Our journey from the fairytale city of Dubrovnik in Croatia to the magical town of Kotor in Montenegro took about three hours. As soon as we drove into the bay area, we were blown away by the stunning, postcard-perfect scenery. The Bay of Kotor, also known as the Boka, is dotted with charming villages and bordered by towering, rocky mountains. This compact area is best explored by picking a central base and taking day trips.
We chose to stay in the old town of Kotor, and because we had a rental car, we planned to visit nearby towns each day. However, our car mostly stayed in the parking lot because it rained the whole time we were in Montenegro. And I don’t mean light rain—it was torrential downpours. The grand mountains seem to trap the clouds, making them linger in the bay.
During the rainy days, we hung out in our hostel’s common area with other backpackers, drinking wine and waiting for the storms to pass. While it was nice to socialize, we would have preferred exploring the area. Whenever the rain stopped for a few hours, we dashed outside to see as much as we could.
Kotor itself was incredible. The old town is fortified on all sides, with a massive rocky mountain at the back and a stone wall running along the hill, adding an extra layer of security. It’s amazing that people managed to build this vast wall on such steep terrain in the 9th century. Over the centuries, different rulers added to the medieval walls until they were completed in the 15th century, encircling the entire city of Kotor. This is what makes the city so unique. Hiking up the medieval walls offers the best views of the bay, and when the rain cleared for a couple of hours, that’s exactly what we did.
The climb started right near our hostel in the old town, and since it was the offseason, we didn’t have to pay an entrance fee—a small perk of the rainy weather. We climbed the mossy rock-cut steps to the first lookout point. Dark clouds loomed over the bay, growing darker by the minute. We continued up the slippery steps until we reached the 15th-century Church Of Our Lady Of Remedy, about 100 meters high. Although it’s not very high, we were out of breath on the way up. Considering we’ve trekked much higher elevations in Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, and Nepal, it was a bit embarrassing!
After months without much exercise, that 100 meters really got our hearts pumping and was exactly what we needed. Unfortunately, the rain started again, and we were surrounded by low-hanging clouds. We couldn’t make it to the top, so we used our drone to get a bird’s-eye view of the Fortress of St. John the next day. The sight was spectacular.
Apart from getting a bit of exercise, we explored the lanes of Kotor’s old town and admired the beautiful churches. One night, we even stumbled upon the Carnival celebrations, which meant free booze and food in the plaza! Unfortunately, the rest of the weekend’s festivities were postponed due to the poor weather forecast, and we left before they resumed.
We took a couple of trips away from Kotor to visit Budva and Perast. In Budva, we were unimpressed by the architecture. The old town is smaller than Kotor and feels more touristy, with high rises and modern buildings surrounding it. However, Budva has a lovely promenade along the water with many restaurants and bars, including our favorite, Taste Of Asia. We found this gem on Trip Advisor, and it was a pleasant surprise. The food tasted authentically Asian, and we ended up visiting three times during our stay in Kotor.
Perast, only a 15-minute drive from Kotor, has two churches on offshore islands, making for an amazing setting. Although it rained for most of our visit, the islands looked cool from the shoreline. The town itself is small but charming, perfect for a day trip.
After a seven-night stay, it was time to pack up. As usual, the sun was shining brightly on our departure day! We were heading back to Split, Croatia, but took a different route through Bosnia and Herzegovina to see more rural areas. The drive was incredible, with epic landscapes, jagged cliffs, and beautiful countryside. We stopped for a picnic at Orah Lake and enjoyed the peaceful surroundings. The drive through Bosnia and Herzegovina was equally amazing, with marshlands, orchards, small towns, and many shepherds with their sheep. Once we crossed into Croatia, we found ourselves on a brand new toll highway, making it back to Split in no time.
Despite the bad weather, our experience in Montenegro was very positive. It speaks volumes about how incredible the country is, and we definitely want to return in the summer to visit the sites we missed.