Officially my favourite of all the former Yugoslav republics and one of my favourite countries in the world. None of my photos or descriptions are going to do it the justice it deserves, so you’re just going to have to go and see for yourself.
Montenegro has a beautiful coastline and imposing mountains. You can go hiking, trekking, climbing, boating, rafting, kayaking and skiing, and there are beaches, stunning scenery and old towns to explore as well as some decent Montenegrin wines to sample 🍷
Herceg Novi – not even the most beautiful city in Montenegro! You can walk around the old town, visit the Savina Monastery and have a seafood lunch overlooking the Adriatic.
Or go to Budvar. No. Not that Budvar; there’s no Budweiser brewery here! But there are sandy beaches, and an old town with Venetian-built walls and narrow streets.
You wouldn’t know it now, but there was an absolutely devastating earthquake here in 1979, which killed 101 people in Montenegro, and left over 100,000 homeless. Ulcinj was almost totally destroyed, parts of the city walls of Herceg Novi fell into the sea, 450 surrounding villages were razed to the ground, and of the 400 buildings in Budvar, only 8 remained undamaged.
The famous black mountains of Montenegro.
You can see acres and acres of vineyards behind. Vranac is the most famous and important grape in Montenegro.
Sveti Stefan – or St Stephens. This used to be an island before being connected to the mainland by a small causeway. Back in the 15th century, it was an island fortress, then in the 1800s was turned into a village community of about 400. In the 1930s a summer villa was built here for the queen of a Serbian royal family, but by the mid 1950s there were only 20 people left living on the island, so the Yugoslav authorities moved them on to the mainland, turned one of the churches into a casino and created a hotel resort where all the famous celebs of the 60s and 70s came to play. Today that exclusivity continues, as it’s now part of the Aman hotel group.
I once spent a day driving through Montenegro trying to get from Kosovo to Bosnia & Herzegovina, and, you know, the north of the country is just as beautiful as the coastal regions.
So far, so stunning, eh?! And then you get to Kotor, which is one of my favourite ever places, and definitely the best walled city I’ve ever visited. It’s what is properly described as “charming”. When the cruise ships come in, this place must be absolutely packed, but I was lucky and there was hardly anyone there while I was visiting. I stayed inside the city walls, so I had a chance to look around the medieval cobblestone alleysways and squares both in the day and the night time.
Kotor was first mentioned in 168 BC when it was settled during Roman times and has been fortified since the early Middle Ages. It has a long and interesting history, which you can find out for yourself when you visit 😜
Get up early one morning to avoid the crowds (and the sun if you’re there in summer) and hike the city walls to St John’s Fortress, from where you’ll get stunning views of the Bay of Kotor.
As I said at the beginning, these photos don’t even begin to express how fabulous it is. By now, you’re probably thinking that I’m being paid by the Montenegro tourist board 😜, but honestly I just can’t recommend it enough. Please go and see for yourself.
cheeky gin travels 