Montenegro – Europe’s Hidden Gem

Have you ever celebrated your birthday in a different country? I was closing on my teen years and moving to my 20’s when I decided I wanted to travel during my birthday. I found this place next to Albania in the Balkans which is visa free for people with a UK Visa. Without any doubt I booked my week-long trip with 2 of my mates to this unexplored gem. Reading about it I found the country was founded in 2006 which meant the country was 2 years younger than me! We were travelling during spring which was still off/ shoulder season so not many people, many tourist activities were closed and overall it was a quieter experience compared to peak tourist times.

DAY 1

We flew into Podgorica from London and from there our first stop of the trip was Budva- also known as the ‘little Dubrovnik”. It is a beautiful coastal town by the Adriatic sea. With blue waters, pristine beaches and an old town, it was the tourism capital of the country. There are two ways to reach Budva, the first is by public transport which we did where you take a taxi from the airport to the main bus terminal and then a 2 hour bus to Budva. The second option is renting your own car which I recommend as it gives you a lot of flexibility to travel as many places in Montenegro aren’t accessible by public transport. Reaching Budva by noon, everyone was starving so we went to this restaurant close to the bus stop and had lunch. Post lunch we checked into our Airbnb which had spectacular views of the city and the sea. We took some rest before heading off to the beach as it was a long travel. There are many beaches in and around Budva , so we tried to go to a different one everyday. The beach we went to that evening was Mogren, which is the most popular beach by the old town. It has a few bars and is a good beach too. You can also see the Budva Ballerina Girl Statue which is a famous bronze-sculptoure of a ballerina mid dance. The story behind this statue is a lost love between a ballerina and sailor . After a good evening at the beach, to end the day we walked around the old town and had pasta from a place called La Mia Pasta.

DAY 2

We were on vacation, you can do and see budva in 2 days easily but we took our time and relaxed on the beaches and just chilled in general getting away from our hectic university schedules. With a late lazy morning we went to Jaz beach, a bit further outside the budva for which you need to again take a taxi. As it was off season, it was  empty, with no tourists nor shops open but during peak season this is one of the busiest beaches from what I have read. A beachy morning leads into the afternoon by properly exploring the old town. From the small alleys, different churches – Holy trinity, St Johns ; the old town walls and cute cafes and restaurants in it. We stopped at this small cafe where we had some local cakes which were really good. Later we walked around the boulevard, took pictures, watched the sunset and listened to some live music which local street performers played. For dinner, I finally had the famous black risotto which is famous here made of squid or cuttlefish ink. It was one of the things you need to eat if you are ever in Montenegro. For dessert, we had ice cream from a shop in the old town. Been 2 days and the variety of desserts and sweets you get will activate your sweet tooth.

DAY 3

Last day in Budva and we just had one thing to see. The tourist favourite – Sveti Stefan. It is an island in water connected by a walkway. Formerly a neighbourhood, now it has been turned into a hotel with access to only guests who book there. So remember we went to Mogren beach on the first day? There are two parts to it, there is Mogren 1 and Mogren 2 and both are very different. 1 is where the bars are where most people like to stay but 2 is a 10 min walk across 1 through a small rocky tunnel with the beach at the end of it. Not many people come, no shops, secluded and again good waters. Even though it was 10 mins from Mogren 1, it was a completely different world. Later during the evening, we were waiting at the bus to go to Sveti Stefan, when a taxi driver offered to take us for cheap. He was a really nice guy who had a good vibe and played some bangers in the car. We reached Sveti stefan just before sunset and saw I think one of the most beautiful sunsets. With Sveti Stefan in the foreground, the golden rays shimmering over the Adriatic sea and the sun turning red in the background, it was a treat. There’s a saying: ‘When in the Balkans, you need to eat Byrek’ which I just made up but it is a fact. Byrek is a traditional savory pie of the Balkans made with different stuffings. I had already had it almost every single day when I was in Albania but my friend’s hadn’t, which would have been a crime. So I took them to a local bakery where we had some fresh Byrek. I had the beef one, one friend had chicken and the other had the cheese. Byrek can be had anytime, be it breakfast, snacks or maybe even dinner if you have a few extra portions. It was the last night in the Budva and we wanted to go party somewhere or to a bar maybe with good music but as mentioned earlier, being off season everything was shut. Even the restaurant/bars on the boulevard weren’t fully functional. There was one we saw which had some live music with a cozy outdoor seating. As it was early spring , the temperatures at night were cold. We had a few drinks and watched the moon rise high in the sky lighting the night.

DAY 4

It was time to head to Kotor situated in the Bay of Kotor often referred to as the southernmost Fjord of Europe. It was almost a 2 hour bus journey to kotor even though it is just 30km because of the winding roads through the mountains and going via Tivat, the closest airport to Kotor. Being situated in the Bay, Kotor is surrounded by mountains from all sides. We were staying at the Montenegro 4U hostel which was right on the bay 5 minutes from the old town. Talking at the hostel, we found kotor’s nightlife is still vibrant , but not as big compared to peak season. We were welcomed by a shot of Rakija- another balkan special. It is a type of spirit made with different fermented fruits like grapes, pear, plum. It is really strong so get ready to get your noses burnt when you smell it. Kotor has the one of the many blue grotto or caves in Europe and in the afternoon we took the book tour through our hostel. It was a 3 hour tour which covered the blue cave, the world war tunnel, some views of the old prisons, the famous Lady of Our Rocks and views of the town of Perast. You get some time to swim in and around the cave as well. If you are coming to Kotor, this is a must visit. The hostel had a family dinner with traditional balkan food. Various kinds of meats, sausages, breads, drinks of course. Post dinner we went to the old town to wander around. Tomorrow was our last full day and my birthday as well so we planned on going out at night.

DAY 5

I have turned 20 and I am doing what I love- travel. Being in a different country celebrating my birthday with friends and strangers was an amazing feeling and I hope to make it into a tradition. The plan for the day was simple – explore the old town, go for a swim and go out to party to end the trip. The old town of Kotor is similar to the one in Budva but there were more shops, more restaurants, more tourists and overall in my opinion it was better. The old town is one of the oldest in Europe, well preserved and a UNESCO heritage site. The town’s architecture reflects Venetian influence, with elements of Renaissance, Byzantine, and Gothic styles. Getting lost in the alleys of old town is always fun. You get full immersed into the experience. We tried going on top of the Ladder of Kotor too but it was too expensive. Later we found out there is an alternate route where you don’t need to pay. If you have time you should go up the Ladder or the fortress as that offers you the best view of the whole bay. Another place I would highly recommend would be Perast, just 20 minutes away is a beautiful small village on the bay. We wanted to go for one last swim before heading back to the cold temperatures in the UK so we didn’t go there. After a nice dip in the water, we met some people who said that there is a rock concert in the old town in the evening so we decided to join them and go together for it. Spontaneous plans are always fun. We got changed, had an early dinner and went to the concert. It turned out to be the Kotor Spring Festival with live Serbian music where famous bands (New and old) were playing. There was one famous band from the Yugoslavian times which everyone had come to watch. As Montenegro was a part of Serbia later, Serbian is spoken widely and Montenegrin is the official language which is a Serbo-Croatian mix. The concert was fun, we drank and danced to the fullest even though we didn’t understand a single word. To end the night we did a bar crawl with the hostel going to a few bars in the alleyways of the old town. It was insane with the DJ outside and 100 people filling up the place with some good music. I couldn’t have thought of a better way to end the trip.

Every person reading this would want to celebrate their birthday in a different country or maybe go on that one friend’s trip. I was lucky enough to do both in a place where many people don’t go and explore. Montenegro didn’t fail my expectations and it is an amazing country and potentially your next travel destination. This was my personal experience and itinerary, if you want to read more about Budva and Kotor check out these posts from my Montenegro blog series. If you have any questions, just drop a comment below