Montenegro | Tivat, Budva, Sveti Stefan, Kotor & Perast
Valerie Note: I have been hearing about Montenegro from friends who have traveled to the small country for years! I have tried to get Jeremy to go on numerous occasions, but it was never at the top of his travel list, so it never became a reality…until now!
Oh, Montenegro! You did not disappoint! Before we get into the highlights of the trip, if you don’t know where Montenegro is, now you do.
We stayed in Tivat, which is on a large bay, north of the start for Cetinje.
Also, here is a short overview and history of the country and its independence from Yugoslavia in 2006.
Based on some research and recommendations from friends, we decided to base ourselves out of Tivat. We rented an apartment in the center of town and it was a perfect location. Beautiful views, close to shops, restaurants and a beach.
Itinerary
Day 1: Travel Day and Arrived to Tivat
Day 2: (Montenegrin Independence Holiday) Buddha Beach Club
Wonderful, relaxing day at a local pool club in Tivat Harbor. Besides the beautiful view and fabulous surroundings, the best part was the people watching.
Buddha Beach Club and Porto Montenegro
Valerie Note: If you know me, then you know I love all things Bravo, especially the show Below Deck. I learned, while at the Buddha Beach Club, that Montenegro has an active yachtie community, which isn’t surprising based on the many mega yachts that anchor in the bay. However, next to us at the beach club was a group of yachties spending their day off relaxing poolside. I was in my own personal heaven as I got to listen to them talk about their boats, crews, and adventures on the water. It was just like Below Deck, only this time it wasn’t reality television, it was reality next to me!
Day 3: Highlight: Sailing Tour on the Bay of Kotor.
We booked a sailing experience on the Bay of Kotor and had the most lovely day! Our hosts for the day were a lovely couple who lived in Kotor. Our sailboat captain was a retired Russian submarine captain and his wife, originally from Bosnia, helps run the yachting business they have along with raising their two sons.
It was a beautiful day on the water, and a fantastic way to see this part of Montenegro. We sailed for a bit and then anchored for a swim. We sailed around the bay learning about Montenagran history and culture.
The Bay of Kotor is both saltwater and freshwater. The freshwater comes from the mountains that surround the bay and provides a lovely home to oysters and muscles. In fact, while sailing on the bay you can have a half dozen fresh oysters delivered to the boat from one of the local oyster farms for just 15 Euro.
Besides taking in all of the bays natural beauty, we got to see:
Our Lady of the Rocks
St George Monastery
Our Lady of the Rocks is the white church in the foreground with St George Monastery on the small island behind it.
Day 4: Budva and Sveti Stefan
To see more of Montenegro, we hired a driver/tour guide to explore Budva and Sveti Stefan. Budva is a larger city than Tivat, or Kotor, and is about an hour south. We spent the morning learning about the old part of the city and wandering its alley ways. We had lunch at a lovely restaurant in the marina. The afternoon was spent in Sveti Stefan. Our guide, Milos, took us to a tiny hilltop church, which had some of the best views of Sveti Stefan. Then, we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the beautiful beach.
Note: Sveti Stefan is known for its high end island resort, which is closed. According to Milos, the resort closed in 2020 during Covid, but never reopened due to a disagreement between the resort and the local government. “Unofficially”, the resort submitted building plans to develop a four story parking garage. However, once construction began the “parking garage” very closely resembled an addition to the resort adding more guest rooms. Construction was halted and the main portion of the resort on the island never reopened. The good news is, because the resort is closed, the island is partially open to the public! You can walk across the bridge, take pictures in front of the resort, and access two beaches that would normally only be available to resort guests. George Clooney will have to find another fancy resort to stay at until Aman Sveti Stefan reopens. And, that date is TBD.
Sveti Stefan taken from a teeny-tiny church on the edge of a cliff that our tour guide brought us to. The views were stunning!
Day 5: Kotor and Cable Car
Setting off with Milos again, we explored the “Old City” of Kotor. The old town is the most impressive part of Kotor with its many monuments of medieval architecture. The old nucleus of Kotor is considered the best preserved medieval urban entity in the Mediterranean. The city walls, which surround the town, are about 5 km long and demonstrate fortification architecture often used in Europe. You can hike up the walls to the top, but you need to be a serious hiker. It is an all day adventure and looks grueling (especially in the 95+ degree heat!). We decided to stay at sea level and take pictures instead.
To end the day, we took the cable car to the top of Lovcen mountain. If you are in the Tivat/Kotor area, you need to take the ride to the top and watch the sunset. It is stunning. The pictures speak for themselves.
Valerie Note: If you are not good with heights, this is not the experience for you. I am not afraid of heights, but I was second guessing my choice about halfway up the cable car. That being said, the views at the top are totally worth it! Also, there is a restaurant at the top with live music during the summer.
View from the cable car.
Valerie and Jeremy at the top of Lovcen mountain.
Day 6: Waikiki Beach Club
Another day, another beach club. It was really hot and if you were outside during the day, you needed to be in the water. Also, who doesn’t love a beach club?
Waikiki Beach Club view
Day 7: White Water Rafting
We did it! We white water rafted the Tara River! An all day excursion, but a great way to see more of Montenegro, and a bit of Bosnia since the Tara River is the natural border between the two countries, which offers so many gorgeous views. We had a great time, but it wasn’t the smoothest of days. It is a long story, but the short version is that one of the guys in our raft jumped off a 5 meter rock and dislocated his shoulder. We were stuck on the side of the river for a while until our guide could figure out what to do, and how to get the French man back safely and to a hospital. It was a team effort for sure, but we all made it back to camp safely and he got the medical care he needed, four hours later.
Video of tunnels on the way to the Tara River.
Jeremy Note - On the drive from Kotor to where we launched the rafting trip on the Tara river was about a 3 hour drive. Once you get up to the river and are driving along the canyon (which is stunning on its own), the road boasts 55 tunnels through various parts of the mountainside. Some are just archways, but others are deep caverns that run for hundreds of yards. I strung together the video above of about 40-45 of the tunnels.
Day 8: Belane Beach and Relaxing Day, Admin and Laundry
Another day, another beach…for Valerie. Jeremy was beached-out, sunned-out and needed a day in the air conditioning. His loss!
Another beautiful beach in Montenegro!
Day 9: Perast and Head to Dubrovnik
We headed up to Dubrovnik to meet some longtime friends from San Francisco for a week of Croatia fun! Rather than take the quick flight, we decided to hire a car service and drive from Tivat to Dubrovnik. First, we wanted to explore Perast, a small town on the north side of the Bay of Kotor, as we heard it is quite picturesque. It doesn’t disappoint. We had a lovely wander and brunch on the water.
This is actually a shot of Perast from the sailboat taken a few days earlier, but we wanted to show how picturesque and small the town is, which can only really be done from the water.
Back on the road, we made our way smoothly across the border into Croatia. We were warned that crossing the border can be an experience. Locals said it can take four hours to cross depending on the day. This is partly to do with the fact there are two borders. The Montenegro border to exit and the Croatian border to enter the EU. Montenegro isn’t a member of the EU and therefore doesn’t have the open borders that member countries have, so there are two border stops. The ‘Travel Gods’ were working with us that day and we crossed in about 30 minutes. That being said, the line of cars crossing from Croatia into Montenegro was kilometers/miles long. LONG. We guessed the wait to cross would have been 4+ hours, easy. Thank you ‘Travel Gods’!
Things We Learned:
Hire a driver! The traffic can be awful. There is lots of construction; and not great road signs. Also, there is essentially no public transportation (in the areas we were in).
It’s HOT in July. Stay inside (read air condition), or be in water from noon to 4:00pm.
Montenegrins are so proud of their country! They love to share their history with you and it will give you lots of insight into the country’s food and culture.
That is a snapshot of our time in Montenegro. Cheers to a wonderful experience in the region.
Now…Where To Next?
