Is Montenegro the pearl of Europe? That’s what I’m going to discover on this trip!
From Croatia I cross the border to Montenegro, there is a real border control. Montenegro is not an EU member and then everything is slightly different. They do use the euro here, I like it! The fuel price is getting lower, the further I travel the further the diesel price falls. Euro 1.56 is more than 0.60 cents per liter cheaper than in the Netherlands a good start.
Kotor Bay
My telephone-internet bundle does not work outside the EU, but without internet I found a awesome camper place at Kotor Bay. View of the lake and with my feet almost in the lake, what a fan-tas-tic place!
The supermarket is closed due to a power cut, okay then I’ll go back later for a prepaid card. A power cut that was a long time ago! It suddenly feels like a real travel.
The way to Kotor goes along the Bay of Kotor. Beautiful and fun to drive. Kotor old town is nice, lots of ‘junk’ shops, terraces and restaurants. We walk on the city walls and just like in Sibenik and Dubrovnik in Croatia, people live their lives in old town, in those very old houses. It feels a bit weird, I’m taking pictures and they’re hanging the laundry.
Slano Jezero
Via the lakes Slano Jezero and Krupacko Jezero I drive north. The view is very nice so at Slano Jezero I stop for some pictures and buy local cheese at a stall.
After an overnight stay near Niksic I would like to continue to Durmitor National Park.
Bad weather is coming, so I first discuss what to do at the campsite. About 50% say go and the other 50% say don’t go, so I’m going. It is already bad weather on the way and also poor visibility due to fog and rain, but luckily everything is going well.
Black Lake
So now and then I drive the wrong way through Google maps, that doesn’t work here correctly anymore. I suddenly drive off-road and because of the rain it is really a mud mess. Turning, lots of mud, slipping tires phew and I’m happy as soon as I’m back on the asphalt.
After that I found the ideal campsite, also on asphalt, haha perfect. In the afternoon we walk to Black Lake and it is dry for almost the entire walk. Great to walk in the woods again, Leo and I love it!
Would you rather see Black Lake in its entirety? Watch the video below!
Durmitor National Park
At the asphalt campsite I get a map for an 80 km long tour through the park. It is a fairly good and also narrow road where I will be touring for the next two days.
The first stop is Tara Canyon. It stops raining and the clouds clear! We walk uphill for half an hour and when we reach the top, the view is breathtaking! We can even see the gorge well, what a luck.
It is an awesome tour, the beautiful view, a lot of steering and gear changes. I also find it exciting at the same time, the narrow road and sometimes along the abyss.
When it starts to rain again and it gets a bit dark, I park at a restaurant, where I can spend the night for free. This place is not quite ideal because the car is still on the main road with the tow bar, but okay. The rest of the evening we are in the camper, there is a lot of rain wow!
Leo is not fit and at 6:30 am I take him out. Whew it’s cold here! At 8 o’clock we drive, which is very early, but then we can turn on the heating. The route is again super beautiful! I keep taking pictures and videos…
I walk short distances with Leo and then get back into the car nice and warm. This evening I sleep with an extra blanket and Leo gets his sleeping bag.
Ostrog Monastery
In Montenegro I see many cars without license plates, with 1 lamp or heavy exhaust gases and which do not go faster than 40 km per hour. Lada is also still driving here! The locals drive half on the other side of the road, I now also drive more to the left so that I can swerve to the right. It is usually not allowed to go faster than 80 km per hour, ideal for me! Nice and quiet touring haha in the Netherlands I like to drive faster (with the BMW once) but there is no rush anymore.
I’m going to Ostrog Monastery, 1.5 hours drive and it’s an incredibly beautiful drive. A long way back the same way, but it’s not a problem because I had hardly any visibility on the way there. Now I do and what a view! It is beautiful in the north of the country. The last part before the monastery I come across a narrow road again, I quickly follow the passenger bus!
When I take the exit to the campsite again a narrow road, I start to like it more and more. And then the view of Lake Skadar which is very beautiful, I feel so lucky to be here. At the campsite we have a very relaxed spot by the water. And there is grass, Leo is also happy, he will first roll on his back for a while.
Lake Skadar
Today sailing on Lake Skadar great! Birds, reeds, water lilies, it’s like the Nieuwkoop lakes in The Netherlands. In the Skadar Amazon the trees are in the water on both sides of the river and we see a few kingfishers. We return to the large lake surrounded by the many mountains, how peacefully it is here! The boat then sails fast and it is cold, I get a coat from the skipper to borrow, perfect! Suddenly I can sail for a while, I love doing that that haha, this is so nice!
Cave Obodska Pecina
At the campsite I pack my hiking gear, because we are going to the cave Obodska Pecina. A nice route and in the end many large boulders, phew a lot of climbing. Leo keeps slipping but he also keeps following me. Okay then we just stop, I take a picture of the cave and I’m happy when we walk back on the normal road, we did it!
Nice locals
In the eventing I have a nice dinner on the other side of the water, Skadar eel delicious! The departure from the campsite the next morning is wonderful, the manager, his friend, brother and the skipper of the boat have breakfast and I’m invited to join them.
I say goodbye to my friends and continue to Lovcen National Park.
Lovcen National Park
The Mausoleum in Njegos, after 461 steps you get this view, so amazing! From the visitor center in Lovcen National Park we walk to another viewpoint, I have the sun in my face and enjoy this wonderful day.
Today we will walk about 15 km, the round Ivanova Korita-Majstori-Babina Glava-Dolovi-Ivanova Korita. Just a nice detail, in the village of Majstori there are only 2 houses. It is unexpectedly so beautiful that I keep taking pictures and videos!
At the highest point I feel like I can see all over Montenegro. The sea, coast, airport, Kotor Bay, mountains, fantastic!
Winter cold
It’s getting cold at night now, it’s around freezing and the windows of the car are already frozen.
I would like to go to the Peaks of the Balkans, but unfortunately it is now too cold to start the Balkan Trail. So I will definitely come back in Montenegro again!
In the south of Montenegro we make a last stop in Ulcinje, we warm up at the coast and then continue to the border with Albania.
I’ve been in a traffic jam for an hour at the border crossing and everything is sold along the way. I buy jojoba fruits and look back on a great trip through Montenegro. As far as I’m concerned a real pearl!
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