Montenegro

[DangerousMouse]

Has anyone been? We are going next month, staying in Kotor Bay, I'm looking at doing an itinerary and hoping for some recommendations of places to visit. We are taking DD13 and DS6

We started a walking holiday from Kotor, having stayed in Perast. It is very beautiful, and fantastic walking country, but I'm not sure if there's much for your children. Kotor is lovely, but tiny, and can be swamped by the bloody cruise ships that visit.

The children would love beaches, different places to swim, boat trips, we're not massive on walking trips but love wandering around markets. We're not looking for entertainment for the children, any recommendations for beaches/markets etc?

there is a beach at Kotor, but I must admit I'd be a bit cautious about swimming in Kotor Bay which a big body of water with a narrow inlet into the sea (a ria?) so I'm not sure how clean it is.
You could take a boat trip to the islands nearby. There seem to be surprisingly few boat tours, given how beautiful the bay is.
Don't know about markets
Apparently Budva is nice. Perast is OK, but small, once you've given it an hour, that's all you need. Herceg Novi - I wouldn't bother. It was penalised post-independence because it voted against it, so has recieved no investment.
behind Kotor is a castle - a steep walk, but a good view.
We walked up the Ladder behind Kotor - not the same as the steps up to the castle. It was a road built by the Austrians, to get access to Cetinje. Its a narrow cobbled road, now a footpath, that zig zags way up the hillside and above the castle. Over 90 hairpin bends, but not too strenuous a walk as the gradient is low. It'd be worth taking a picnic and your binoculors, as the views are spectaculor, and much fewer people go up it than go up to the castle.

We also stayed in Perast a few years back. It really couldn't be more beautiful. The village itself is oddly grand for being so small and quiet, and the views down the fjord towards Kotor are fantastic. There is a small beach, but it's sort of narrow and pebbly and shelves sharply. It;s certainly fine for swimming off. Kotor itself seems to be the main attraction on the bay, but other than the old town it didn't strike me as particularly nice, at least compared to Perast. Interesting that the road up from Kotor has been turned into a footpath. I once took a bus up there, back in the late 80s. Very beautiful indeed. If you go to Montenegro see if you can build in some trips into the interior, it's well worth it.

poudronez confusingly, I think the road is also called the ladder - the one I walked up was only about 5 feet wide and has never had motorised transport, but the two meet at the top.

We visited Kotor on a cruise ship which I agree was a blog on the landscape. I definitely wouldn't venture in the sea there it looked quite polluted. The town itself is pretty but not much to it.

We stayed in Becici (budget was tight, it was fine but I wouldn't be rushing to recommend).

Montenegro was beautiful. We did day trips to:

• Kotor (you'll have that one covered, obviously!)
• Skadar lake (beautiful and very peaceful)
• Tara River Canyon (also beautiful but a long day)
• Budva, which was walking distance for us from Becici.
• Sveti Stefan (again, walking distance from Becici, although far enough)

We didn't do much prep before we left and ended up booking most of the day trips through Thomson, even though we hadn't traveled with them.

You may also be able to visit Dubrovnik in Croatia if you haven't been before. It's beautiful, but would be a long day from Kotor iirc. You may be flying through Dubrovnik, so you could maybe see about tying in a visit with your flight home depending on timings.

Not sure there's much of a beach in Kotor, you could go to Becici or Budva (can't remember how far it is) but they're very busy, very touristy beaches - rows of loungers with music playing rather than secluded coves.

Have a great time, it's gorgeous there.

It's pretty but not much to do. Went a bit insane after a week!

Prcanj is a lovely village to stay in. Quieter than being in Kotor itself but close enough by that you can easily get in town by bus or red taxi. There's a nice old church in the village and beachside restaurants and bars.

The churches and museums of Kotor are worth visiting for a morning as there is a lot of history. The main thing to do in Kotor is to walk up to the fortress on the mountain behind the town which has amazing views - but it gets hot on the walk. There are also lots of festivals in Kotor all through the summer so check what's on. There is a good market outside the old town walls most days too.

You can get a boat trip from Perast to the islands in the bay which is a lovely trip. There are all sorts of boat trips round the bay.

Tivat is worth a day trip and there are sandy beaches and Porto Montenegro where you can admire super yachts. There is also a beach club you can visit.

If you go inland the Black Lake is beautiful and doesn't involve much walking. Ostrog monastery is stunning although the drive can be a bit scary in places. Skadar lake is also absolutely beautiful.

You could travel down the coast to Sveti Stefan but the beach on one side belongs to the resort and is very expensive and on the other side it's a public beach and just as nice. You can go to dinner on the island rather than stay there. There are lots of lovely villages down the coast nearby.

Sorry for the essay, it's a great country. You'll love it! If you want more suggestions let me know.

Can't believe I forgot Tara canyon. Just stunning.

We've stayed in Prcanj a few times. Water was very nice, but its along the bay slightly from Kotor itself. It is stunningly beautiful and we've spent most of our holidays enjoying the view and water and reading and lazy lunches / dinners at tavernas on the waterfront.