We are just back from a 2 week trip to Montenegro, where Trevor was working online. It was his first time trying this and I’m happy to say, it won’t be the last! He had a few days off in the middle, so we made the most of it by hiring a car and travelling to Bosnia for a couple of days.
Travel
There are no direct flights from Ireland to Montenegro, so the easiest way to get there is to fly into Dubrovnik and get a transfer. We used City Airport Taxis and the cost was €110 each way. Communication on whatsapp was easy – I’d use them again. Be aware that Montenegro isn’t in the EU so you have to queue at the border to get in and out. You could get lucky and have no queue, but we were caught for nearly 2hrs each time!
There are Blue Line buses throughout, but we found it really difficult to get a timetable for our stop so we ended up using taxis all the time. They were so cheap! In Kotor we used Red Taxis all the time – we contacted them through whatsapp and they collected us within 10mins. Only go into a taxi that is using the meter – if they’re not, they’re scamming extra money from you!
For our car rental, we used Enjoy Car Rental. They were so nice- even dropped and collected the car from our apartment for free! We paid €50 a day.
Because Montenegro is outside of the EU we bought sim cards from T-Mobile. It was €20 for 30days and it gave you 1GB of data. All the companies seem to use whatsapp, so I think it’s a bit of an essential. If your phone can use e-sims, you can get it sorted before you go, otherwise there is a T-mobile shop right inside the old town entrance.
Kotor
Kotor reminds me of a mini Dubrovnik. The old town is stunning – loads of little streets and at night it’s so pretty lit up! Cruise ships arrive a couple of times a week so it’s kinda fun to see them up close too! There aren’t any big beaches, just lots of little ones. But if you’re looking for lounge chairs the Mandrac is a great spot. €15 for two chairs for the day or if you’re feeling fancy, those uber comfy beds were €30. It had good food too!
Things to Do
- A boat trip around the Bay of Kotor. This costs €40pp and was about 3hrs long. Worth it for the Blue cave alone. We just went with one of the sellers along the promenade.
- A day or evening trip to Perast. This town is about a 10min drive away and is so stunning. It’s so small that cars aren’t really allowed in. Makes for a really peaceful setting!
- You can walk along the top of the walls in the old town of Kotor. Fab views!
- If you have the time, go to Durmitor National Park. I’d even stay over there if I could, we just didn’t have the time. The Tara Canyon looks amazing and if you were going outside the summer months there is brilliant white-water rafting!
- There is a steep walk up the hill, to a church, behind Kotor. We planned to do it at some stage but we never got around to it – think we had enough walking done!! I’d say the views are stunning from up there!
- There is a beautiful promenade along the coast starting near the Old Town and continuing up to the Dobrata area. There are lots of restaurants and places to sunbathe. It’s a very pretty walk.
- Go to Budva town for the day. The old town is even bigger than Kotor’s and it’s only about 20mins in a taxi.
Our top places to eat in Kotor
- Restaurant Przun – the waiters were so friendly and the cheese board was delish!
- The Old Winery Wine Bar – Very tasty food and wine and it’s on a cute little street, good for people watching.
- Citadela – Ok, the reviews on this one aren’t great. We went there for a drink before dinner because it’s up on the top of the wall, so the views are very pretty. But when we saw the pizzas we ended up staying for food. The pizzas were unreal!!!
- If you are further up the coast towards Dobrata, we had amazing Turkish food in Tiha Noc.
- After many (many!) gelatos, we concluded that Cattarissimo was the nicest. I’m drooling thinking of the salted peanut butter one!
- The Nitrox Pub had the best cocktails I’ve possibly ever had!!!! The menu is massive – I think they do about 250 cocktails!
Bosnia
On the way to Kravica waterfall, we stopped off in Medjugorje for a look around. I was surprised by how tacky the place was, to be honest. Loads of shops selling knock-off designer bags etc. and the church wasn’t very impressive. But it was hilarious to walk around and hear so many Irish voices! We didn’t walk up Apparation Hill as the day was absolutely roasting.
Kravica waterfall was stunning! You park the car at the top of the hill (free parking) and walk down. Bring your swimming togs because the cold water is just what you want! It’s 20KM each to get in – that’s €10. I think this was the only place in Bosnia that didn’t accept euro.
We stayed in Mostar that night and it is such a cool little town! We stayed in Villa Cardak and the location was perfect! Loads of bazaars and stalls. There are no cars in the old town as it’s an UNESCO site. The bridge is famous (though I had never heard of it!) and if you wait long enough, you see divers that jump off the top into the river below. If you fancy giving it a go yourself, they make you practice on a smaller jump first!
The food was amazing and such good value – you can get a massive dinner for around a fiver!
Sarajevo
We had planned on just stopping for a day trip, but there was so much to do we ended up staying a night! If you don’t have time for a guided tour, I would highly recommend downloading the Guide2Sarajevo app. You could follow on audio tour, or make up your own and it only cost €3. Hard at times to hear about parts of the Bosnian war, but so glad we did.
Things to do in Sarajevo
- The Tunnel of Hope – This was a secret tunnel built during the war to get food/medicine/injured people out of Sarajevo.
- The bobsleigh of the Winter Olympics – This turned out way cooler than we thought. You can walk on the track from the top to the bottom and all along the way, the track is covered in some really great graffiti. If you don’t have a rental car, you can get a cable car from the town.
- Shopping in the Baščaršija area, you’ll come across so much copper. There are some beautiful copper Turkish coffee sets. The nearby Kovaci street is also worth stopping at – more artisanal shops.
- While you’re there, stop off at Teahouse Dzirlo on Kovaci Street. A huge selection of teas and having the Turkish coffee is almost like a ceremony! We loved the owner – mad as a hatter and so quirky – it was great fun!
- Latin Bridge is the site where Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. (This started World War 1). The audio section of the Guide2Sarajevo app had a lot of info on this.
- If you’re looking for a cool little pub for a drink in the evening, head to Zlatna Ribica. It’s full of vintage decor and makes for a real cozy spot!
- The mix of different cultures and religions in Sarajevo is very cool to see. In the Baščaršija area we loved spotting the clock tower – it’s thought to be the last public lunar clock in the world! Instead of going by time, the bell rings at the time of the Muslim call to prayer, which changes slightly every day, depending on the sun.
FYI, if you are in a rental car, Google maps isn’t as familiar with Bosnia. Crossroads are roundabouts, which isn’t a big deal – but try your best to stick with the main roads. At one stage Google pretty much brought us down a series of steep tiny roads and ended up going through someone’s house! All to shave 2mins off the main road route! 😂
Working from home
As I mentioned, this was Trevor’s first time working online abroad. It was a bit of an experiment! But it worked out really well and definitely something we’ll be doing again in the future! One reason it worked so well, is because we booked an apartment that had a dining table. He set this up to be used as his office and we ate breakfast and lunch on the balcony outside!
Also, we looked for places that had reviews where it mentions that the internet was really good. I normally share where we stayed, but this time I won’t because I don’t think I’d recommend it. It was a 40min walk from the old town and knowing that, we still booked it because it had a pool. When we arrived, the pool was closed and there were a few other amenities from the Airbnb listing that weren’t there. Even though the apartment itself was great, we did get a partial refund. I’d probably stay closer to the Old Town if I was to go again!
Are you tempted to visit any of these places now?? Or maybe you could recommend your favourite place to visit in the comments below! If you’re looking for more ideas, our big trip last year was the Blues Route in USA and we loved every minute!
