Montenegro.....650,000 souls...some great places...some not so great....

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The original plan had to be changed. I had planed to first go to Sarajevo, than driving to Montenegro. Little problem, no rental company at Frankfurt Airport will rent you a car...to drive in Bosnia and Montenegro. You could still drive in these countries with your rented car....but then, no insurance....better not have any issue with the car. So I was not going to try my luck in Montenegro.

Croatia and Montenegro have not always been the best neighbours in the world, so there doesn't seem to be that many public transport links bewteen the two countries. So we went on a tour group. Let me confirm...I'm not a fan of tour groups...and most of the time if I was in one in the past...it was as the tour guide! But we truly wanted to see Kotor. So ealry morning, actually not that early, 8am...we got ready for our day trip to Kotor and Budva.

First good news of the day...the "group" is in a small bus, max 15 people....nice relief already. Driving throug the border was smooth and easy. Our first stop of the day was the Kotor bay. This place is very nice, looking like a huge fjord. But the best part must have been the Old Town...yes, one more Old Town. Small, stuck between the fjord and the mountain....but Wow...so cute...so nice. I would have happily spend a night here too. Dubrovnik was full of tour groups...Montenegro was full of....russians...impressive! We toured the Kotor Bay, and next we spent a good two hours visiting...and getting lost around Kotor. If I had had more time here, we would have hike a the path and walls over the city, but time was not on our side that day....who said I'm not a fan of tour groups!

After Kotor we made our way for the usual picture to Sveti Stefan...just check the picture. It was also interesting to see from afar the Aman property. Well...russian owned, russian managed...95% russian clients...let put it simply, I don't speak russian...maybe another time for us (smile!)....

After this, we spent two hours away from the group in Budva. Leisurely lunch, nice...leisury walk around the Old Town...I know...another one...and a quick glimpse to the beach. Interesting to see Leslie simply saying no thank you to the "beach"...shall we go for an icecream instead!

So this was our experience of Montenegro. To be fair, the country is not very large...and the seaside is even less large. We had a nice day, but I'm impressed to see how the type of tourists can change in so few kilometers. We also saw a huge number of very nice yachts. This are the kind of toys all of us dream of...but as I say to Leslie...keep dreaming!

Another sunny day on the Adriatic! Next entry will be a more funny one...kind of... but today, Leslie had a great day...it's 10th birthday. We are back in Luxembourg and had a wonderful birthday party...I'm a very happy Dad, in love with a great family! Traveling is fun, sharing is better! And don't worry, many more experiences to come!

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Comments

[Donna and Neil]

Leslie is a sensible boy...
...an ice cream (or several) a day is the only way to go. Any opportunity possible we have an ice cream too! Happy birthday to Leslie, hope you had a brilliant day and party - we bet you are looking forward to becoming a diver soon! Fab photos, Peter - a part of Europe we haven't visited but will eventually as we have always wanted to! Hope you are all well, Donna and Neil x

[Muno]

you guys are remarkable - i wish i had the time to travel so widely. i spent 6 months in bosnia and really enjoyed it - plan to go to belgrade and then montenegro next summer as you say the areas is stunning but with fewer tourists! anyway, keep the blogs coming - very enjoyable to read and learn about places on our future list!