During a road trip across the Balkans, a stopover in Montenegro is a must. The beautiful country in the south enchants with its unique beauty and the endless roads along the coast. Since our time was limited, we decided to make a short stop in beautiful Kotor.

Already the way there is enchanting. At the beginning you are greeted by hilly landscapes, then it becomes flatter and the sea comes out. The view from the hills of Montenegro to the shining blue sea water is indescribable. A sight that you won’t forget so quickly.

Old town of Kotor

Besides the wonderful walks along the sea, the old town of Kotor is a real eye-catcher. As soon as you go beyond the gates of the old town, you will be surrounded by a very special charm full of life and culture.

Numerous restaurants with great food, as well as many bars invite you to stay. Whether it is on the coast with a sea view or inside the old town depends on your personal taste. Just enjoy life to the fullest, have a good time and live in the moment. Kotor is perfect for this.

Saint John Fortress

After all the good food, it can’t be wrong to take a little hike and look at Kotor, as well as the view of the wide sea from far above. The fortress of Saint John (Sveti Ivan) is perfect for this. The entrance fee is $8 per person and must be paid at the beginning of the hike.

The hike takes two-three hours, depending on the pace. It involves climbing 1’350 stairs. You might want to make sure you don’t do it under the strongest midday sun like we did.

If there is no other way, we can recommend you to take enough water with you. On the way up there are a few enterprising men who also offer you water, but you have to leave $1 to $2 per 0.5L bottle. For the same money you get 1.5L water in the store. At least you have the possibility to refresh yourself. We, at least, were glad about it, because we had absolutely missed to take something to drink with us.

Finally at the top, you get a wonderful, expansive view of all of Kotor for all your efforts and endeavors. Unforgettably beautiful and definitely worth seeing.

The fortress itself is rather disappointing. In the meantime, there are only dilapidated walls, but they also have their last spark of fascination behind them. We were rather disappointed. The view, however, was worth all the effort. For that alone, we can highly recommend the hike to the fortress of Saint John.

Since we noticed the beauty of Montenegro through our circle of colleagues, we always wanted to visit the place and see for ourself. Despite the very short time during our Balkan road trip, we decided to make at least a short stop in Kotor.

The stay was wonderful. Be it the eternal walks along the promenade while breathing in the sea air. The good times at the local restaurants and bars. Or the beautiful view of the city from above. Kotor fascinated us and we are convinced that next time we will plan more time to discover the beautiful Montenegro even better and more extensively.

Prices are per person, except for the accommodation, which we rent for 2 people.

Accommodation: $55 / night

Activity: $8 / event

Restaurant: $8 – $18 / meal

Snack: $2 – $7 / meal