PTM // Dubrovnik to Montenegro - Day 6!

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Day 6:

This morning was an early one! We had to be up and ready at around 7:15AM in order to head down to the meeting point for our day trip to Montenegro!

Montenegro is known as “the world’s newest country” according to my LonelyPlanet “Europe on a shoestring 2008″ guide book and most people that I’ve met have never even heard of it! This small country lies just south east of Croatia and in May of 2006 it finally gained it’s independence from the union of Serbia for the first time since 1916!

Our tour driver picked us up at around 7:45AM in front of the Dubrovnik fire station and we made a quick loop around the hill side to pick up a few others. Luckily just before we picked up the last few people Liz reminded me that I needed my passport! Thank god she reminded me because I would have been sitting at the border of Croatia and Montenegro all day while everyone else spent the day in Montenegro! I let the driver know that I had forgotten my passport and he let me run back up to the apartment real quick before we headed off for the day.

Once we picked everyone up we headed for the border. On our way the terrain started to slowly change and the views were getting more and more beautiful. We finally arrived at the border of Croatia and Montenegro and everything went smoothly. Within 15 minutes or so we were off, and on our way to our first stop of the day, the city of Kotor.

Before reaching Kotor we made a quick pitstop and everyone jumped out of the van for a small break and a photo opportunity. In front of us was the beautiful Bay of Kotor! It was surrounded by mountains, flowers, and a somewhat dry landscape. The bay itself was absolutely huge!

After our short break and after everyone got a good look at the Bay of Kotor, we all were really looking forward to seeing the city of Kotor. When we finally arrived we couldn’t help but see the simliarities of the city of Kotor to Old Town Dubrovnik. Like Dubrovnik, the city is surrounded by castle walls for protection. The walls lead all the way up the sides of the mountains. It’s pretty impressive! The Old City of Kotor was very small compared to Dubrovnik though.

There was not too much to see, so as soon as we entered Kotor Liz and I headed straight for a restaurant called La Pasteria. La Pasteria was named one of the best places to eat in Kotor so we wanted to see if it lived up to it’s reputation.

We sat down and had a great meal and the prices were right on track with what my guide book said so we were happy, and full by the time we were finished. After lunch we went for a small walk around the old city and pretty much saw everything that was to be seen.

Before meeting back with our driver we took a stroll through the old market that lies outside of the castle walls and got ourselves a couple cheap drinks before heading to our final destination, Budva! Budva is a city in Montenegro that is known for its historic old town, and beautiful sandy beaches!

The sky was clear, the sun was boiling and we were on our way to Budva. Liz swore that she saw a sign while we were driving that said it was 41.5 C (106.7 F) outside but I didn’t believe her. There was just no way that when we stepped out of the van that it would be nearly 107 degrees out. Once we arrived in Budva we realized that the sign that Liz saw on our way to Budva was correct! At this point it was 42 C (107.6) degrees out and we ran straight for the beach. I couldn’t wait to get into the water!

We walked and walked until we found a place to change into our bathing suits then we headed off to the nearest empty spot on the beach. We laid our towels out and as soon as I took my shirt off I could feel the rays of the sun beaming down on my back. We jumped in the water and swam around for a bit but we weren’t too impressed with the surroundings of Budva. The edge of the beach almost reminded me of an old run down camp ground. There were all sorts of junk souvenir shops, and a mobile home park that basically lied on the edge of the beach. The water itself didn’t appear to be the cleanest either but we made the best of it. We laid out for a bit longer before heading back to take a stroll through the old town of Budva.

We took a short walk around the old town but once again there wasn’t too much to see.

There were some shops and places to buy souvenirs but no real sights. All in all, I wasn’t impressed with Montenegro at all. There are definite efforts in place at the moment to build beautiful resorts and hotels in the area. There is a massive resort in the making right now in Budva right next to Old Town. Budva might possibly be the future of Montegnegro, but it’s far from that at this point.

Unfortunately I only got to see two cities today, so I can’t say that Montenegro as a whole was bad but from what I saw today I wouldn’t recommend anybody taking a day trip there nevermind staying in Kotor or Budva. Truly disappointing!

Everyone met back at our meeting spot at around 4:15PM and we headed back to Dubrovnik. Once we got back Liz and I ran straight for the apartment and we left the air conditioner on this morning so by the time we got back the apartment was freezing. Perfect!

We cooked some dinner and headed to bed early after a long day in the blazing hot sun. Today was the hottest day on my trip by far…