Have you ever heard about the Balkans? Well, probably not as a travel destination in Europe. While I’m here to convince you that you should definitely give it a try and visit the Balkans. So, what I did this summer was to go to Montenegro. The thing that really caught my eye was that it was very cheap and I attempted to see and the mountains located next to each other. It was absolutely amazing. Montenegro is such an underrated country. So, here are the best things I did and I will advise you to do when you go there.
City of Budva
We stayed in a city of Budva. It’s like a tourist place, filled with players, a lot of bicycle trails, some skyscrapers, and always filled with people. It was still worth the trip. And a place that you definitely shouldn’t give a try and visit would be the Old Town. It is very cute, filled with all the Italian architecture, various restaurants, and little shops. The cool thing we did was to wake up at 5 AM in the morning and just stroll through the ruler Old Town when it was completely empty and watched the sunrise. Definitely give it a try if you’re a morning person. Of course, we asked the locals and were advised not to go swimming where the city center is because there’s a lot of rubbish, dirt, and it’s not generally a good place to swim. But if you pass the good old town and go past the football stadium at 2, which is located on a little rock, besides the monument of Buddha, you can go to the Mogrind beach. Part of it is the public beach, and it is beautiful nature, with crystal clear water, and it’s mostly not filled if you go at the right times. Go take a dip from there.
Sveti Stefan
One idea for a half-day or even a whole-day trip from Budva would be to go to a nearby coastal town Sveti Stefan. The town can be reached by bus in about 15 minutes from the city center for just a few Euros. There, you can take a stroll through the city. The beaches are stunning, said to be the best in the area. They’re also beautifully landscaped with plants and shade, especially pleasant for escaping the heat. One spot that’s famous for its charm is a little island located offshore. It’s only accessible to visitors who book a tour, but I wouldn’t recommend visiting it because it’s expensive and generally underwhelming. Instead, I would suggest taking a leisurely stroll through the parks and maybe catching a sunrise somewhere.
Hike Sveti Stefan Monarchy
One of the best places to watch the sunset is from Sveti Stefan. So, if you’re up for the challenge and willing to hike up some meters, you can truly enjoy full views from the satisfying Goodwill and Chester Hall coastline. There is a monarchy in particular, and if you take a hiking trail past the monarchy, you’ll come to a viewpoint where the scenery is simply incredible. There’s also a church named Susanna, I think, and you can go up there, and I definitely think the views are even more breathtaking from that point. But I wouldn’t recommend hiking up there because it’s simply too hot. I suggest you go by car or take a taxi if you really want to go there. It’s easiest to visit in the evening, so if you go from Abu Dhabi, just arrive around 5 PM and watch the sunset. Then in the evening, you can head back. This would be the best option for you to avoid the intense heat.
Petrovac
A destination that can also be reached from Budva by bus would be Petrovac. Petrovac is a very cute town, just like Split, located next to the sea. I would advise going there for a half-day, as there’s really not much to do, but there are beautiful restaurants, some great architecture, and amazing beaches. You can also watch an amazing sunset from up there. There’s a little island with the Rock Island or there’s the monastery up there, which you can see from the harbor or the beach of Petrovac. You can take a private boat out there, but I believe it’s pretty expensive, so decide for yourself if you want to come.
Kotor
A place you absolutely must visit is Kotor because it’s iconic and there are just so many things that you must see. We actually woke up at 5 AM and took the first class at 6 AM from Luton Airport. Don’t risk enduring the intense summer heat.
Hike in Kotor
Our plan was to hike up the scenic path to the San Joaquin church. This is an old ruin located on top of a mountain next to the Kotor Bay. We actually took the hike at a smart time, but you didn’t know what it concluded and everyone went there. You can take the steps up to the church for the sunset, but you have to pay as it is very exhausting. If you take the hike, it is not difficult, but I don’t know if you don’t go to the heights because, again, it’s hot. You have amazing views of the nature of the mountains, and you even pass some very smooth church rooms. We got those views from the church center valley. You can actually just walk down the steps, and nobody will ask you for a ticket or anything, so you might have a chance if you wake up in the morning and go to Kotor in the morning. Height of Central Vineyard I’ve sent you a violent charge to visit the Kotor Bay all the time. It is also a great architect, with amazing restaurants, food markets, and shops, so worth a visit.
Lady of the Roks
So, imagine if you hiked up to 280 meters, you could then Kotor Old Town. Now, what to do? For a boat trip, you can take a private boat trip from the Old Town harbor, which costs you about 15 euros, I believe, per person. But it’s worth it. It’s not hours long, and you go to one of the monuments of the Kotor Bay, that would be the Lady of the Rocks. It is a small monastery and church located on a man-made island just in the middle of the bay. There’s not much to do, but it’s quite enchanting.
Perast
After visiting the Lady of the Rocks, the boat took us to Las Pilas, which is like the Santorini of Montenegro. It’s filled with so many beautiful hotels and expensive restaurants, expensive prices, and rich people, basically. But it has beautiful Italian architecture, and you can also take a great swim there. I would not recommend you to go there for a whole day since there’s really not that much to do. So, half a day would be enough. The good thing about the boat trip itself is because you just really have amazing views of the mountains around you while driving through the Kotor Bay. You will not regret it. So, when you’re in Bay of Kotor and you almost have died because of the heat, you should take a swim in one of the public beaches we get next to the Old Town. You have great views of the mountains while you swim, and the water is absolutely refreshing out there.
Skadar Lakes
One of the most adventurous things we all wanted to do on our trip was probably a kayak tour. You can go to the Lakes of Skadar by bus from Budva to Bar, and from Bar, you can take the train to Skadar. It is one of the biggest lakes in the European area, and it is breathtaking because you can see the mountains, and the nature is just incredible. You can take a boat trip, but we found that boring, so we decided to go the extra mile and rent a kayak for a whole day. It was about 30 euros for 2 people, and it was absolutely worth it because you can go at your own pace and explore anywhere you want to. Fun fact: we actually paddled about 20 km, and we were completely exhausted afterward, but it was so worth it. I would advise you to go there in the morning and leave in the late evening for a whole day trip. You can also take great hikes next to the Skadar Lake, but we really did not have time for that, although I would definitely recommend checking it out too.
Final thought & Costs
Just to finish up, a bit about costs and expenses: Montenegro is very affordable and great for young budget travelers. It is insanely beautiful, so you can take a lot of great photos and videos there. I think for one person, I spent about €500 for everything – stay, flights, food, activities, everything. If you stay in a central town like Budva, you can go by bus to almost everywhere. If you stay in Montenegro longer than 2 weeks, we were advised to just rent a car because then you can go independently everywhere by yourself and explore the country to its fullest.
If you are interested in more tips about Montenegro, want to find out more about the food, the people, the culture, or anything else, definitely text me, and I’ll try to answer all your questions. Planning your next trip, definitely give Montenegro a try. So, I hope it helped.
