A Quick Visit to Montenegro

Situated in the Balkans along the Adriatic Sea, Montenegro is one gorgeous country. While there, I visited three regions: Bay of Kotor, Budva Riviera, and Central.

The Bay of Kotor is a UNESCO Heritage Site and is considered one of the most beautiful bays in all of Europe, and I certainly can’t disagree. I have to say that I was totally taken by the country, and especially the Bay of Kotor. I’d go out on a limb and say that the Adriatic rivals the Mediterranean in terms of beauty. The greens were lush, the water was a cool cobalt blue, and the terracotta rooftops were the icing on the cake.

From the Bay of Kotor, it was time to check out Cetinje, the historic capital of Montenegro. To get there, you have to go around 25+ hairpin curves, and let me tell you, that was one of the scariest things I’ve ever experienced. I white-knuckled it the whole way, thinking that at some point I was destined to fall down the side of a mountain and plummet to my untimely death. But then I arrived safely in the tiny village of Njeguši in time for lunch. And after that, continued on to Cetinje. It’s a pretty small city that’s very walkable. It doesn’t have very many sites, but the few that are there are worth seeing.

The last place on my visit was to the coastal resort town, Budva. You may recognize it from The James Bond Casino Royale movie–the casino is located in Budva. I thought this would be my favorite area of the country, but it actually ended up on the bottom of my list. It is a really beautiful and charming area, but it was a bit too touristy and ritzy for my taste. The prices were high, the people there were kind of obnoxious, and I just generally didn’t get a great feeling from it. But, to each their own; just because I didn’t love it doesn’t mean that others won’t.

If Montenegro isn’t on your list of places to see, it should certainly be added. This small country has a lot worth seeing and experiencing, and has unfortunately been overshadowed by the war that ravaged it in the ’90s. The country is trying to attract more tourism and many roads have been repaired to facilitate easier drives, and many hotels have been renovated for better accommodation. Not only that, but Lonely Planet lists it as one of its top 10 countries to visit in 2013, so now might be the best time to go!