Meandering in Montenegro

Me-an-der-ing (adjective): an act of wandering in a leisurely or aimless manner.

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Montenegro Day Trip- April 21

Eager to tick off another country, and because we had heard such good things about it, we booked a day trip to Montenegro from Dubrovnik. We booked a Super Tours tour through TripAdvisor, it set us back 54 Euros each and was well worth it. All up, its about a 12 hour day and the price includes hotel pick up and drop off. We had overcast, conditions with scattered showers, but that did not dampen our spirits.

Brief Overview:

Temperature: 10-23 degrees C. It is very varied in April, and while it wasn't too cold, it was reasonably wet on the day we went there, although thankfully it wasn't windy.

Suggested attire: Anything from shorts and a jacket to waterproof boots and a raincoat. Pack for every scenario.

Fun Fact: Brad Pitt's first movie role was filmed in Kotor.

Itinerary:

We make three stops for the day; Perast, Kotor and Budva.

Perast

Fist stop after crossing the border and circling Lake Kotor, was Perast where you can take an optional boat ride to Our Lady of the Rocks. Sadly, due to the wet and slightly windy conditions the boat wasn’t operating, so we just explored the tiny town.

Kotor:

Stunning even on a cloudy day, the tiny walled city of Kotor oozes history and charm. We had a 2 hour stop here, and I easily could have spent longer there. Resisting the temptation to wonder the streets and get lost in cafes and souvenir shops we opted to climb the Kotor City Walls up to St John’s Fortress. 4 Euros each is a small price to pay for the view that awaits you. Although be warned, to reach the top, you’re facing 1350 stairs and a gain of 260m. We gave ourselves a generous 50minutes to reach the top and 50 minutes for the decent. If you are put off by that, 20minutes into the climb you’ll reach the Church of Our Lady of Remedy. Which also offers a stunning view of Kotor and there is usually a merchant waiting there with a cold drink to reward your hard work.

I always say a view is so much better when its earned, and the view from St Johns Fortress is well worth the effort. I could have spent hours exploring the ruins of the fortress, weaving in and out of the rooms like the ivy coating the walls. Unfortunately, we had to begin the decent well before I felt like I’d had my fill of exploring. The decent, while less physically taxing is reasonably challenging, as the steps are uneven and loose, and if you visit on a wet day (like we did) they can get vert slippery. So, give yourself plenty of time to make it back to the bottom safely.

Altstadt (Old Town) Budva

The last stop on the tour is the Old Town of Budva. In many ways it's quite similar to Dubrovnik and Kotor. The old town is fortified by, well, an old wall. The streets are narrow, cobblestoned and quaint. However, we ended up spending very little time in the town itself as we had a long lunch in a local restaurant. The tour guide recommended the restaurant, Jadran, and it is awesome. It has many traditional dishes as well as excellent seafood and vegetarian options. Compared to Croatia, it’s very cheap to eat out in Montenegro, 0.5l of beer will only set you back 2 Euro and a seafood platter which could easily have fed four people was 50 Euros. I highly recommend eating there.

General Cost:

Actually quite reasonable. Montenegro is MUCH cheaper than the touristy areas of Dubrovnik. They also exclusively accept the Euro, despite not being in the EU.

Things to Note

Check your visa requirements before reaching the border. Usually if you don’t require a visa to get into Croatia, you wont need one to get into Montenegro, however make sure you check before getting to the border.

The border crossing can take a while, so be patient. The guide will collect your passports and hand them to the customs officer, and if the officer is having a good day, he will process them while you all remain on the bus. If he is having a bad day, he’ll make everyone get off the bus, and if he's having a really bad day, be will check your luggage. Thankfully we got him on a good day, but it's still a frustratingly slow and inefficient process.

There is a restriction on some items and produce. You are not allowed to bring meat, cheese or more than 2 packets of cigarettes back into Croatia from Montenegro. If that customs officer who is having a bad day decides to check your luggage and you have cheese, meat or cigarettes, you will be in for a big fine and a very bad day.