How to spend 4 days in Montenegro
- Ben Jones
- Nov 24, 2024
- 6 min read
After spending my time in Croatia back in 2019, the rest of the balkans have always intrigued me after experiencing the gorgeous mountaneous views and scenery.
On this trip, I would tick off another 2 countries in Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovinia.
I had passed through the Montenegro border during my coach travel from Split to Dubriovnik and seeing the mountains and lakes in the distance peaked my interest further and now was the time.
Montenegro is fast becoming a tourist spot for many travllers with its rich history and the bay of Kotor is a charming and historic little town with some spectacular viewpoints, hikes, and rocky mountaineous coastlines only about 25 minutes drive or a 50 minute bus ride to Tivat. I couldn't advise visiting somewhere more.
This is the first time that I had travelled to Manchester Airport via National Express Coach and needless to say that I will be travelling by coach a lot more due to the price of tickets compared to the train and it more or less takes the same amount of time to get to the airport.
Flight Route: Manchester --> Tivat
Flight Cost: £42
After arriving into Tivat, you're greeted by mountains all around you as you land into the airport, however on exiting the airport, you will no doubt be met by fake taxi drivers trying to scam you out of your money by charging you 50 Euros or more just for a small journey. There is a bus stop 2km away from the airport, and after my experience having to pay this just to get to my Airbnb, I would definitely say that making the small walk from the Airport to the bus terminal (or autobus as they're called throughout Europe) is worth the walk so you don't get ripped off.
I stayed in an Airbnb not too far from the local beach and about 45 minutes walk from Kotor Old town. The accomodation was a little up the mountain. My advise if you're going to stay in a place like this is that you at least hire a car or get the bus. Alternatively, you can download the local taxi rank app called Kotor / Tivat Taxis.
Airbnb
Cost: £222.53 for 5 nights (44.50 per night)
I stayed in a lovely 1 bedroom / 1 bathroom studio apartment
What did I see and do in Kotor?
Walk around the Kotor Bay / Marina
You can walk up and down the bay and marina within a couple of hours at a leisurely pace, where you will find numerous restaurants and alcoves to sit with a couple of small sandy areas you can sit and relax to take in the Balkan sun and fresh water breeze.
Take a bus ride to Tivat Bay / Port Montenegro
Personally, I would say you only need a couple of hours in Tivat as there's not an awful not to see and do, there's a resort built for tourists where you can have some food and drink by the bay and watch the boats pass.
I thought the marina and promenade of Port Montenegro was really pretty to look at with all the yachts in the bay and it's a well made area with high street shops. There are also some 'beaches' but none of the traditional light sand as they are all pebbled. A couple of hours here to take in the area should suffice.
Vrmac Hiking Trail
Details
Access from the Old Town
Open Hours: 24 hours - My advise if hiking late evening is to be cautious as the mountain trail can be dangerous. I hiked up at around 4PM and got a nice view of the sunset over Kotor before ordering a taxi to take me back down the mountain to my Airbnb.
Hike Duration: 2 hours
Hiking up this trail was a challenge, it started off with me wandering into a locals back garden and needless to say she wasn't best pleased. I mean who would be if some stranger walked into your own back garden.
The views of Kotor old town and the mountains as you incremented higher and higher into the mountain were beautiful.
After about 2 hours of hiking, I reached the summit to the abandoned fortress, although hearing rustling sounds in the distance were pretty unerving, turns out it was just a herd of mountain goats grazing so my worries and caution were put at ease. Sitting down, having a snack and taking in the breath taking views at the top were truly remarkable.
Kotor Old Town
Kotor's medieval town is one of the best preserved towns potentially in Europe. It is truly one of the most unique and breathtaking places I have ever travelled to. From the surroundings and views in every direction you look in, mountains, water, speedboats on the open water, the odd cruiseship arriving into the ports.
As you step through the old gates of the Old Town, it's like you're in a scene from Lord Of The Rings or Game Of Thrones with the narrow cobbled streets lined with medieval buildings which are now all homes to boutique shops, homemade souvenirs, cafes and restaurants.
You can walk along the Old City Walls which date back to the 9th century enriched in history, one of the best viewpoints being Kampana Tower which can be accessed by the stairs near the North Gate. From the top you get an overwatching view of Kotor just like the soldiers back at that time would have seen.
They also have maps so you can tick off everything you have seen as you walk around the old town.
Having lunch within the main old town square in front of the clock tower was a good touch, although slightly more expensive than places outside of the walls, it's still not ridiculously priced, although I wouldn't get the Rissotto as it was undercooked.
Speed Boat Tour of Kotor Bay Mamula Island, Blue Cave, Submarine Tunnels, Perast Old Town, Lady Of The Rock
Cost: 40 Euros
If you want to try something different and see Kotor Bay from a different perspective and indulge on the towns unique history, paying for a speedboat tour is a great way to spend your time, the tour takes approximately 3 hours and the driver / guide gives you plenty of background history and information about each of the places he takes you to.
On the day we weren't lucky enough to go swimming in the blue caves due to the waves being too aggresive on the day, but if you go in the summer time, I'm sure you'll be able to swim in the blue afterglow of the caves.
Day Tour From Kotor
Price: £66.15
The day tour I found on Get Your Guide was from within the old town walls of kotor and took you to a viewpoint of Lady Of The Rock, you continue the elevated drive up the mountains where you will stop at a restaurant for breakfast (food and drink not included).
The drive continues up to the Ostrog Monastary, noted to be one of the most spiritual sites in Montenegro which include the old relics of monk Vasilije Ostrski.
The tour then continues on to Durmitor National Park, passing colorful deciduous forest. The next stop being Đurđevića Tara Bridge, the highest in Europe when built in 1940 where you have an oppurtunity to either walk across the 365-meter-long bridge, 172 meters above the canyon floor or zipline across the gorge.
Obviously, I chose the zipline experience and I couldn't reccommend it more to people on this tour although it does cost 25 euros so the price may put you off .
The next stop on the trip is probably the best part of the whole tour, the famous black lake, among 18 glacial lakes above 1,500 meters on Durmitor Mountain. Altogether they are called "Mountain Eyes". You can hike the 4-kilometer trail around the lake and take in the site as you sit / or stand at the bottom of a glacier mountain. The views and scenery were just breath-taking. If I had longer here, I would definitely have spent a night camping here or going in a wooden boat across the lake.
The last stop on the tour before heading back to Kotor was at Zablijak, which is the highest town in the Balkans, located at 1450 meters above sea level where you could dine for a late lunch with some traditional montenegrin food. Overall I really enjoyed this tour, I met some really lovely people and had a great time and the price/value is definitely worth what you get to see and do, as well as the tour guide being extremely informative whilst you're inclining into the mountains.
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