One of Europe’s youngest nations, established in 2006 and once overlooked for its more well known western neighbors, has hands down some of the most spectacular scenery on the continent.
Montenegro, meaning “Black Mountain”, is a truly magical land where steel blue water meets rocky mountains with shore lined crumbling stone towns as old as Greece’s, creating some of the most unique topography you’ve ever seen.
Montenegro is a short 30 minute drive from Dubrovnik, making for an easy day trip. We booked a one day car rental from Hertz to visit the UNESCO listed Bay of Kotor along the Adriatic coast. The country may be small, only roughly the size of the state of Connecticut, but its people are the 2nd tallest in the world after the Dutch, with an average height of 6 feet.
12 HOUR ITINERARY
Bay of Kotor
Perast
Our Lady of the Rocks
Kotor
Hike Kotor’s Old City Walls & Bastions
Stari Grad (Old Town)
Trg od Oružja (Main Square)
Clock Tower
Cathedral of Saint Tryphon (Kotor Cathedral)
Church of Saint Nicholas
St. Luke’s Church
Grab some goodies for the road trip, such as fresh fruit in the piazza, warm pastries from a cafe, and of course, coffee.
The Hertz office is located just outside of the old town walls.
It’s just a 2 minute walk further down the street leading out from the town walls.
Hertz is also across the street from the beach, so we sipped our coffee overlooking the Adriatic while waiting for them to open, and drove out of Dubrovnik shortly past 7am.
Renting a car is more economical than purchasing full-day tour tickets, and provides far more flexibility, which we need since our son has Fragile X Syndrome. This allowed us to stop as often as we wanted, and enjoy the scenery without crowds. The roads are also in excellent condition, making for an easy drive.
The views leaving Dubrovnik are jaw dropping, and only get better as you approach the Bay of Kotor.
I had read the border crossing could take up to a couple of hours, so leave early before the large tour buses do, and you too should breeze through without delays. It’s a scenic 90 minute drive to Perast with the Bay of Kotor unfolding before you.
As we pulled into town, plenty of young men were waving cars down and directing them to parking spaces along the bay, and offering boat rides to the island. We paid $5 each for a return trip and set sail.
You’ll initially pass this one of two island churches, the 9th-century Benedictine monastery of Sveti Ðorđe (St George) surrounded by towering cyprus trees. This island is also open to visitors.
The breathtaking sail to Our Lady of the Rocks is unfortunately only a few minutes.
The 15th-century Our Lady of the Rocks is the name of the second island church located in the bay, which is almost completely man made.
The island is believed to have been erected by locals depositing stones around a rock where two fisherman witnessed an apparition of the Madonna and Child on July 22, 1452. Over the centuries, local seamen returning from their voyages would cast a stone in the bay, and over time, the island emerged.
A tiny Orthodox chapel was built on the site and every 22nd July (also the date the United States Congress declared Fragile X Syndrome Awareness Day), the tradition continues where locals drop stones into the bay.
In the 1600s, Venetians took over Perast and built a Catholic chapel in place of the original orthodox one with the church visible today dating from 1722 renovations.
Adorned inside the narrow church are baroque paintings from floor to ceiling.
A 15th century icon of the Virgin Mary sits on an altar made of Carrara marble made by a father and son team of sculptors.
The most famous and unusual item within the church is a hair-woven image of Madonna and Child embroidered by a local woman over the course of 25 years while waiting for her husband to return from a long journey. She used her own hair for the angels, which changed color over the course of her life as she aged.
The church is small and crowded inside, so we made our way back outside after a short self guided tour, and grabbed an ice cream from the gift shop to enjoy while we strolled around the island before catching the boat back.
The same boat will come back for you in 45 mins.
This well preserved medieval town has been inhabited since antiquity, ruled by the Venetians for almost 400 years when the shipping and maritime trade thrived and wealthy seamen and merchants built their glitzy Venetian style palaces here.
After returning to the shore, we drove 15 minutes to Kotor following the dramatic serpentine coast of this mountain framed bay.
Kotor has been occupied over the centuries by Serbians, Hungarians, Venetians, Austrians, and the French. Most recently Montenegro was a part of the Yugoslavia, and finally achieved independence in 2006.
The Old City is enclosed by walls, facing the waterfront in the south, where there is also ample public parking and restaurants.
Before we explored Kotor, we fueled up feasting at travel vloggers favorite joint, BBQ Tanjga. Place your order inside and head to their their outdoor garden where they’ll deliver what appears to be a Balkan feast fit for their 6+ foot citizens. Order the meat platter, which comes with a variety of grilled meats, roasted chicken, spicy minced meats, kebabs, and flavorful spreads, including a roasted red pepper and tomato paste, and a creamy white garlic spread.
If you’re vegetarian, order a veggie platter too. Even your fellow carnivores won’t be able to resist the char-grilled sweet red peppers and zucchini.
With full, happy bellies, enter through one of the three main gates to the cobblestone Old City.
We entered through the more quiet of the three gates, South Gate (Gurdić Bastion) dating back to the 13th century, close to where we parked and ate, but there’s also the busy main Sea Gate (1555) on the western side, and the River Gate (dating to 1540) in the north.
The Old Town of Kotor and its ancient city walls that blend in as they climb up the the mountain, have also been preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Can you see them?
The 9th century fortifications helped to protect the town from invaders over the centuries, and expansions to the wall created a 3 mile fortified loop that was complete in the 14th century.
Stari Grad, or the Old Town, can be walked end to end in 5 minutes, which makes it a perfect stop on a road trip because you can soak in the atmosphere without feeling overwhelmed or rushed.
We began our 1,355 step climb up the Old City walls for epic views of the medieval town and the glorious, moody bay.
The Bay of Kotor is sometimes called Europe’s southernmost fjord, though it isn’t a fjord, but rather was formed by a partial submergence of a river valley.
You don’t have to make the entire journey up for picturesque views of the Old Town.
Halfway up sits the Church of Our Lady of Remedy built in 1518 by survivors of the 14th century plague, which became a pilgrimage site.
Keep walking a few steps past it for the iconic view of Kotor.
Fully taking advantage of the fact that our kids are now, finally, old enough to take a decent photo of us.
It takes about 45 mins to ascend and 30 minutes to descend, plus the additional time stopping for photos on every step to capture these views to enjoy for the rest of your life.
Descending isn’t easy for someone with Fragile X Syndrome since they lack proprioception, which is the body’s ability to determine where it is in space, therefore, we took our time going down, literally one step at a time.
Carry water, and avoid the hottest parts of the day because there is little to no shade.
He may have found the one slice of shade under stunning limestone mountain side fortress ruins.
We finally reached the Old Town’s labyrinth pedestrian only streets, designed to confuse raiding pirates.
A whopping 60% of the country is more than 1,000 meters high.
Lord Byron proclaimed after his visit, “At the birth of the planet, the most beautiful encounter between land and sea must have been on the Montenegrin coast.”
The main square is the largest square in the town, called the Square of Arms, which gets its name from when it was a weapon storage for the Venetians. From this square four streets lead into the maze of Old Kotor.
Built in 1602, the Clock Tower sits in the center of the square and is a symbol of Kotor. A reconstructed medieval pillory stands in front of it with the brooding mountain backdrop behind it.
Marbled laned streets with no obvious patterns and a baffling layout may have made the fortress far more effective than its mighty stonework.
Now dotted with cafes, shops, and gentlemen playing violins in the alleys, the maze is a soothing stroll where you always find the way back to a main square since the tiny Old Town is confined within the walls.
The Serbian Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas in St. Luke’s Square has a facade topped with two bell towers with a large Serbian flag hanging down.
The Cathedral of Saint Tryphon (1166) is one of only two Roman Catholic cathedrals in Montenegro, built in honor of the patron saint and protector of the city. It was damaged by an earthquake in the 1970’s and repaired in 2016, so you’ll see both dates on the facade, though the left bell tower remains unfinished.
The only building in town to have not been significantly damaged in earthquakes over the centuries is the Church of Saint Luke dating from 1195. This church was Catholic until 1812, when it became Orthodox, though both Catholic and Orthodox altars stood side by side and each faith took turns holding services here.
Pima Palace in Flour Square will no doubt catch your eye dominating the square with its turquoise doors as you wander the narrow alleys. This 17th century palace of the noble family Pima, was rebuilt after an earthquake in the 1600s, and so the windows and upper balcony designed by Kotor blacksmiths were built in the Baroque style, while the palace portal with the Pima family coat of arms over the door held by two angels and the terrace, was built in the Renaissance style.
Pick up some snacks for your drive back from the farmer’s market on your way out of the Old Town. Figs, fruit, cheese, and nuts are excellent choices to nibble on in the car while you get your last look at the Old Town walls snaking up the mountain.
We skipped the last stop on our itinerary because our son was running out of steam, but Lovcen shouldn’t be missed. Its only a 25 min drive up the mountain from Kotor and you’ll get this view from much, much, higher up along the way. We’re thankful we have yet another reason to return.
The Balkans are underrated, and though the cruise ships have already descended, there’s still time to see this raw version of Europe before its gone, especially if you strike out on your own to explore. Go.
