Please sign in to post.

Split vs. Montenegro

Posted by on

We'll be in Croatia the beginning of November for about 10 days. Planning to visit Zagreb and Dubrovnik. Need feedback on visiting Split or Montenegro. More interested in getting a sense of the city, visiting sites, walking around rather than hiking. Thanks.

Posted by
17916 posts

I was in Croatia for about a week last year. Zagreb I enjoyed quite a bit. Dubrovnik is one of those you gotta see places despite the almost Disney like atmosphere. It was my second trip to Dubrovnik and no regrets. Split, well, split I could have lived without.

Montenegro I have visited a few times. Why? cause I enjoyed it that much. But, since you are going to Dubrovnik, dont waste time with Kotor. Kotor is great but its like Dubrovnik but smaller and not as interesting or beautiful.

If you can spare a few nights I would say get a guide with a car and take a tour (I can give you the name of a good guide -- PM me). These all return to Dubrovnik, but the perfect trip would end at the airport in Podgorica which is sort of okay connected.

OPTION A

Day One: drive to Herceg Novi (about 1:20 with the border crossing), then to Perast (about 45 min) to see the islands and have lunch on the most beautiful bay. Then over the ridge to Budva (an hour the fast way, but you want to take the P1 over the mountains -- 2 hours). Along this route there are olive production houses and vineyards to visit. One really well spent day with a night in the old walled city of Budva. Very sweet place.

Day Two. Most of the Day in Budva. Then the direct way home to Dubrovnik is about 2:30 with the border crossing and is a totally different route and you get to ride a ferry.

But, you may not regret going a bit further inland or down the coast for another night (or both). So..........................

OPTION B

After Option A

Day Two: stay in Budva

Day Three: Get an early start (this is better than anything you will see in Croatia --- just my biased opinion). .... Budva to the Ostrog Monastery which is pretty amazing. After the tour there is a hotel with a restaurant that has a terrace that hangs over the canyon. Those are the photos you will show most when you get home. After Ostrog the trip back to Dubrovnik is about 2 hours through Bosnia....

Option C

After Option A

Day Three: .... Budva to Stari Bar for a few hours in the ruins of the old citadel. Its only about an hour. Then move on to Ulcinj for lunch (30 minutes). Another old walled town on a cliff and where East really does meet West which you will realize when you hear the call to prayer from the mosques. Then back to Budva for the night

Day Four Budva to the Ostrog Monastery which is pretty amazing. After the tour there is a hotel with a restaurant that has a terrace that hangs over the canyon. Those are the photos you will show most when you get home. After Ostrog the trip back to Dubrovnik is about 2 hours through Bosnia....

Herceg-Novi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOqLXoeE_o4
Perast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd6ErEHPHmg
Uncinj https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaPcThRQdi4
Stari Bar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeaVA91VGoM and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBU56OT78fw
Ostrog Monastery https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1sOCWmmILk and the restaurant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fdbD9upFP4
Budva https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKXnyC5N9SU
The P1 to Budva https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVlA4ema5Kw

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks to all of you. Great suggestions. A special shout out to James E. for your detailed response.

Posted by
2 posts

I could potentially do both. I will have about 2 weeks and a budget of $3,000 (including airfare) though I intend on doing budget accommodations like hostels and sobe. I have a friend in Munich, so I might fly there and spend a couple days before flying to Zagreb. I looked up airfare from Munich to Zagreb vs Podgorica and the former is significantly less expensive. I want to see the Adriatic, but I wouldn't want to miss out on Zagreb and interior Montenegro if they are worth seeing and not nearly so crowded.

Posted by
27111 posts

Zagreb and non-coastal Montenegro are very worth visiting. In addition, the Montenegrin coastal towns of Herceg-Novi and Ulcinj are attractive and not overrun by tourists--especially Ulcinj, which has a sort of Turkish vibe. O.also liked the old capital of Cetinje, which I gets some European visitors. There's a road from Kotor to Cetinje thar seems to be nothing but hairpin turns--a great timemtombe sitting on a bus rather than doing the driving yourself.

Montenegro has some lovely mountain scenery, but as far as I know, there is no bus service to the national parks.

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.