Montenegro – Kotor – Global Itchy Feet & Global Citizen Oils

Ever thought of Montenegro as a destination? We did, and what an awesome surprise it was. Only about 30 minutes drive south from Cavtat, maybe an hour from Dubrovnik is the Crotian / Montenegro border. It may take over an hour to get through the control process but within another hour you are in the majestic surroundings of the Bay of Kotor andd simply breath taking.

As Nana was with us we splurged a bit on the accommodation and made sure we were making best use of the wonderful view across the Gulf.

The really nice thing about driving from Croatia, apart from the border waiting, is not only is it a short drive in total but when you hit the Montenegro side, within 15 minutes you are at the Bay of Kotor and you then have about 45 minutes driving around it to reach Kotor. The Gulf and all of its splendor it right next to the road as you weave you way around the winding sea road, captured between the Gulf and the magnificent limestone mountains.

One of many small towns dominated by limestone cliffs.

Our accommodation was in a four story apartment block and we had the top floor. What we didn’t know until we got inside was just how gorgeous the view was. We were 2 minutes from the waterfront walk and about a mile walk from the old town of Kotor. We instantly felt this week was going to be wonderful.

The view was constantly different. We arrived in fairly cloudy weather with rain expected which in turn brought fog to the view. The gap in the mountains above was the main route to the Adriatic Sea and through there every single morning came a huge passenger cruise ship, dominating the view as it made its way slowly into the old town port to disembark its passengers for the day.

Kotor is full of great things to do. We had a lot on our list, old town, beach, a tour of the bay, visit the submarine pens visit the historic church in the middle of the gulf, climb the fortified wall of the old town and we were only here for a week. Thank goodness Kristi had again come up trumps with the accommodation location. We could literally walk everywhere.

Old Town Kotor

Old town moat and fortified wall, North Side

We were feeling humbled, the old town was another UNESCO world heritage site, one of probably a dozen we had now visited on our world tour. The town dates back to 168 BC and was fortified somewhere around 535. One of only three entrances held the arched castle type entrance with the words inscribed above it that in English meant “What belongs to others we don’t want, ours we don’t give.”

From the outside looking up you can picture the wall in all its glory years, these days there are areas that are simply crumbled away yet the thought of the wall being constructed almost 2000 years ago was still a wonder in my mind. You can just make the wall out here in the pictures below.

Inside is exactly what you would expect, cobbled narrow streets, cafe’s, gift shops, an abundance of churches and of course snap happy tourist. We find a place for lunch and let the boys try Montenegian dairy-free ice cream.

The old town was also the starting place of the fortified wall walk, that went only one way, UP! It is a 1355 step hike up a sheer mountainside. At the top, the San Giovani Castle. We were carrying the boys so we made it halfway, taking a breather a 16th century Roman Catholic church, Our Lady of Remedy.

We didn’t go any further, it was so steep and pretty hot this day. the view was amazing though.

For the best view of the wall from sea level, go around the port and look back, at night….

Outside the old town was a highly recommended eatery, pick your meat , raw, let them cook it how you like it and enjoy with the best fries. Just look at this crazy Tomahawk steak.

One day, instead of walking the mile back to the apartment, what did we do? not hire a taxi, hired a submarine of course! Well, it didn’t actually submerge, but it did look like one and we were able to go underneath to see the sea life. The boys and Lara had a great time driving the sub, we tootled around the town area of the bay before it dropped us off at one of the dozens of private docks that lined the sea walk, a simple two minute walk from our apartment.

Touring the Bay of Kotor.

Other than the fabulous fortified old town the main attraction in Kotor is to get out on a boat and explore the beautiful and huge bay. There are plenty of options and we chose a half-day tour that would show the best the bay had to offer.

We were picked up in the morning by our apartment, it seems that every water front apartment or house has its own private mooring and the owners let anyone use it for a quick pick up or drop off.

First stop was the fascinating WWII submarine pens. Now abandoned, these were built into the hillside by the German army to hide their U boats from the Allies. As much as 250 meters long and originally with doors on the front there would have been no way of seeing them.

Now used for tourists and shelter for resident boats we explored inside one of the main pens for a while.

Next stop was the very chic port of Porto Montenegro. The main marina berth in the bay for the very rich and sometimes very famous. The first sight for us on approaching our morning was the very impressive, 250 meter super yacht owned by Roman Abramovich. Maybe we could trade our 5.5 meter in for this next time?

We moored right in the heart of the marina that was surrounded by expensive restaurants, beautiful landscaping and very expensive apartment accommodation. It was time to find a gelato and an iced latte……

Next stop was another pretty old town, this allowed us to disembark for half an hour and explore the towns lovely old church.

Last stop on the bay tour was the Catholic Church, Our Lady of the Rocks. The church is one of the two islets off the coast of Perast in the Bay. It is an artificial island created by a bulwark of rocks and by sinking old and seized ships loaded with rocks.

According to legend, the islet was made over the centuries by local seamen who kept an ancient oath after finding the icon of Madonna and child on the rock in the sea on July 22, 1452. Upon returning from each successful voyage, they laid a rock in the Bay. Over time, the islet gradually emerged from the sea.

The custom of throwing rocks into the sea is alive even nowadays. Every year on the sunset of July 22, local residents take their boats and throw rocks into the sea, widening the surface of the island.

Beach Day

The bay is surrounded by majestic limestone mountains, the result is there is almost no beaches. We were lucky though, at the bottom of our steps from the apartment was a great man made beach facility, with great coffee, cold beer and even toys for the kids. We picked a great day to hang out in the sun and the boys had a blast. The water, being early summer, was no where near the temperature we wanted but everyone had fun.