Day trip to Montenegro
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| Gateway to Kotor |
Montenegro has got to be a cool upcoming happening place in the next few years and is already getting rave reviews. I notice that in the Independent today (Sunday 21st October 2012) the travel section has Montenegro as one of the places to see in the coming year. Blessed with nature's bounty, it packs a big tourist punch for such a small nugget of a nation.
There are a number of companies that do this trip from Dubrovnik for between 300 - 360 kuna which might be an easier option than organising your own trip. By all means hire a car as an alternative, or if you take the bus, you can leave relatively early in the day, but the problem with this is getting back at a reasonable time. The last bus back was inconveniently early. In the end I went with 'Adriatic Explore' (http://www.adriatic-explore.com/index.php) who proved to be very professional, with a pretty young guide by the name of Anastasia who spoke excellent English and looked after us with great care for the whole day. Right from the start she gave us a non-stop and very informative commentary on everywhere we were passing through together with a comprehensive history of this part of the Balkans
We set off down the coast from Dubrovnik with two women, an Australian guy and myself on board. We sped down the spectacular coastline with a running commentary on the surroundings. On arrival at Cavtat we picked up eight people at a hotel so were almost full. Cavtat by the way is a lovely little resort at the extreme south end of Croatia, enough of a centre for a holiday in itself. You can get to Dubrovnik easily from Cavtat by bus or boat. Cavtat by the way is a great place to spend your last night in the area before flying home as it's just shy of the airport and you can continue to soak up the holiday atmosphere with one foot on the airport concourse! You climb out of Cavtat for a short distance, then past Dubrovnik airport on your immediate left and you are passing through the last bit of Croatia with good views of lush agricultural valley surrounded by hills. Be warned that there are also horrendous road-works in this last bit of Croatia with traffic lights and some really bumpy stretches of road. This slowed us up a little but eventually we crossed the border and stopped at a garage for a refreshment break. Take note that Montenegro does not accept Croatian kuna. You have to take euro or use the ATMs, so I had to take out 20 euro for the day being a profligate spender! With my newly acquired euro I bought a tiny coffee not worth the money (mistake!) before boarding the bus again. After a ride though the green Montenegro countryside, the scenery became increasingly spectacular as we neared the coast and majestic mountains fall into the sea. A fjord like landscape opens up as you enter the bay of Kotor past a narrow inlet into a wonderful mix of steep mountain sides and sea-lochs, all decorated with little hamlets and the ancient town of Kotor itself which sits on the bay within its old city walls. Kotor is on the far side of the bay from where you enter from the northwest. It's a long way around the bay as the road hugs the shore.
Imagine a bird's eye view and the bay looks like the two wings of a butterfly which taper southwards to a tiny neck of water that opens out again into an enormous twist of loch that finds its way between impressive heights eventually to the sea. Following the lakeside the road twists around this brace (butterfly wings!) of huge water stretches and then back on itself at the other side of the inlet. It is here that a ferry can save you the journey round, but who would want to miss the scenery! This part of the journey is a real highlight of the tour, made for snapping to distraction, although you can get duff photos through a bus window! However, our driver did stop at a convenient point to disgorge us for proper shots.
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| Bay of Kotor |
We set off down the coast from Dubrovnik with two women, an Australian guy and myself on board. We sped down the spectacular coastline with a running commentary on the surroundings. On arrival at Cavtat we picked up eight people at a hotel so were almost full. Cavtat by the way is a lovely little resort at the extreme south end of Croatia, enough of a centre for a holiday in itself. You can get to Dubrovnik easily from Cavtat by bus or boat. Cavtat by the way is a great place to spend your last night in the area before flying home as it's just shy of the airport and you can continue to soak up the holiday atmosphere with one foot on the airport concourse! You climb out of Cavtat for a short distance, then past Dubrovnik airport on your immediate left and you are passing through the last bit of Croatia with good views of lush agricultural valley surrounded by hills. Be warned that there are also horrendous road-works in this last bit of Croatia with traffic lights and some really bumpy stretches of road. This slowed us up a little but eventually we crossed the border and stopped at a garage for a refreshment break. Take note that Montenegro does not accept Croatian kuna. You have to take euro or use the ATMs, so I had to take out 20 euro for the day being a profligate spender! With my newly acquired euro I bought a tiny coffee not worth the money (mistake!) before boarding the bus again. After a ride though the green Montenegro countryside, the scenery became increasingly spectacular as we neared the coast and majestic mountains fall into the sea. A fjord like landscape opens up as you enter the bay of Kotor past a narrow inlet into a wonderful mix of steep mountain sides and sea-lochs, all decorated with little hamlets and the ancient town of Kotor itself which sits on the bay within its old city walls. Kotor is on the far side of the bay from where you enter from the northwest. It's a long way around the bay as the road hugs the shore.
Imagine a bird's eye view and the bay looks like the two wings of a butterfly which taper southwards to a tiny neck of water that opens out again into an enormous twist of loch that finds its way between impressive heights eventually to the sea. Following the lakeside the road twists around this brace (butterfly wings!) of huge water stretches and then back on itself at the other side of the inlet. It is here that a ferry can save you the journey round, but who would want to miss the scenery! This part of the journey is a real highlight of the tour, made for snapping to distraction, although you can get duff photos through a bus window! However, our driver did stop at a convenient point to disgorge us for proper shots.
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| Main entrance to Kotor old town |
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| Kotor |
A guide is provided in Kotor, in this case a buxom and jolly young lady who took us on a tour of the old streets and architecture. You enter through the Sea Gate (West Gate – 1555) from the Harbour side and find yourself in a wide impressive thoroughfare that runs parallel to the walls. Here is the Town Clock Tower (1602). The town is shaped like a triangle, a beautiful jumble of old buildings sandwiched between the high hills and the water, and surrounded by old walls that hug the city and then stretch like a diamond necklace out and up into the hills with interspersed fortifications. I did not have time but it would be well worth trudging up the hill to trace these ancient walls.
The town has a harbour, and there was a pretty impressive large boat in dock when we were there. The town has the usual clutch of old churches. I visited the Church of St Nicholas (1909) and the Church of St Mary (1221 – a little older!). Definitely a place worth coming back to.
I was a good boy and returned to the minibus at the scheduled time. (I have been known not always to do this!).The last people to return to the bus were a Portuguese family we had picked up in Cavtat.
Carrying on along the coast you head towards the Montenegro Riviera which has a much shorter season than Croatia, so by September things are really winding down. Negotiating the mountainous coastline, our minibus skirted up the hill side above Jaz Beach, an inviting curve far below which looked like a hip, hop and happening kind of place. Must get the shades out.  |
| Kotor |
The town has a harbour, and there was a pretty impressive large boat in dock when we were there. The town has the usual clutch of old churches. I visited the Church of St Nicholas (1909) and the Church of St Mary (1221 – a little older!). Definitely a place worth coming back to.
I was a good boy and returned to the minibus at the scheduled time. (I have been known not always to do this!).The last people to return to the bus were a Portuguese family we had picked up in Cavtat.
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| Views of Kotor town |
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| Montenegro Riviera |
Budva is the business end of the Riviera, a rather commercial and concreted resort which stretches significantly around the bay and is one of the places to be in the summer for youngsters. You can check out the nightlife on You Tube and it's pretty brazen in the summer. A nubile young American takes viewers on a tour of the hot places to visit at night. If you get through to the other side of Budva, the coastal road takes you high onto the cliff top for a view of St Stevan (Sveti Stevan), a little settlement on a peninsula reaching out into the Adriatic. It is one of the top attractions of Montenegro, although you cannot now access it unless you book into the hotel there. Shame! From the road it looks a glorious spot, a jumble of terracotta roofs interspersed with greenery, encased in a neat little island joined to the mainland by a raised roadway on an isthmus. Casino Royale was filmed here, although there was no sign of James Bond! It looks like a cool place to play poker if you're an international criminal with an eye-patch and a facial scar!
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| Sveti Stevan of Casino Royale fame |
We retraced our steps by returning to Budva for a couple of hours break. Here we were free to wander, have lunch and visit the beach. I investigated the old town, the best bit of the area, and found myself in a lovely spot to eat. Here were four older members of the party, two English couples who invited me to join them for lunch. Cue to have a seafood salad for twelve euro as a bit of a treat. We watched people having their photo taken with a backdrop of the old walls of the town. A blonde dressed in white sat lazily on a ledge sunbathing for all the world looking as if she was modelling the latest range of TK Max clothes. I took the liberty of leaving my lunch acquaintances early to catch a few rays on the beach and go for a swim. We had been asked to return to the minibus a little earlier than the original schedule had said. A little annoying but our driver had a home to go to and it was September! Funnily enough the Portuguese family were the last to return to the bus again.
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| Budva |
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| Budva old town |
The lengthy ride back took us right past Tivat Airport, gateway to the sun for those visiting Montenegro from the UK. It is conveniently close to all the areas I mention here so I have duly noted it for the future.
Driving back to Croatia we took the ferry to cut out the long ride around the Bat of Kotor. This is a car and passenger ferry and takes a mere seven minutes or so to cross the nape of this seaway.
Montenegro is now on my radar and promises to be a worthy standalone holiday destination. It looks unbeatable with its mix of Norway type coastal scenery plunged into a Mediterranean context of hot temperatures, beaches and classy old towns. Unmissable!
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