Kotor, Montenegro

Montenegro was complicated.

Kotor boasted so many amazing qualities! With an equal balance of negative ones too.

View from the hike up to the medieval fortress- seen in the right foreground. The left foreground is the walled old city (with a moat!) and in the distance the modern town, emphasized by the cruise ship.

The Mediterranean, mountainous, rugged landscape was absolutely breathtaking. But the unbearable heat during the day made it difficult to take advantage of. It was actually only in the low-nineties (33°-ish C) but it is very humid. Each outdoor excursion resulted in a wet pile of clothes at the end. But this in and of itself was not a big deal. It was expected!

The food was very Italian and so incredible. I have never tasted such good bread and the coffee was perfect. The pasta, pizza, and wine were straight out of Italy, perhaps literally, but the customer service and friendliness of the locals were bordering on rude. Again, this alone would not have been a big deal. It is not right, it is not wrong, it is just different, right?

It was fairly easy to walk around town and get where needed on foot, however, I quickly began to feel that the driver’s real preference was to just run people over! No joke. Seriously. This was annoying. This felt like a confrontation every time we left the apartment.

The history was incredible, the hiking unbelievable, but the ability to get to these sites was very challenging. The bus system is cheap to use but unorganized, it does not run on schedule, nor are there schedules posted anywhere and it simply does not go to many places, leaving the semi-unruly taxis as the only option, aside from a rental car of course.

What do all of these things added together equal? Yes, complicated.

Yet, we did enjoy many great experiences during our 10 days in this historic city!

Old Town Kotor

This walled old city is the highlight of the town. It is pedestrian only with numerous shops, restaurants, and churches to explore. Having never before visited a walled city, complete with a moat!, I was fascinated each time we entered this historic site.

Outside the city walls, standing on a bridge over the moat!

Carved into the walls at one of the entrances.

The Blue Cave

Anyone who visits Kotor will see numerous offerings for the Blue Cave Tour. We took the bait and booked the 3-hour boat ride.

The first stop was at the Lady of the Rocks island overlooking the town of Perast, Montenegro.

Another fortified island viewed from Lady of the Rocks. There was a forest fire in the area.

The actual blue cave had too many boats in it to take any photos, but here is a sense of the blue water color due to the white sands below. My first dip in the Adriatic Sea!

The Ladder of Kotor Hike

We eyed and pondered this hike for days but found ourselves unable to imagine hiking it in the heat. Then, one day felt a bit cooler and that was enough to spontaneously go for it!

The 70 switchbacks and 940-meter (3,084 feet) climb is well worth the effort. Yes, it was still the hottest hike I have ever done and I did not think I could drink enough water but eventually, we entered the luscious, cool forests near the top.

The views of Kotor and the fjords on the way up are spectacular. Eventually, you get so high that you see above the fjords and all the way to the ocean. It was my favorite event while in Montenegro!

Aireal of the switchbacks (with a bit of Old Town in view) from https://kotor .travel.

A Montenegrin mountain forest high above the switchbacks.

Lessons from: Kotor, Montenegro

To travel to Kotor, we opted for the 8-hour bus ride from Tirana, Albania. The quickest option is to fly into Dubrovnik, Croatia, which requires only a two-hour bus ride. But, as I have to stay out of The Schengen Zone until the end of the month, I could not enter Croatia. The bus trip costs 25 Euro/pp + 2 Euro per suitcase. There were a few hiccups, but we made it on time and had AC! There are many websites to book buses, including G etByB us.
All tourists have to register within 24 hours of arrival in Montenegro and pay the 1 Euro per day tourist tax. Some hotels or Airbnb hosts will offer to take care of guest registration. In Kotor, this registration can be done in person at the Tourist Office in Old Town.
We booked our Blue Cave Tour in Kotor with Sea Stars because of their good reviews and friendly service. It cost 40 Euro each which we found competitive with all the other companies.
English is not widely spoken in Montenegro or Albania. Those specifically working within the tourism industry and many of the younger generation speak English, but I have found it cannot be relied upon outside of that. Yet, I am always amazed at how much can be communicated without a shared language!

Something interesting: Kotor’s old city history

A UNESCO World Heritage site, Kotor was founded by the ancient Romans and was originally called Acruvium. In the 10th century, it was an autonomous city ruled by Byzantium. From 1186 to 1371, it was a free city of medieval Serbia. It was then Venetian and Hungarian before becoming independent from 1395 to 1420, though ultimately returning to Venetian again in 1797. It was briefly occupied by France in the 1800s, then the Austrians until 1918, when Slav sailors in the Austro-Hungarian navy mutinied at Kotor, and it became part of what we know as the former Yugoslavia.

Nestled in the bay surrounded by high walls and a moat with a fortress on the top of the hill where presumably the royalty lived, the city feels like one out of Game of Thrones!

*Dates and History from Wikipedia

A look behind the curtain.

We set off on the Ladder of Kotor hike without a solid plan as to how we were going to get back to our Airbnb from the top. Of course, we could have just hiked back the way we had come but it was late in the day and light was running low.

Previously, we had been told that we could take a taxi as there are many roads, restaurants, and even a cable car on top. Walking to the cable car and taking that down seemed like the most exciting option but we quickly realized it was much too far to walk to.

We decided to walk to a nearby restaurant, buy some much-needed water, and start asking questions. The answers we received were far from ideal. Yes, taxis do come up there, but they will charge at least 80 euros, which is price-gouging levels. The waiter then asked a co-worker if you would drive us to the base of the cable car for a fee. The co-worker declined. So we were left with two options: walk the 8 kilometers on a narrow road without lights to the cable car or hitchhike. The answer was obvious.

We started to walk along the road with our thumbs in the air, both of us feeling sheepish about it as neither of us had ever hitchhiked before. As we passed through a scenic overlook parking area, Serhii suggested that we stay there and ask people as they stopped. I immediately felt anxious thinking that if we ended up having to walk the entire way back, I would rather be making use of the daylight we had. But I also trusted his instinct, and I am glad I did.

Serhii approached the first car that arrived. The guy shook his head, and Serhii turned to me, looking disappointed. But shortly after, the guy leaned out the window and summoned us over. Success!

The half-hour winding drive down to Kotor unfolded with the sun setting over the vast landscape. I sat in the back seat with two young boys who had fallen asleep. Our driver and Serhii sat in the front chatting off and on in English, their only shared language.

When he dropped us off in town, we offered him money as thanks. He refused to take it. Serhii insisted, but still, no. We got out of the car, both feeling so fortunate to have crossed paths with this generous Serbian man who so kindly helped out two strangers.

The first thing I said to Serhii was that someday we would come across hitchhikers, and now we know that we will return the favor by helping them. Miraculously, at that moment, I remembered when I was in Norway and picked up the two Swiss hitchhikers trying to get back to their vehicle after a long hike. I had never done it before, but had immediately been glad that I had. Could it be that I was already benefiting from this cycle of give and take?