Amazingly beautiful country!
We rested in Montenegro from June 7 to June 14.2014, in the village of Becici, apart-hotel Vujosevic Villa "B".
GENERAL IMPRESSION:
There will be some enthusiastic epithets here: beautiful, beautiful, amazing country! Especially for those who like to relax without lying all day on the beach, but for those who want and can travel, see the country. We went without children, so I speak exclusively from the position of recreation for active adults. Immediately advice - if you have the opportunity in time and money, go for a longer period, we didn’t have enough weeks sorely : ) Of course, it’s ideal if you can rent a car and travel around the country on your own, but then you need to make routes in advance and soberly assess your driver’s license skill - serpentines there are still those. If you don’t succeed by car, then you can go somewhere with excursions, you can go somewhere on your own on regular buses.
TRAVEL AGENCY, TOUR OPERATOR, AIR CARRIER:
The tour was bought at the Sun Wind agency (Kyiv, Vandy Vasilevskaya St. , 7) - I am 100% satisfied with them. Thanks to the staff of the travel agency for the quality work and friendly attitude!
Tour operator NEWS Travel - not a single complaint, everything is well organized.
Air carrier WindRose - flights there and back went perfectly, they didn’t even notice how they flew, without a single problem.
Villa Vujosevic Villa "B" (Becici, there is a villa with the same name in Ulcinj, so be careful when reading reviews) corresponded to both the price and expectations, photos of all rooms are on the tour operator's website, so there were no surprises.
The atmosphere is modest, the rooms are small, but everything you need is in the room, including a kitchenette and the necessary set of dishes, the refrigerator was really quite weak, but it was enough for us, they clean it every day, very friendly owners and staff, Wi-Fi worked perfectly, convenient location - close to the beach, and to the bus stop, and to shops. We lived in room 33, with a beautiful view of the sea and mountains. I recommend the hotel to those who are satisfied with modest conditions, who do not want to spend extra money on a hotel, and who are not going to spend the whole day in a hotel.
TIP: when choosing a hotel, pay attention to its location, look at the map. In Montenegro, there is one such big road that runs through the whole country parallel to the coast, it is immediately visible on the map, it is called the Jadran Way, there are a lot of hotels along this road.
If you are used to sleeping with windows open and are sensitive to noise, this can be uncomfortable, so be aware of this. Our villa was a couple of houses back from the road, the noise was heard distantly and no longer interfered at all.
The sea is crystal clear, the water is gorgeous. The beach in Becici is very large, beautiful views from the beach. Since we were at the beginning of the season, there were few people, I don’t know what will happen next. The whole beach is pebbles, the size of buckwheat, but the strip in front of the entrance and the entrance to the sea itself are small pebbles, very beautiful, but for those with sensitive feet it hurts, it is best to put on hydroshoes and enjoy the sea without discomfort. There hydro shoes cost 8-10 euros. Free zones alternate on the beach, there is enough space in them, and zones with sunbeds and umbrellas, a set of 2 sunbeds + umbrella 8 euros per day. There are toilets, changing rooms, showers with fresh water.
We only went to the beach in Becici, so I won’t say anything about other beaches, except that in Budva we passed by the beaches, it’s clear that there are more people, the stones are larger. And once we talked with people who specially came from Budva to the beach in Becici.
BECHICHI, BUDVA:
Becici is quiet, calm, not crowded. Unlike Budva. Therefore, whoever doesn’t need noise and parties, it’s better not to settle in Budva, but nearby, and it’s nice to go to Budva for a walk. In Becici, opposite the Mediteran water park, there are several shops, the largest of which is Megamarket, a little further from the road, there are all the necessary goods.
You can get to Budva on foot in 30-40 minutes (just don’t go along the road along which cars drive, but along the sea, through the tunnel, it’s a pleasant walk), you can take a bus for 10 minutes if you take the bus that says Budva - St. Stephen fare 50 cents, if some bus from more distant cities will be more expensive.
If you take the Budva-Sveti Stefan bus to the final one in Budva, it will be as close as possible to the Old Town. We went there, and back from the Old City on foot walking along the sea we returned home.
In Budva, you should definitely go for a walk in the Old Town, it is advisable to go to the citadel (2.5 euros), there are beautiful views of the entire Budva Riviera from the highest point. Also in the heat it is nice to sit on a bench in the shade by the pier and admire the yachts. The new part of the city is an ordinary pretty town, with colorful houses, beautiful flowers and palm trees. Budva has a lot of restaurants, entertainment, shops.
In general, if no long trips and hikes are planned, then you need to go for a walk in Budva : ) There is no language barrier, and the Montenegrins themselves understand Russian enough so that you can say something, ask, and our (Russian-Belarusian-Ukrainian ) a lot and everyone will be happy to tell you and almost by the hand will take you where you need to, do not hesitate to ask : )
WALK FROM MILOCHER TO SAINT STEPHAN:
Be sure to walk from Milocer to Saint St. Stephen! Rather, you can easily walk to Sveti Stefan from Becici and Rafailovici, but we didn’t go like that. Therefore, I tell you as much as I know: take a bus to Milocer, find the entrance to the royal park there and walk to St. Stephen - you will see gorgeous sea views along the way, a beautiful park, a former royal residence, royal beaches, a sea of incredible colors, and as a result - an island - hotel Sveti Stefan. Very beautiful walk, be sure to go.
EXCURSION TO THE CANYONS:
I think this trip is a MUST. Excursion for the whole day, we left at 6:30, arrived at 21:30, but we were not tired, because the impressions overshadowed everything. You will see a really different Montenegro, because the coast is not everything. During the day we drove 500 km around the ring, in total we climbed 1500 km above sea level, changed climatic zones, left the sea and palm trees, and saw snow on top of the mountains, in general, this trip was worth the whole day. We passed Skadar Lake, then the first canyon of the Morac River, then on the shore of the canyon an old monastery, simply fabulous, then the canyon of the Tara River, on it the famous arched bridge, then we went to the ski resort of Zabljak, where we visited the high-mountainous Black Lake, we returned back by another road, we have seen enough beauty both at stops and on the way, no photographs convey this beauty, do not be afraid of a whole day of travel, be sure to go. The tour cost 35 euros.
In addition, the excursions offer lunch in a restaurant, a large full meal for 11 euros, this is optional, if not, you can take food with you and have a quiet lunch too. In general, if you cannot go to all the places you want, then choose the canyons anyway. We bought an excursion in Budva at the Monteline agency, we are satisfied with everything.
FOR THE ORTHODOX - OSTROG MONASTERY:
You can read a lot on the Internet about St. Basil, whose relics rest in the Ostrog Monastery, and about the monastery itself, about its significance, I will not rewrite. So it's a sin, being in Montenegro, not to visit Ostrog. Excursions go there, there is just Ostrog (17 euros it seems), there is Ostrog + Cetinje (25 euros). If I bought a tour now, I would just take Ostrog, without Cetinje.
Without detracting from the importance and significance of the monastery in Cetinje, I’m glad that I visited it, but we spent half an hour in the monastery itself, and because of this the tour lasted for several hours, it turned out to Ostrog only 2 hours, and visited the monastery in Cetinje, and then toiled for an hour, because the city itself cannot be bypassed for the remaining hour, and what we managed to see was not impressive at all. In general, I realized that for pilgrimage purposes it is ideal to go to Ostrog by car so that there are no time limits, BUT - keep in mind that the road is very difficult. Or on your own, on a regular bus that is heading to Niksic, get off the bus at a stop 8 km from Ostrog and from there by taxi or hitchhike, but now when I know the place, I would go like that, and when you don’t know, then don’t would risk. But if I go there again, it will be on my own.
There is such a strong place there that after visiting the relics, I just wanted to sit somewhere on the street for at least a couple of hours, I didn’t want to leave so quickly, but the tour, the schedule ...Those who will go on their own, keep in mind that the monastery closes at 6 pm. And keep in mind that during the high season there can be long queues. In general, who will go on his own - you need to prepare well, read everything about the road, time, etc. Another point that is described a lot on the Internet is that it is important to climb from the Lower Monastery to the Upper Monastery on foot. Well, this is important for pilgrims, and not for those who go there just to see. So, we didn’t offer this on the tour and we didn’t allocate time for it. We reached the Lower Monastery by a sightseeing bus, and there they offered to go by minibuses to the Upper Monastery. But it was important for me to walk. The guide showed where the road was, and I went myself.
You need to go not along the asphalt serpentine, along which the minibuses go, but directly, along the stone steps and the path along the mountain. Physically, I was poorly prepared, so the road took 40 minutes, I read that someone reached faster. The ascent was not easy for me, but I do not regret a minute that I went. But 40 minutes were taken away from the 2 hours allotted for Ostrog. Of course, there was enough time to visit the relics, to put candles and look around a little there, but of course there was no time to stay there calmly. Don't think that going down on foot will be much faster, it took me 30 minutes. So it’s better to go down by minibus, and there will be more time for the monastery itself. I told all this just in case to those who go on an excursion, but for whom it is important to climb on foot - it is possible, ask for directions and climb, just calculate the time. Take a bottle with you - there is a source of good water.
INDEPENDENT TRIP TO KOTOR:
Kotor is considered the most beautiful city in Montenegro, we went there not with a tour, but on our own. The bus runs from the Budva bus station every 20 minutes, it takes 30-40 minutes to go to Kotor, the ticket price is 3.5 euros one way. They allocated half a day to Kotor, it’s a pity that the heavy downpour that began made us leave earlier, a couple of hours were not enough. A beautiful old city, a very beautiful bay, around the mountain, magnolias grow like ordinary trees, and orange trees, and olive trees, and palm trees everywhere, beauty in general. There are a lot of restaurants with summer grounds, everything is very beautiful and romantic, whoever likes this, I definitely recommend to go. Well, the city confirms the version that its name comes from the word "cat" - there are a lot of cats there)))
FOOD PRICES:
I have already forgotten a lot, but the main thing that I remember:
in cafes and modest restaurants during the day there is a set lunch (bread, soup, salad and a large portion of something meat with a side dish) - 5 euros.
If you order individual dishes, then the main price tag will be 2-5 euros, I don’t remember anything more specific. In more interesting restaurants (in the old town in Budva, in Kotor), prices are of course higher.
On the market in Budva and in the Megamarket: prosciutto 10-15 euros per kg (on the market 15, in the supermarket 10), any other smoked and dried meat from 8 euros, cheeses from 10, kaymak 10 euros per kg at the market (take the market, it is much tastier than store-bought), in the supermarket any raw meat and meatballs, which can immediately be grilled for free - from 5 euros per kg, bread from 30 cents, wine from 2 euros, water 1.5 liters 50-60 cents, 5 liters - 1.4-1.5 euros, all sorts of cookies-sweets from 1 euro a package, loose olives 1 euro a box, I don’t remember the weight, but 1 box was enough for a couple of gatherings with wine : ) fresh mussel fish at the market from 2 euros, olive oil 5-10 euro bottle 0.7 liters, vegetables are a little more expensive than ours, fruits and berries were much more expensive, but I think the further into the summer, the cheaper it should be.
It seems that everyone who read to the end is a hero : ) But I dashed off so much because I know that when you are preparing for a trip, any fresh information is important, I hope it will come in handy for someone. If you have any questions - I will answer. Who doubts whether to go or not - do not hesitate and go to Montenegro, to any hotel, on any, even the most modest, conditions - a fabulous country, you will not regret it! The main thing to remember is that a good rest depends on our attitude - whoever likes to get hung up on little things that really don’t mean anything, and doesn’t see anything behind these empty little things, feels bad everywhere and always, and who is open to emotions, impressions, is set to positive - that any country will reveal all its best sides! Good luck to everyone and have a good rest!
