Despite the fact that for more than a year we have already lived together with covid, we still wanted to have a summer vacation accompanied by a trip abroad. So we will tell you about our vacation in covid.
As always, it all starts with finding a place where you would like to go. This summer the choice was between Croatia and Montenegro, Montenegro won because it was in the green zone for us. Montenegro allows tourists without tests, which is a plus at such a time, and Montenegro has recently opened for tourists. Since we did not have time to organize our trip, it was decided to take a ticket (which, of course, we later regretted, but first things first).
So we flew to the airport of the city Tivat – a very small airport, probably not repaired since the day it was built. Then, transferring to the bus, we went to our hotel in the city of Budva. The views on the way to the hotel are inspiring, the colors are enchanting and the view of the Riviera cannot leave you indifferent.
We lived in the city Budva. The most popular among tourists, the most party city, if you are planning a family trip with children, then we advise you not to settle in Budva, but if you are there, there is also something to see. I will not dwell on the city in detail, all information will be available in the guidebook and I will write a separate article about the history of the city.
So, having enjoyed a lot of beach holidays (for us it is one day), we decided that it was necessary to go on excursions to the mountains. Having searched for information on the Internet, we found an article about an abandoned Austro-Hungarian village in the city of Tivat.
By bus, we got to tivat and climbed the road up the mountain. The first thing we came across was a church with a cemetery, the hiking trail starts just above the church. Honestly, there were no signs for backpackers here, in general, there is very little information for that type of holiday in Montenegro. This did not stop us and the entrance to the trail turned out to be on the territory of a private house. But this did not stop us either – inspired, we climbed the path, which was marked in some places.
The trail has long been overgrown and turned into almost hard-to-reach jungle, we reached the end of the hiking trail and saw 2 abandoned buildings, but more or less modern buildings. Probably this walk was saved by the view that opens at the end of the trail – the whole Tivat in full view, mountains and the sea. If you, like us, find an article about the abandoned village of Bogdashichi on the Internet, then there is already nothing there (maybe there is, but in wild thickets), and if you still decide to go, think over shoes and clothes and take a knife with you to clear your way in places.
It is very easy to find group excursions, just go to the embankment and at every step you will be told in detail and shown all the available excursions. Our choice fell on a yacht tour of the Boka Kotorska Riviera, the Montenegrin Gorges and a sightseeing tour throughout Montenegro.
A sightseeing tour throughout Montenegro will take you the whole day. During this day you will have time to visit the ancient city of Kotor, go up the serpentine and see the panorama of the Bay of Kotor, taste prosciutto and local wine near the Lovcen National Park, visit the first capital of Montenegro Cetinje and visit the Lipska cave. More details about the places will be in the guide and there will be separate blog articles about the cities.
An excursion that is very good in conditions of heat is a boat trip on Boka Kotorska. The first stop you will have in Kotor with a sightseeing tour of the city, then you will go by ship and see the ancient cities near Kotor (Perast, Dobrota). The next stop will be at the Orthodox Church Church of the Holy Mother of God on the cliff, then you will go to the blue grotto – on the way to the blue grotto you can see the abandoned Yugoslav bases.
The Blue Grotto is a very picturesque place, but to get into it you will need to transfer to a small boat and pay an additional 5 euros. Of course, there are a lot of people at the height of the season and you are unlikely to be able to swim freely, but it is worth looking at it. The tour concludes with a walk around the city of Herceg Novi. The ship will take you to the most expensive port in all of Montenegro – Porte Montenegro, from there you will be picked up by a bus and taken to hotels.
The most picturesque tour in our opinion is a tour of the gorges of Montenegro. You will pass the famous Skadar Lake, the canyon of the Moracha River, stop at the Moracha Monastery, the Tara Speech Canyon, Dzhurdzhevich Bridge (there you will have the opportunity to ride along the bridge on a zip line), Black Lake, and only passing through you you will be able to see the current capital Podgorica.
If you, like us, are more fond of outdoor activities, then we advise you to choose hotels or accommodation not on the coast, but directly in the mountains – it will be difficult to get to the mountains from the coast. In the mountains, hiking is better developed than on the coast, there are also bike routes and hiking trails.
The only thing that confused us was the food, unfortunately you rarely find seafood here either in the mountains or on the coast and most of the food is fast food. National dishes of Montenegro:
- Chevapi – grilled from finely minced meat (a mixture of lamb and veal), very similar to kebab only in a reduced size.
- Pleskavitsa — a large flat cutlet (the same as cevapi only cutlet).
- Kaymak — it is served everywhere and with everything, its consistency is similar to thick sour cream or butter, the fermented milk product is somewhat reminiscent of homemade cheese, in our opinion it is very salty, but Montenegrins love it very much.
Montenegro is an interesting country where you can find leisure activities for every taste and every budget. Check out the guide on our website and read the articles dedicated to Montenegro – Have a great trip and sunny memories.