Montenegro and the charming medieval city of Kotor
It took less than an hour to fly from Belgrade (Serbia) to Tivat (Montenegro). Tivat airport is about twenty minutes from the old town of Kotor. We took a taxi and checked in at our hotel, the Historic Boutique Hotel Cattaro. It is located in the heart of the seaside Old Town of Kotor, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The hotel is situated on the town’s main square. Cars are not allowed within the walls of the Old Town, so you have to walk a few hundred yards from the taxi to the hotel’s reception. On our last day we learned that the hotel has a golf cart and that they can pick you up with your luggage at the taxi station or at the city’s parking lot! A little bit too late, but at least we used it to go back to our rental car.
We spent three days at the property. Dozens of shops and restaurants can be found in the Old Town at a walking distance from the hotel. Every morning, we had a wonderful breakfast on the second floor’s terrace of the hotel. The service was impeccable. We enjoyed trying some of the local food
The first day we visited the medieval town and hiked (it is a HIKE) up to the St John’s Fortress, 280 meters above sea level. There are 1,350 steps, so I would recommend good shoes. It’s very hot in summer, so you have to do it in the morning. It takes about two and a half hours round trip. The view is amazing and you can visit the small church and the fort.
After a complete change of clothes and a lunch near the hotel we walked to the seaside and decided to book a private boat tour. It was a brand new vessel. We stopped in the beautiful city of Perast and visited the Lady of the Rock island and the Church of Our Lady of the Rocks. Our next stop was an old Yugoslavian army base called “Pristan” where our boat went through two of the three submarine pens used during Second World War to hide and repair submarines. That was already worth the trip. Afterwards, we left the bay and entered the Adriatic Sea. It got a little windy and choppy. We made a brief stop next to the Mamula Island, which was a notorious prison during both world wars. It is now being developed as a five-star resort. We followed the coast for about half an hour and arrived at the Blue Caves, a series of natural caves with beautiful colors and crystal-clear waters. It is a little bit scary as the speedboats go in and out the caves. We really enjoyed the tour. You can see a lot of places being on a boat.
We remained in the Old Town for dinner and found a very nice Italian restaurant named Konoba Roma. We ate on the terrace and were serenaded by local artists.
The next morning, we picked up our rental car at the Tivat airport and started exploring the coastline of Montenegro. We first stopped at the Porto Montenegro, which looks like a little Monaco with its mega yachts, luxury boutiques, Regent hotel and first-class restaurants. The area used to be a naval port and has been developed to a luxury port by a Canadian billionaire.
We had a lunch at Vista Vidikovac, a restaurant with an exceptional view of the Old Town and the city of Budva, a beach town on the Adriatic Sea. We visited the medieval old town, the historic district and the citadel. Before going back to Kotor, we stopped at Sveti Stefan, a small islet and 5-star hotel resort on the Adriatic coast of Montenegro. It might be nice if you spend the night there, but for us it was not worth the detour. The beach was not that great and they charge 50 Euros for an umbrella and two lounge chairs.
