Montenegro September 25th to 29th, 2023

There's nothing wrong with setting goals, as long as you don't let them stop you from taking interesting detours.

Mark Twain, (1835-1910) writer

We pack our Charlotta relatively early. The camper community is already its own community. Everyone who comes by wishes us a safe journey. Then we have a quick chat with a nice couple from Mecklenburg. They have just returned from Montenegro and are enthusiastically telling us about their tours.

After we desperately looked for a campsite yesterday but were put off by all the reviews, they gave us a valuable tip near Kotor. We were in Kotor a few years ago and want to see the city again, so we are rescheduling our tour at short notice and will stay in Montenegro for a few more days.

Our path takes us past Dubrovnik.

The city is certainly worth a trip, but since another storm front is passing through, we decide to continue driving.

We also don't want to arrive at the auto camp so late today.

We reach the border around 2 p.m. It's a strange feeling when you're no longer used to being controlled. And it takes half an hour until we get through. Due to previous bad experiences, we took our passports with us as a precaution. But it's not really necessary here - but it gives a nice stamp.

We have to laugh a little about our lack of preparation. When we check what currency we need in Montenegro, we find out that it is the euro and Montenegro has never had its own currency. 😊(Montenegro opted for the D-Mark years ago and the EURO was automatically introduced with the changeover.)

We disappeared into the gorges of the Balkans for 2 hours because we don't have any internet. Since we are planning a tour into the mountains, we want to get a prepaid card, which is a bit complicated at first. After several inquiries we learned that you can get something like this in every tobacco shop. We drive around the next town somewhat aimlessly before we find one with parking space.

Now we are a bit surprised: We have to buy a card for 30 days with a data volume of 1 TB - less was not possible - for €20. Just for comparison, our provider 1&1 wanted €39.99 for 2 GB for 30 days.

We arrive at Auto Camp Naluka around 5 p.m. We are welcomed by an older gentleman who also speaks German. The place is clean, the sanitary facilities too, so everything is great. (Small note for campers - no gray water disposal)

Unfortunately it's still raining so we decide to go to the restaurant today.

Not far from the camp we find a somewhat inconspicuous restaurant by the river next to a small market.

The food is plentiful, the service is excellent and when we are finished the rain is over and it is suddenly warm again, so we end the evening by the sea with a glass of red wine.

Today we are cycling to Kotor. Tip from the groundskeeper, the Kamenari ferry is free for pedestrians and cyclists.

It's about 16 km from the camp to Kotor and is definitely doable even for people who don't cycle that often. The coastal road has little traffic, there are few climbs and the view of the bay is simply fantastic.

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We just think it's a shame that most of the beaches are concreted over, but it's certainly necessary to create platforms for holidaymakers who want to swim. We are very happy about our decision to take the bike, because the traffic jam in front of the city is quite long.

The city has a great atmosphere, there are also a lot of people here because there are two cruise ships in the harbor. Nevertheless, Kotor does not seem overcrowded, there is more of a hustle and bustle in the small streets, bars and shops. We wander through the streets all afternoon and find little gifts to take home.

The city wall is also definitely worth a visit; from there you have a beautiful view of the harbor.

We didn't go to the fortress of San Giovanni this time; we already had the view from up there over the Bay of Kotor in 2015.

In 2015 we traveled on a cruise ship with our partner company Herbalife. The backpack was a gift on this trip and is now included again. Here are the pictures from 2015:

Kotor is very cat-friendly, the cute velvet paws are practically everywhere and also like to lie on the bar counter. They obviously have special rights here and are looked after by the residents.

The next day we go to the mountains. A rafting tour is planned. We take our time and enjoy the drive through the mountains. The journey through the many tunnels, which are simply carved into stone, is completely fascinating.

The views of the mountain lakes and the valleys of the Piva River are breathtaking.

As a precaution, we use the last opportunity to refuel before our parking space and the Bosnian border. After a short stop in the town of Plužine - shopping in the supermarket and taking a photo of the new church -

let's go to the gas station. Shortly after leaving the gas station, blue lights behind us. Since we are not aware of any guilt, we let the police officer pass - but he actually means us. With his hands, feet and stick figures he explains to us that we have apparently crossed a barrier line. He also saw us driving without shoes, which he acknowledged with an “OH, oh.” These two “bad” offenses encouraged him to look at his catalog of at least 4 A4 pages of fines. Driving over a barrier line costs €80 and driving without shoes costs €60. Rainer was completely stunned and must have looked so pitiful that he got a plus point for wearing a seatbelt and having German citizenship. The fine then amounted to “only” €34.

Conclusion: You should stick to the rules😊

On the rafting route there is a mountain spring that is signposted as drinking water.

We use this straight away to replenish our drinking water supplies.

Since we booked a tour with Tri Kanjuna Rafting, we can stay overnight for free. We are the only ones.

In the restaurant we get dinner that we didn't order and tea. A typical local dish, stuffed peppers, which totally reminded me (Marion) of my grandma, who cooked a lot of dishes from the Balkan region.

The next day there will be breakfast at 9:30 a.m. (all included in the tour).

Punctual, as we Germans are, we arrived a quarter of an hour early, but nothing happened before 11 a.m. We're not very angry about it because it's already quite cool here in the mountains at this time. We use the time to look around and ask questions.

It finally started around 12 p.m.

We get wetsuits, shoes and helmet

and drive to the starting point on a quite adventurous road. There are instructions there in English.

We will travel down the Tara River, which is one of the border rivers between Bosnia and Montenegro.

An absolutely worthwhile story, we had a lot of fun. After the tour there was a meal and the whole trip for just €55 per person.

We drive on quite late and look for a free place to stay overnight shortly before the capital Podgorica for the next night. We want to take a quick look at the capital the next day, but decide against it because the travel guide describes it as not worth seeing. This is also confirmed during transit.

We have breakfast by the Zeta River in the town of Spuž.

and Rainer takes another bath at around 14 C

and on we go.

The outskirts of the capital are very disappointing; the garbage accompanies us for kilometers. We have deliberately avoided taking photos here.

We then find a nice spot near the town of Dinoša (Диноша),

where we can cool off in the Cijevna river. However, cooling down is not the right word 😂😂:

Then we drive to the next town of Tuzi, just before the Albanian border. We stroll through the market halls, unfortunately a little too late, the market closes at 2:00 p.m.

Finally, in a small bakery, we get the traditional burek. Available in different fillings - meat, spinach, cheese, potatoes. Really tasty and very hot. A "must have".

Now we are looking forward to our next destination: Albania

(Continue in next post)

A few key details about the trip so far:

km: from home to Montenegro / Albania border 2,175 km

Toll: €0.00

Diesel: ...... liters, approx. €1.65 per liter - ...... to follow.

Accommodation costs:

• Camp Naluka 2 nights - €60 with electricity, shower, toilet - no gray water disposal.