The Many Faces of Montenegro

Montenegro

Just a day sail from Croatia, Montenegro is a country of great contrast. Rugged, dramatic cliffs in the interior give way to a long sparkling coastline.

Trendy beach clubs and restaurants share a view with rustic towns. Super yacht marinas and tacky seaside resorts border internationally recognized historic sites. Montenegro has something for everyone.

We made just a few stops in Montenegro, and in that short time, caught a glimpse of a beautiful but rough country struggling to reinvent itself as a luxury paradise. They are off to a good start in the Bay of Kotor, a sunken river canyon, with four distinct bays, that is the closest place to a fjord in the Mediterranean. We made a stop at Porto Montenegro marina to check into the country and were surprised to find the marina full of super yachts, some of the biggest that we have ever seen. Berkeley East is a mere dinghy compared to these massive vessels. The marina itself was a refreshing step into civilization with nice restaurants, classy shops and a she-she beach club that would fit nicely into any upscale resort. Instead of having to spend hours going from customs to immigration, the marina staff did it for us, leaving us time to spend money at their restaurants and clubs. We thought it was a fair trade.

Purobeach Porto Montenegro is a spectacular and beautiful club with a 180 degree view of the Bay of Kotor. We hung out on the sunbeds, swam in the 63 meter long pool and relaxed to music from the DJ.

Outstanding food at the mariana sushi restaurant

Renovated dockyard crane – An iconic landmark at Porto Montenegro Mariana

From Porto Montenegro, we sailed BE through the bay to Kotor, a historic town with yet another fabulous wall to climb. With its remote location and heavy fortification, Kotor escaped destruction by war, but suffered badly during several earthquakes.

Kotor is on the cruise ship circuit, and while we were there, we saw three large ships come and go. Whenever we see cruise ships, we try to only go onshore in the early morning, or at dinnertime, in order to avoid the crowds. But on our last day in Kotor, we slept in a little too late and as we were leaving BE to climb the town wall, we saw five shore boats offloading passengers from a huge ship that came in during the night. We climbed the wall anyway and then had fun sitting in the square trying to figure out where everyone was from.

We made several other stops along the Bay of Kotor, enjoying breathtaking views of islands and the massive mountains, then headed south along the coast to the Budva Riviera.

Perast – A city of 349 people originally built by the Venetian’s in the 15 and 16th century withs sixteen Baroque palaces, seventeen Catholic churches and two Orthodox churches.

A friend told us to skip Budva. They said it was a tacky tourist resort with the largest outdoor disco in Europe. But Berkeley East needed fuel, we needed to check out of Montenegro, and Budva was a good place for both.

Who Said Tacky Couldn’t Be Fun?

Our friend was right. Budva was tacky and it was touristy. But it was also fun. Full of parasailers, jet skis and fast moving boats.

There was a wonderful old town with beautiful views, great restaurants and music.

Along the shoreline, families were swimming and sunbathing. And at night, there were discos with loud music that made you want to dance. But they must have been discos for old people, as they closed down by 1 am. When we were checking out of the country, the customs official asked if we enjoyed Montenegro. We said we did. He said he had traveled all over Europe, even to USA (which he pronounced OOH-sa), “but,” he said, “Montenegro is very good.”

Previous Comments 

14 May 2013

Jeff Gronning

Hi Larry, I was reading your blog and looking at some pictures in your photo album. the underwater shots are really high quality. What type of equipment do you use? Jeff Gronning H54#2 Sea Pear