Montenegro day trip from Debrovnick or enjoy another day in Debrovnick?

You are askig if the city of Dubrovnik is similar to the country of Montenegro. No, they are not similar. Montenegro is a country and it has mountains Dubrovnik is a city and it has walls. The city of Kotor in Montenegro is a little similar to Dubrovnik, but Dubrovnik is somewhat more interesting.

You are asking if after one evening and one full day in Dubrovnik if you should stay in Dubrovnik or got to Montenegro? I think you should stay in Dubrovnik. Of course I reserve the right to change my mind when I know the time of year.

I think it depends on whether or not you think you will return to this region. When we visited Croatia in 2019, we spent 3 nights in Dubrovnik, so we had 2 full days. We did spend a day visiting Montenegro, specifically the Bay of Kotor. As much as we enjoyed Dubrovnik, I don't regret our decision.

We did hire a private driver to drive us around the Bay of Kotor. We visited Budva, Kotor, and Perast. While Kotor is similar to Dubrovnik, it certainly isn't a carbon copy of Dubrovnik. I think a nice daytrip would be to visit several other places along the Bay, in addition to Kotor. I contacted Julija Antunovic, who was recommended by Trip Advisor. She was unavailable but she recommended her colleague, Stjepan, who was excellent. I've had some contact with Julija since then, and I know that Stjepan has changed careers. But I would still highly recommend Julija. Her company is Dubrovnik Driving Guide, and her email address is: [email protected]

During our one full day in Dubrovnik, we had time to do the following:

• Walk the walls
  • Lunch
  • Visit the Franciscan Monastery
  • Visit War Photo Limited, which I highly recommend
  • Take the cable car to the top of Mt. Srd for spectacular views and have drinks
  • Dinner

Well, it almost sounded like I don’t much care for Montenegro. I would trade 4 days in Croatia for two days in Montenegro and I go back again in June.

Okay, so if you want to do it. Yes, first you need a driver. No, you need more than a driver, you need someone to set it all up so that it flows correctly and you use your time well. We all have our favorites and even though I have been back to Montenegro several times I still get help from the name at the end of this post. I would recommend you get your help from someone in Montenegro, since that’s where you are going. The prices might be better with someone from Montenegro as well as tourism costs are quite a bit lower in Montenegro than they are in Croatia. But just my preference.

You could do this with busses, but its really not worth the time involved for a one day trip if you ride a bus and drive past everything.

I will also assume you already have your flights home from Dubrovnik and you cant change them. That’s what makes this a really bad idea. I will also assume that you are going between 15 May and 15 September. I am probably wrong on everything because you provided too little information which is why it is difficult to give good advice.

An Idea:

• 08:00 you depart Dubrovnik. Already I hate it because I am on holiday and I don’t want to get up at 06:30.
• 11:00 you arrive at the bay front in Perast. The drive is about 2.5 hours with the border crossing, but you have to park and ride the golfcart, etc….. Do a one-hour tour of Perast and have lunch at the Hotel Conte outdoor restaurant that looks over the bay. You could skip the tour and pick up an hour. But still you want to wander the bayfront and eat so maybe you only gain 30 minutes.
• 13:30 you arrive Kotor. Do a 60 minute tour. Then do a 3-hour boat ride in the bay to see the islands the blue cave, do a little swimming. These are fun. But you got to find one that works with your schedule. There are lots so I say it’s very possible (have the name at the end deal with that).
• the 3 hour boat trip could be replaced with the cable car and more time in Kotor, or a trip up the P1 road for the incredible views of the bay and prosciutto at a great curing house where you can see them hanging https://maps.app.goo.gl/8tZRGg7xn2J5u2GE6 or fresh oysters at an oyster farm https://maps.app.goo.gl/UmWiHuGyTM9pRSbR7
• 17:30 pack up and head back towards Dubrovnik.
• 19:00 Stop in Herceg Novi and have dinner on the bay. My suggestion https://maps.app.goo.gl/6DWABSRtjB6XgCHJ9 (make a reservation)
• 21:30 (that’s 9:30pm in American) you are back in your Dubrovnik room to pack and sleep before your flight home.
  

To make all of the arrangements and provide the transportation: Dijana Krkotic, Doclea Travel, +382 69 277 749 (WhatsApp, Phone, Text), [email protected], www.docleatravel.com

Now look at the videos of Montenegro in the next post and ask yourself, “don’t I want to go to Montenegro on the next trip, spend a week or two and do it right?” The ones in bold are the ones In the suggestion above:

Herceg-Novi, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOqLXoeE_o4
Perast, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd6ErEHPHmg
Hotel Conte, https://youtu.be/zYJcm2zlXA8?si=w7VstV-oLoVEQLr7
Kotor, https://youtu.be/G7QgBl7XNKU?si=pK1etsEr8UcAlofr
P1 Mountain Road https://youtu.be/QSz5hZVNxQ8?si=kAUpMBWDbSSztzt5
Prosciutto at Zora on the P1 https://youtu.be/08il6EXog3o?si=PkQ6Rrueu6c_-U98
Budva, https://youtu.be/TKhHJsb9A0w?si=WsnjJJ_j95TfFAvO
Stari Bar, https://youtu.be/OBU56OT78fw?si=tzF65lSmOXSEpWKZ
Ulcinj, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaPcThRQdi4
Lake Shkodra, https://youtu.be/2CQg4qei3Lc?si=RN0HoEY2QF9ysAmk
Ostrog Monastery, https://youtu.be/ixrJu6qv46M?si=9QWkwFz29VmgmpbD
Hotel and Restaurant Sokoline, https://youtu.be/0fdbD9upFP4?si=KAnxVV80rYk4sZpd
Tara River Canyon, https://youtu.be/9aGMZB8hB5Y?si=MQ-xXvRlIDkYEzpI
Motel MB Tara, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QhSY9uWkrY

I think you should stay in Dubrovnik and do a day tour from there or see things you missed on the RS tour. We drove to Kotor, stopping at Perast for lunch, and spent one night at Kotor. It was nice but seemed a lot like a smaller Dubrovnik. It was nice but not really different.

cindyeb, I agree is why my first answer. But everyone is different so Plan B was about the places along the way and less about Kotor. Stuff that is different than Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is singular and nothing compares.