Montenegro Day trip

The view as you drive around the Bay of Kotor is spectacular. I would certainly prefer to do that on a bus rather than driving, because I don't think the driver would have much opportunity to enjoy the view.

The town of Herceg Novi is relatively non touristy and just off the route to Kotor. I liked Kotor a lot on my first full day there, where there was no cruise ship in port. If a big ship calls, the town gets absolutely slammed. The year I went to Montenegro I didn't go to Dubrovnik, just passed through the area on my way north. It has been so long since I've been to Dubrovnik (probably about 30 years), I cannot compare the two.

See my reply in this thread:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/croatia/which-to-visit-kotor-montenegro-or-mostar-bosnia

My point is that we were with a big bus tour company that does this for multiple cruise companies every week, and we still got stuck at the border, both ways, for some time. Your mileage may vary.

We used Petar Vlasic of Dubrovnik Riviera Tours for this exact plan and were extremely happy with him.

We did a second whole day with him to Mostar and environs.

http://www.dubrovnikrivieratours.com/

I crossed the border 3 times last year and I think there was one occasion when the wait was 30 minutes. One way to avoid that is to hire someone who knows the border schedule to provide the planning. For that I think it would be hard to beat Dijana. She guides and runs a tour agency and can arrange any and all of your excursion for you.

Dijana Krkotic
Phone: +382 20 675 197

E-mail:[email protected]
www.docleatravel.com

Then there is where to go. Herceg Novi is absolutely worth the stop; as is Perast. You mentioned Lady of the Rocks that you saw on a previous trip. Getting on a boat and going out to the island is sort of fun thing, but the island for me was a bit underwhelming. But beautiful in its setting; and you pass Catovica Mlini on the way so its all a good plan.

Then what? Well conventional wisdom is that its only about 30 minutes further to Kotor. But you are coming from Dubrovnik, and after Dubrovnik, I would suggest something different than Kotor (pretty much a small, less impressive version of Dubrobvnik … but beautiful in its own unique way).

I would consider a tour of Perast. A lot there that the eye doesn’t catch. And there are few places that I have ever seen that are more beautiful.

Then I would drive right past Kotor and climb the hills on the P1 road 30 to 45 minutes to one of the cheese and prosciutto houses. Maybe Restoran Zora, but Dijana might know another. The drive alone is worth the effort. Then back to Dubrovnik on the main highway through Cetinja.

But you know, that’s a bunch of driving for one day. Again if it were me, because I love Montenegro, I would spend a night in Perast and split the trip. Best advise though it to call someone like Dijana and discuss the options and the time and cost.

Just a heads up about the P1 road from Kotar to the towns of Njegusi and Cetinje . The views of the town and bay are super spectacular. But, it goes up the side of a mountain and has about 25 numbered 180 degree switchback turns and at least 75 other sharp turns. There's a rock wall on one side and nothing on the other. But, large tour buses do travel this road. That may be a good choice as it will be hard for anyone driving to appreciate or enjoy the views. If anyone in your party is prone to motion sickness or has a problem with heights, you might want to avoid this drive. Although it's probably a rare occurrenc, we saw several folks throwing up on the side of the road. Don't mean to rain on your parade, just giving food for thought. You can go to bing.com, use the map feature, and see aerial views of the road. Googlemaps.com. will also allow you can check it out. Suggest you look at as many maps and aerial views of the road as you can before making your decision to drive it. On 12 Mar. 2017 there was a thread on this forum titled "Greece Montenegro Croatia". One person included a link to a good map that shows the road. Another person had a link to a video made along parts of the road.

I posted the video. Fun drive, done it 3 times over the years.

By the way, politically things are a bit messy in Montenegro right now. And if you are thinking Mostar, things are a bit messy in Bosnia & Herzegovina right now.

There are a few people here who have spent more time in Montenegro, and I hope they will chime in. For us, it was easy to spend 4 full days in Montenegro, about one and a half full days in Kotor, the rest on day trips. Of Kotor, Perast, Budva, and Cetinje, I enjoyed Kotor the most. It's more of a town, not a city, and there's not a whole lot to see, except for the cathedral and an interesting small orthodox church, where the priest gave us a detailed history and a little walk around explaining the art. Kotor is more of an wander around and absorb-the-vibe place for me. If you have an option for your travel dates, check the various websites that publish cruise ship schedules and try hard to avoid Kotor on days that there's a ship in port. There's just no space for Kotor to absorb an additional 3,000+ tourists. As you know, Perast is nice for a stroll and Our Lady of the Rocks, and with the museum and lunch, you could fill a leisurely day. If you're doing just a day in Montenegro, you'll have to narrow it down considerably (pick one or two spots) because it's not easy to get anywhere quickly in Montenegro. The Lonely Planet guide to Montenegro will help a lot here. This would be an excellent time to splurge on a car and driver, whether you go for one or a few days. For the drive up and around the bay, skip the bus, and, to maximize your sightseeing, don't drive it yourself, at least the first time. The views are much better if you're not clutching the wheel and avoiding oncoming busses. There are a number of reliable car services in Dubrovnik, in addition to those mentioned here. And, there are also a few Kotor-based small agencies as well with guides and/or guides with a car and driver. We took a car based in Dubrovnik, then hired our guides from Kotor. That combination worked well for us.

We end our RS trip on April 30 and would like to spend time either in Montenegro or Greece since we have reservation in Santorini on May 5. We wondered about the difficulties of crossing the border with the Covid situation

Cheap Dubrovnik Tours is one of most reputable and most reliable tour operators in Dubrovnik.
https://cheapdubrovniktours.com/excurions/
You can check online and contact them regarding Montenegro day tour.
Besides Perast (with Our Lady of The Rocks island/church) and Catovica Mlini restaurant, I recommend visiting Herceg Novi and Kotor. Drive around beautiful Bay of Kotor is very enjoyable as well.

My favorite in the area *(for panning, transportation and guiding anyplace in the Balkans) is
Dijana Krkotic, Executive director
Doclea Travel and Tours
Bulevar Sv. Petra
Cetinjskog br. 79
81 000 Podgorica
Phone: +382 20 675 197
Mob: +382 69 277 749
E-mail:[email protected]
www.docleatravel.com

We end our RS trip on April 30 and would like to spend time either in
Montenegro or Greece since we have reservation in Santorini on May 5.
We wondered about the difficulties of crossing the border with the
Covid situation

leeaylor: always check and see if anything has changed, but in July/August we crossed from Croatia to BiH to Montenegro and then back to Croatia and on to Greece .... all with a vaccine card and a couple of online fill in the blank notices....

One of the best experiences I've had with my wife was renting a 250cc scooter from Dubrovnik and riding it all the way to Kotor for the afternoon... in March. We got back after dark, had to buy hot chocolate partway back to warm our hands because we didn't have gloves and got laughed at by the guards at the border crossing. Totally worth it.

A few years ago, I ended the RS Adriatic Tour in Dubrovnik, and decided to spend the next day on a bus tour down the coast of Montenegro, then returning to my hotel room in Dubrovnik, flying out the next day. The bus tour was very good, reasonable cost, sorry I can’t remember the company’s name. As I remember, the guide was Argentine, of Croatian descent. The tour made several stops along the coast, with an hour or two free time at each, maybe more in Kotor. A famous site is the ancient “Great Wall of Kotor” which goes up a mountain from the town. I decided to hike up the wall, up to a small church about half way up, figured that would leave me time to get back to the bus on time. I was by myself, but among other people on the same trek. It started to sprinkle, the stones got slick, and sure enough, I fell off the wall. Some strangers helped me up, and with great good fortune, I was able to get back on the wall and continue to the church, and back down to the bus on time. The aches and pains came the next day! I must admit, when I was laying on my back at the bottom of the wall, I had a vision of broken bones and being stuck alone, paralyzed in some Kotor health clinic, with all my belongings up there in Croatia. Did not happen though. I still have a quite-lovely handmade refrigerator magnet from that church along the wall! If you climb that wall, enjoy the great views of the bay, and that little church, but do tread carefully!i