Review: Montenegro

Jugs82

My girlfriend and I came back from a week long holiday to Budva in Montenegro, followed by a stopover in Dusseldorf on the way home. Seeing as Montengro isn't really a mainstream holiday destination, I thought I would write a quick review.

We flew Aer Lingus from Dublin to Dusseldorf (€90 or so each rtn) and then caught the Montenegro Airlines flight from Dusseldorf to Tivat in Montenegro (€165 each rtn)

Quick sidenote - Montenegro airlines are an excellent airline, free snacks & coffee on board which I thought was very refreshing in this day and age.

We booked a apartment in the apart-hotel (8 or so self catering holiday apartments in the same building) called Mijovic Apartments which was €50 per night. Excellent value and really, really nice owners who are more than happy to go out of their way to help you with anything. There is a hostel called Hippo Hostel across the road which was full for the period we were staying but again, great owners, excellent value and good fun.

Budva is a real seaside town that is busy with lots of Russian, Serbian, Montenegrin & German holidaymakers. The main beach isn't much to write home about but if you take the time to walk around the cliffs at one end of the beach to some secluded beaches that can only be reached by the cliff walkway, there are some really great sandy and relatively quiet beaches. The walk is also quiet scenic.

The weather when we were there was great, mid 30's all days with nice sea breezes in the evening.

There are numerous restaurants on the beachfront, some very good - Jadran & Porto perhaps been the best 2 that we eat at. The value is amazing, fish platters for 2 for between €20 - €25 and they are brimming with various fillets of fish, king prawns, mussels, seafood risottos and more. There are also numerous other pasta and local dishes available for between €5-€10. The local beer (Nik, I think it was called) is also pretty nice and is usually between €1.50 and €2 for a pint.

At the far end of the beach is the Old town which is really beautiful, narrow winding streets with local shops, restaurants, cafes and galleries, I really fell in love with the place. The only problem is trying to find your way around as it is a bit of a maze in the old town but that adds to the charm.

We organised a trip to Albania during our stay, more out of curiousity than anything else. We stopped off in 2 major cities, Durres and Tirana, the capital. We had 3 hours free time in Tirana where we alked around the city centre, had a few beers, a quick meal, chatted the locals about football and generally enjoyed getting a feel for the place. I am now looking forward to a trip to Albania for 3-4 days at some stage in the future. There is a ferry across from Bari in Italy for anybody that is interested

The local transport in Budva is excellent and we went to Kotor which is approx. 30km away and is a UNESCO heritage site - its old town is amazing, like stepping back in time. Another short trip was to Sveti Stefan which is an old fishing village connected to the mainland by a causeway, The villagers ere thrown out by the Yugoslavian Government in the 60's and turned it into a luxury resort. Have a google for some images as it is truely beautiful - it really took my breath away when I first saw it.

There is also a small (when i say small, I mean tiny) Irish Bar in the Old Town which we found when walking around, It is called Chest O'Sheas and is run by Colm from Kildare - really nice place and great to get tips from the guys about where to go, how to get there etc... You can't beat local knowledge really!!

We left relucantly but will be back at some stage in the future.

We had one day in Dusseldorf on the way home where we did some shopping and checked out the local beerhaus's - its a nice place and I would have liked a few more days but.... The hotel we stayed in was in my opinion, the best I have ever stayed in and I have stayed in plenty due to work - I know we were only there for one night but my god, it was great. Its called Hotel Max Garni. The rooms are great, nice and spacious, they give you a free travel card to get around, free coffee, snacks and local beer in the lobby, fanastic breakfast, free wireless and to top it off, chocolates on your pillow on arrival and all for just €82 a night per room.

Landed back in Dublin and it was raining