Blogs from Budva, Montenegro, Europe - page 4

Montenegro is a beautiful many-mountained country with a gorgeous coast-line. If like me you hadn't heard of this country prior to Casino Royal, thats because it's only been an independent country since 2006 and was the newest country in the world prior to Kosovo declaring independence in 2008. I was based at the Hippo Hostel in Budva for the week, about half way up the coast where it's easy to travel to everywhere else in the country within a few hours: Ulcinj near the Albanian border is 2 hours away; Sveti Stefan was a 2hour walk and then a 15min bus ride back; Kotor is 30 minutes on the bus. Kotor Bay is the 2nd biggest fjord in the world with some stunning views especially after a walk up the 1000+ steps of the old city ... read more

Dubrovnik It never ceased to amaze me that I can travel "alone" & yet never really be alone!! mostly I see this as a blessing... though, there were times that I truly cherished my 'alone time'--- Dubrovnik gave me that after a loooong time of travelling with others.... well at least for one day it did.. haha!! Ola, Ange and I split up in Barcelona... Ola headed for the only corner of Spain she hadn't seen yet - the north-west part; Ange flew to Belgrade to meet up with Effie & Dragan who were travelling in Montenegro from Australia; and I flew to Dubrovnik to mee Ange & co 2 days later... If taking a cheap flight from Spain, its common to fly Vueling Airlines - despite their many strikes & known delays :p I found ... read more

Another in a string of questionable titled-related puns, thus prompting me not to give up my day job just yet. Arriving in Budva instantly revealed a wholly different atmosphere from Dubrovnik, and with a plan of action already drawn up for this leg of the holiday, it looked upon first glance as though the stay at the commendable hotel Tatjana would provide a suitable base, both location- and facilities-wise. Budva comes across almost instantly as an up-and-coming resort, and the guide book's description of Budva as the coast's 'star turn' is not terribly far off the mark, especially when you consider its crop of tourist activities, and overall allure. The Old Town, for instance, is a highly attractive enclave of narrow streets and quaint shops, which also gives a reasonable insight into Montenegrin cities' old town ... read more

Eileen, May 27 Okay where do I start? We took a train for 10 hours from Belgrade to Bar arriving at 10:00 at night. Took two taxies to the town we were going to for our hostel and they drove 80 miles an hour around the curves and cliffs of the Adriatic sea. Jane was the trooper who found Smile, our Hostel owner who met us at the bus stop and guided us the rest of the way to a beautiful Hostel which is like a hotel. He took us to dinner at midnight to this outdoor bar and restaurant for pizza and beer. The train ride was so breathtakingly beautiful we thought we saw the best until we got around the next corner. Pictures can not record what we saw it will just have to ... read more

Ostrag Monastery & Budva days 9-11 (July 6 - July 8) Leaving Sarajevo we took a bus to our next destination, Ostrag Monastery. The road from Sarajevo through the nearby mountains was very narrow with some lovely sheer drops, but this of course meant great views. Especially initially we were on a narrow country road with not much passing room for the oncoming traffic. You can see why this area is spoken of in the same breath as Switzerland. We were met at the roadside stop by a local mini-bus for the rest of our journey. If we thought the previous roads were narrow then this last part had us all holding our breath. The road snaked up the side of a mountain, with loose edges that one more than one occasion we had to move ... read more