VP TRAVELS – MONTENEGRO GUIDE PART 1

On our recent trip to the coast of Montenegro, we had the pleasure of staying in the town of Tivat. Tivat is located in the central part of the Boka Kotorska bay of Montenegro. It is the youngest town in the Boka region, but that doesn’t stop it from having a lot of interesting and attractive destinations like the Renaissance Summer House Buca in the centre of city, Ostrvo Cvijeca (flowers’ island) with sacred monuments, Gornja Lastva, the magnificent beach at Plavi Horizonti and the island Sveti Nikola to name a few.

But there is one place that tops the list and should not be missed – Porto Montenegro. Tivat is one of the hottest spots on the Mediterranean because of this multi million dollar redevelopment of its old naval base into a super yacht marina. And while it looks nothing like the rest of the country and more like something in the French Riviera, it is most definitely a sight to see.

 

We chose to stay at the Regent at Porto Montenegro. I can’t tell you enough how amazing this hotel was. From the super friendly staff that would give you the shirts off of their backs to make your stay the best ever, to the delicious food, to the phenomenal service. If you can stay here, its a must. The pool is where my kids loved to hang out, and anyone can see why. From the splash pad, to the baby pools, to the 2 full size swimming pools, and the views out into the Kotorska Bay, being by the pool will never get old. The hotel is located in the center of Porto Montenegro, so everything is in walking distance from the hotel. Tons of restaurants, shopping, nightly entertainment, bars, etc.

 

One of the things that we decided to do while in Tivat (and I’m so glad that we did) was take a boat tour. The company we used was Montenegro Water Taxi (instagram is @mwtribs) and they were the absolute best. Our skipper knew the area like the back of his hand and knew all of the sights to see by water as well as places to get off the boat and check out.

 

We stopped to see the town of Kotor on our boat tour. We didn’t get off of the boat because we had plans to drive there and walk around the next day. Below is an aerial view.

The next stop was a town called Perast. At it’s heart is St. Nicholas’ Church. Perast’s most famous landmarks, however, aren’t on land at all.

 

Right in front of the town of Perast are two picturesque islands, Saint George Monastery, and Our Lady of the Rocks. Our Lady of the Rocks is unique in the fact that it is the only artificially built island in the Adriatic. It was built upon a rock after two Venetian sailors from Perast found a picture of the Virgin Mary on it in 1452.

 

After Perast, we stopped for lunch at Ribarska Selo. (A recommendation from our Skipper) It was such a neat experience!

The restaurant doesn’t have a menu and relies on the fresh catch fish the locals bring in daily. You go in, pick your fish, and they serve it to you as an appetizer (ceviche style) and the it is cooked however the chef feels best for that particular fish. We chose a few different fish to experience several of the cooking methods. Of course my favorite was the one in the cream sauce.

 

The Rosé was incredible and we enjoyed every bite and sip at this restaurant. I will say though (and keep it real) there are also no prices to be seen…..This restaurant can set you back a few hundred very quickly, and it’s quite alarming when you’re used to a dining experience for 5 people costing you $30 here (yes…it’s that cheap to eat in Montenegro and Serbia). Also, if you have young kids and they are picky eaters, you might want to pack them something. Mine at the bread and cucumbers. They wouldn’t touch the fish. This restaurant is definitely a must try and I would come back in a heartbeat (sans the kiddos) and enjoy another romantic meal here with my hubby and watch the sunset!!

 

After lunch, we explored more of the Kotorska Bay by water. We went to an old Submarine war cave, a place called the Blue Grotto, and even a prison that was once there called Mamula Fortress. It was used during WWI and WWII. There are plans in the works to turn that prison into a resort.

We definitely experienced and saw the best of the best on Kotorska Bay using MWT RIBS. FYI – We did the 8 hour tour, so that we could see it all! It was plenty of time and you could probably see just as much (especially if you don’t stop for lunch) with the 4 hour tour.

We spent that night having Sushi at Sumosan an amazing restaurant which was inside Porto Montenegro and walkable from our Hotel.

We explored a few more places while in Montenegro, but I am going to put those in a separate post. So I guess this is Part 1 of my guide to Montenegro!! I hope you enjoyed it and please feel free to leave any questions you might have in the comments!

Thanks for stopping by VP of Style! I hope you will come back soon for more style and travel inspiration!