foxes were crossing the streets, snakes were waiting for their next meal and were sometimes killed by cars. There wasn’t too much going on. We took the very few opportunities to stop and take pictures.
There weren’t many restaurants on the way to Kotor. But we found one, and, thanks to God, we really needed it after a four hours drive.
Bay of Kotor
Finally in sight: The unique fjord landscape in the Mediterranean Sea. The sea, surrounded by mountains and perfect weather! We couldn’t stop the camera taking photos. Along the coast we stopped several times.
Very picturesque: Sveti Dorde and Gospa od Skrpjela! Both are opposite of the medieval city of Perast.
Sveti Dorde’s a natural small island with a Benedictan Monastery from the 12th century and a graveyard. The region’s gentry were buried here.
Gospa od Skrpjela’s a artificial island, created by a mixture of natural rocks and stones from a sunk ship. A church was built in the 17th century.
The two islands as well as the lovely Bay of Kotor are part of the UNESCO World Heritage!
Stari Grad Kotor
More than 2000 years old: the perfectly restored, slightly artificial Old Town of Kotor blesses the tourists with its lovely lanes and shocks them with its high prices. This was surprising, because we spent the night between Kotor and Budva and it was very cheap there. Our accommodation was the great Apartments Bjelanovic.
The Old Town is quite small. You don’t need very long to see everything. The Roman cathedral Sveti Trifun was built in the 12th century and rebuilt after an earthquake in the 17th century. Some Venetian palaces are also very well preserved.
Exhausting, but a must-do:
Fortress Sveti Ivan/San Giovanni
The City Wall leads over four kilometres up the mountain to Sveti Ivan Fortress. The Venetians started to built it in 1420, but it took more than 400 years to complete.
It’s very exhausting, so you should start as early as possible. By June it was already hot in the morning. Entrance fee: €3. We started in the northeastern part of Old Town. Then up and up. Unathletic me cursed, but with some breaks and due to an amazing view, I made it.
I constantly asked, why the Bay of Kotor is still quite unknown. Jan didn’t complain as much about the climb as I did.
Some only climbed half and turned at Gospe od zdravlja Church. We were stronger and made the whole way.
Up on the fortress we were rewarded with the amazing view, we were dreaming of for weeks.
The way down was more pleasant, of course. We were sorry for the people climbing up in the heat of noon. Keep in mind: Come early due to the heat and the other tourists.
Budva
We wouldn’t be honest, if we didn’t admit, we found Budva quite ugly. Too many ugly hotels don’t let you see the sea and lovely old town.
What’s striking: Lots of Russians spend their holidays here. Prices are high, therefore. Two places, which saved our memories of Budva:
Stari Grad Budva
Although as expensive as the rest of Budva, the lovely, medieval Old Town reconciled us. It reminds of Kotor and Dubrovnik with lanes, lovely places and three churches (despite it’s really small).
Sveti Stefan
Our highlight in Budva: This island is basically a resort for the filthy rich. You can enter the island only if you are staying there for the night or have dinner in a restaurant. We enjoyed the view from outside!
It just looks so dreamy from this viewpoint!
To sum it up: Montenegro’s landscapes are one of the most beautiful in Europe. What we didn’t like (in our opinion): Mass tourism in Budva and some not so kind Montenegrin people.
We noticed this, because people in Bosnia and Croatia were so extremely nice. Of course, that’s not true for everyone, but maybe this is due to the fact, that Montenegro didn’t depend on tourism for as long as Bosnia and especially Croatia.
We would recommend a visit, though, and we’re happy to hear your opinions.
