Kotor

We decided not to take the coastal road from Budva to Kotor, but take the winding road into the mountains to the former capital, Cetinje. This is a funny old place, where grand former embassies seem misplaced in this sleepy, slightly inaccessible town. From Cetinje we climbed further before emerging at the top of the gorge looking down on the bay of Kotor some 1000m (almost vertically) below us. The view is breathtaking, but does induce vertigo and slight panic when you realise what you have to drive down. 40 minutes of hairpin bends later we arrive in Kotor, which is as spectacular looking up at the imposing montains as it was looking down on the town.

The old town itself blows Budva out the water. Its warren of alleyways lead to delightful squares with plenty of coffee shops to people watch from (high heels and mini skirts are the national dress, and the woman seem to do circuits of the old town), all set with an impressive mountain backdrop.

While there are no real beaches to speak of, a swim in the Fjord is necessary to deal with the heat, and provides good views of the surrounding mountains.

We're now in Herceg Novi, the last town in Montenegro before we cross back into Croatia and on to Dubrovnik.




Kirsten's Flashpacker Review:
Hotel Sind, Kotor (http://www.sindcentar.cg.yu/) - There is a bit of a shortage of hostels in Kotor so we ended up in this hotel. It is actually about 25mins walk around the fiord from the old town in settlement called Muo, however as there is no pavement and the road is very narrow this is not a very relaxed walk especially in the dark. Taxi's are however, pretty cheap providing you don't get ripped off – make sure they use the meter. Our room was pretty standard, although did have a small balcony with lovely views across the fiord to the old town. Breakfast was included but you had to have this before 9:30 and it consisted of a greasy omelet. A better option might be to try and find an apartment in or nearer the old town.