Why Montenegro Is An Overlooked Gem

I'm always up for discovering new places and I'm desperate to see as much of the world as I can so when I learned to could take trips from Dubrovnik to other countries, I knew Karl and I had to go somewhere. I'll admit that Montenegro wasn't somewhere that had even crossed my mind when I'd been thinking of countries I'd like to see and places I'd like to visit but after seeing just how beautiful it looked, we booked a day trip to visit three different places in the country and we were not disappointed. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

PERAST

We visited three different places in Montenegro, the first one being the old town of Perast, a town situated on the Bay of Kotor. As you can see by the photos, Perast is right on the sea, surrounded by beautiful blue waters and simply breathtaking mountain scenery that no amount of photos can do justice. It was quiet, full of nature and natural beauty, with the Our Lady of The Rocks island just off the coast. This gave amazing views of Perast itself as well as the scenery and the church built on the island has a museum with famous tapestries and art that are well worth seeing. We didn't spend long here but it was one of those tiny places that are so unexpectedly beautiful you could sit in the quiet mountain air with your feet dangling in the water for hours.

KOTOR

Out of the three places we visited in Montenegro, Kotor was undoubtedly my favourite. A popular stop for cruise ships, the city of Kotor is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was built as far back as the 12th century. Like Perast it's surrounded by breathtakingly beautiful mountain scenery and as it's a walled city, you can climb up to the walls for amazing views of the red roofs against the perfect backdrop. The walls are very, very long though and extend right up to the mountains so unless you are extremely keen and are equipped with a hell of a lot of water, I wouldn't recommend walking the entire thing unless you have a long time in Kotor. We walked up the first lot of steps and got some amazing views and if you walk up to the first church on the walls, you can get even better ones as well as being able to visit the church itself. 

Like Dubrovnik, Kotor is absolutely full of culture and history with churches, piazzas, squares, shops and ice cream stands everywhere, with people playing music and selling fresh fruit. It's a wonderful city full of friendly people and a wonderful atmosphere - if you like Dubrovnik you will like Kotor!

BUDVA

Our final stop was the town of Budva, another walled city situated along the coastline of Montenegro. Budva was just as beautiful as Kotor but with an entirely different atmosphere. There was a rocky beach lined with stalls and bars, restaurants along the harbour and boats offering trips to caves, island and beaches whilst others offered boat parties for the drinkers. There were a lot of party places in Budva with many bars and outdoor clubs advertising foam parties and drink deals and we were told by our guide that it's one of the more party orientated areas in Montenegro. As we were there during the day most of the clubs were closed but I can just imagine how lively and fun it would be on a night, especially thanks to all of the different parties advertised! 

If we'd been there longer we'd have definitely gotten a boat from the harbour to take us to some of the surrounding caves and hidden beaches - they looked so wonderfully serene!

Have you ever been to Montenegro or found a hidden gem location?

Amy x