Visiting Dubrovnik and have a day to spare? Do yourself a favour and take a day trip to Kotor in Montenegro. Or even better, stay for a day or two to savour its unspoilt beauty and explore further afield.
On the advice of our apartment host, we made a day visit on a day when Dubrovnik was due to be overrun with cruise ships. As beautiful and historic as Dubrovnik is, its revival as a tourist destination and a major Mediterranean port sees it become crowded with sightseers clambering to wander around the Old City, walk the city walls or enjoy the beaches especially during the summer months. On some days, up to six cruise liners will offload their passengers into the city!
We picked a “cruise free” day to visit the Old City and took the day trip to Montenegro to enjoy its unspoilt natural beauty, driving along the Adriatic coast and into the Croatian countryside to cross the border.
Croatian border security is tight and often suffers from long queues especially during the European summer months so we left early in the morning to avoid the long queues at border control. We were lucky, waiting for only an hour to pass through.
Once cleared, we drove past busy seaside towns and tourists parks before the road tapered into the Bay of Kotor. What a sight to greet us!
The Bay of Kotor
The mountain scenery looking towards Kotor was breathtaking and the view of Our Lady of the Rocks, a tiny church sitting serenely in on a small islet in the bay called for the camera to come out. We took the opportunity of stopping at viewpoints as we drove along the road hugging the coastline to capture the unspoilt beauty as we passed through the pretty bayside towns of Risan and Perast.
The old city of Kotor which is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site is slowly becoming a major tourist attraction so if you’re arriving by car, be prepared for the traffic entering the port area and be patient finding a car park. We took the easy option of using the parking area on the waterfront just a short walking distance from the entrance to the old city.
A leisurely walk along the city walls gave us beautiful views below into Stari grad, into the bay and up at the walls climbing the mountainside before we ventured into the maze of streets and alleyways of the old town to meander in and out of squares occasionally stopping to look in little stores and cafes.
We picked a little cafe (Hoste Apertivo and Bokeria)in a tucked in a quiet corner of a small square for a light lunch before getting ready for the drive back to Dubrovnik. The cafe owner was well versed with the extensive queues at Croatian border controls and suggested we took the opportunity to enjoy a more pleasant drive through Bosnia and Herzegovina for our return journey. He assured us that the border crossing would be less busy. The travel time would be the same and instead of waiting an hour or two at the Montenegro/Croatian border we would have a chance to pass through a different country to see more of the beautiful countryside this part of the world has to offer.
It was indeed a detour we would recommend. The everchanging contours of the land from driving amongst craggy mountain roads to idyllic country lanes alongside springs and rivers was striking, as were the breathtaking views of the Bay of Kotor and beyond.
We did experience a small queue at the border, however, we had wonderful views to enjoy while we waited.
Our Dubrovnik host had also recommended we visit Budva, another medieval town on the Adriatic coast if we had the time. We decided to spend an unrushed day in Kotor and its surrounds instead and have saved Budva and its Riveria for another visit to this stunning little country.
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