Travel report: Montenegro
Country ranking by area: #157
Country ranking by population: #165
Date of visit: June 2017
Tobi and I passed the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro on a Sunday evening. It was the second country on a roadtrip through the Balkans and my country no. 54 and Tobi’s no. 58.
The conditions of the roads improved a bit in Montenegro after having disastrous roads the last 50km in Bosnia and Herzegovina before the border. Seriously, the condition of the street was African standard and I have never seen anything like that in Europe before. Anyway, it was shortly before sunset and we had a bit more than 90 minutes left until our next stop: Kotor. We drove along fields and forests and passed by herds of sheep, the landscape didn’t look special but it changed soon. The sun was almost down when we saw the Bay of Kotor from above. Let me tell you something, it looked absolutely spectacular. It was a very scenic road and it reminded me of driving along the coast of Croatia. The Adriatic Coast is still one of the most beautiful things Europe has to offer.
All the people I know, who have been to Montenegro (including my mother), were enthusiastic about the country. And in that moment, when we were driving towards Kotor, I absolutely understood why. It seemed that we just arrived in one of the most idyllic places in Europe.
Two nights in Kotor
There aren’t many hotels in Kotor. Like in other former Yugoslavian countries the apartment-hotel ratio on booking.com is 90-10. I prefer to stay in apartments anyway, as you have more privacy and no (sometimes annoying) staff around you. The only downside is that you have to get the key to the apartment first. Although we had the address of the owner, we couldn’t find the entrance. After 20 minutes and numerous phone calls to the owner, we finally found the house.
The owner opened the door. He was a huge young man standing almost 2m tall and weighing about 130kg. He was wearing shorts and a dark red tank-top. To greet me properly he hugged me and pressed my head against his sweaty chest. What a welcome. The apartment was a jackpot though. It was quite big with a gigantic terrace, which we shared with an old couple who rented the apartment next to it. Our apartment wasn’t located in Kotor’s old town but a 5 minute walk away. That was perfect, as prices double if you want to stay in old town.
The apartment was also only a few meters away from the ocean and the Bay of Kotor was right in front of us. The promenade, the calm ocean, the mountains in the back… it looked like a postcard. Things looked different after waking up the next day though. A gigantic cruise was in the ocean right in front of our apartment. Montenegro used to be a an insider tip a few years ago. These times are over now.
With cruise ships come tourists, and they overran Kotor’s Old Town. We have been there the evening before and it was almost empty. Now, with the presence of a huge cruise ship, old town was not that idyllic anymore. Kotor’s old town is very small, it takes five minutes from one end to the other. That made the situation worse. There were thousands of tourists in this tiny old town. I know, I was part of the problem, but I complain anyway. 🙂
Kotor’s Old Town was still lovely though. It’s a typical Adriatic coast town with cobblestone streets, small alleys, and red roofs. I love these kind of towns, but to be honest, there are dozens of them in Croatia and Montenegro. Trogir was my favorite in Croatia by the way.
Kotor’s big asset is its Castle of San Giovanni, a castle on top of the hill next to the town. Actually, the hike starts from old town. You have to pay 3 Euro to do the hike. Rumors say that the man who collects the money doesn’t even officially work for the city but for himself.
The duration of the hike depends of your physical condition. Tobi and I had approximately 30 minutes, but it’s an exhausting hike. Some user on TripAdvisor say that they needed 20 minutes, some claim they had 2 hours. And some even admit that they couldn’t make it to the top. The view you get from the top is priceless though and worth all the efforts. We arrived half an hour before sunset and watched how the sun went down up there. It was magical.
We had dinner in a mediocre restaurant in old town. Generally, the food we got in old town was just average, although we picked the best rated restaurants from TripAdvisor. Another thing I noticed was that the people weren’t unfriendly but not as warm-hearted as the people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where we spent the days before. We asked ourselves if that was already a result of the tourism. Montenegro, especially Kotor, was also way more expensive than Bosnia and Herzegovina. Still cheap but nothing compared to the neighboring country we were coming from.
We had to get up early in the next morning so that we didn’t want to stay out until late. That’s why we went to a supermarket to buy 1-2 beers, which we wanted to drink on our balcony eventually. A guy was standing in the corner, where the alcoholic beverages were. I still don’t know what his job was, but I think he was a security guy. In any case, he was more drunk than Boris Jelzin in his prime.
“Not this beer!” he said after we grabbed two cans of a certain brand. “Take this!” he babbled. He gave us two cans of another beer brand, as that was the better beer in his opinion. “One only?” he asked, while he tried to give us two more cans. “Sorry, we have to get up early and drive six or seven hours,” Tobi and I answered. “No problem. Just do this,” he said, while he pushed one finger against one side of his nose and took a deep sniff with the open nose hole. “Then you have no problem with driving.”
Budva and Podgorica – driving back to Sarajevo
We left Kotor early towards Sarajevo the next morning. However, we didn’t want to drive back the same road we came from. We chose to drive to Budva first, then to Podgorica and from there to Sarajevo. This route took us a little longer than the coastal way we came from, but it gave us the possibility to see more of Montenegro.
Originally, we were thinking about spending our two days in Montenegro in Budva instead of Kotor. Budva is the party capital of the country, but a Serbian friend told me that it wouldn’t make sense to go there before July. We still wanted to check it out, at least for a couple of hours, as Budva is only 30 minutes away from Kotor.
We arrived in Budva around noon. This town looked completely different than Kotor. Kotor was picturesque despite the tourist hordes from the cruise ship. Budva looked more like a small and cheap version of party holiday destinations like El Arenal in Mallorca or Lloret de Mar. The beachfront was approximately one kilometer long with many restaurants and stalls, which sold merchandise like tank tops, t-shirts with silly labels, fake stuff and sun glasses. That doesn’t mean that it looked like a bad place but not like a destination where I would want to spend my holidays.
Budva has also a nice Old Town next to the beach. Not as charming as Kotor’s Old Town but also nice. Tobi and I didn’t spend a lot of time there though. We ate lunch in a beachfront restaurant and left Budva again. It was indeed not as crowded as it might be in July and August. But anyway, it’s not a place that I have to visit again.
Driving along the coast of Montenegro is one of the best activities you can do in the country. We passed by many beautiful coastal towns, and the most beautiful one we saw was without a doubt Sveti Stefan. Unfortunately, we didn’t take a break to have a look at it, but it looked as idyllic as Kotor. Generally, the coastline of Montenegro is one of the most beautiful places I have seen in Europe so far. This road was already worth the trip to this country.
I cannot say the same thing about the capital city Podgorica. We reached Podgorica in the early afternoon and it didn’t take us long to label it the most unspectacular capital in Europe. The city seemed pretty dead with almost no people on the streets. Obviously, it wasn’t a Saturday and most of the people were working, but it still looked like a ghost town in the city center.
Don’t get me wrong, Podgorica is not an ugly city. It has some beautiful spots and it’s also a green city. Nevertheless, there isn’t much to do in the capital. Most of the sights are in the outskirts of the city and you have one or two cathedrals and bridges in Podgorica – that’s it. We spent maybe two or maximum three hours in the capital before we continued our way to Sarajevo. It was an unnecessary stop and we had rather spent more time on the coast. But at least we can say that we have seen the capital of Montenegro.
I have already mentioned the bad roads that we witnessed on our way from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Montenegro. They were even worse on our way back, especially right before and after the border between the two countries. It took us a bit more than four hours to get from Podgorica to Sarajevo, which marked our ending point of a great Balkan road trip.
Is Montenegro the most beautiful country in Europe?
Montenegro might have been Europe’s hidden gem a few years ago, but these times are over now. Albania has taken over the reputation of being Europe’s best secret tip. It’s still not too late to visit Montenegro, but I am sure that this pearl on the Adriatic Coast will be a second Croatia in the near future. The only problem is that Montenegro is a tiny country. It’s the eight smallest country in Europe and not a country for mass tourism therefore. Go now!!
Montenegro has so many things to offer and the country’s nature is simply incredible. Is Montenegro the most beautiful country in Europe? Probably not, but it must be in the top 10. The good thing is that Montenegro is so small that you can visit many amazing places in a short amount of time. I have only spent two days there and that wasn’t enough.
Although I haven’t seen everything, I still had a great time in Montenegro. The only place I didn’t like was the capital city Podgorica. Anyway, I am not sure if I revisit Montenegro in the near future, as I have too many other countries on my bucket list right now. Moreover, it’s not clear how mass tourism will change this tiny country. So, it might be interesting to see how Montenegro will be in ten years. But anyway, if you haven’t been there, then do it as soon as possible.
Find the travel reports of the other countries I’ve visited here!
