Kotor, A Heaven on Earth!
End of Split and the beginning of Kotor saga. As usual, before leaving the hotel room in Split, we left a Thank you note and tips for the room service. Around 11 a.m., we came down from our Hotel room to the reception desk to make the payment. After finishing our check out at the hotel reception, we started to walk towards the lift going to the car park where we parked our rented car. Our luggage have already been loaded in our car boot. Although, we had enough fuel in the car but I have decided to fill the tank up of brand new SKODA. Fuel price in Croatia is slightly cheaper and the car we rented is very economic in terms of fuel consumption. As we filled up the fuel tank, we have decided to go via Bosnia to see that country on the way of our driving to Montenegro. We set up our GPS route accordingly however it seemed GPS did change the direction in the middle of our journey, perhaps due to road closure. As a result, we missed out the opportunity to see the Bosnia.
Going to Kotor (Montenegro), from Split (Croatia), you need to pass through Dubrovnik Airport and we got another chance to see that beautiful city. While crossing the border, we noticed, few vehicles were waiting to check through and at the both side of the border; police only checked our passport and rental car documents. It was a quick check and they let us through without any further question. As we pass through the Montenegro border, we started enjoying the stunning view of the country. The more we were getting closer to our destination, the better view we were experiencing of Montenegro.
At last, in the evening time, we reached to our Boutiq Hotel- Hotel Palazzo del Mare in Kotor. that we booked through Booking.Com. The hotel staffs were also customer service oriented
and very welcoming. They provided us the best room of the hotel which had also
Ocean and Mountain View that we had in Croatia.
After checking in, we did not wait to come out
from our hotel room to enjoy the sun set at the lake shore which was just
across the road. I could not resist myself to do some videos and taking photos of
spectacular evening views that I shared in this post. After passing sometime at
the lake shore, we started walking towards a restaurant name Konoba Barba to
have our dinner. The restaurant atmosphere is enjoyable, and I have decided to
have a glass of red wine, main dish steak with roasted potatoes. As the waiter serving
us our drinks, he wanted to know, if I want my steak in medium rare or well
done? I chose medium rare as I prefer to have my steak juicy and tenderness.
Previously, I tried well done but the meat texture was little harder and dry.
On the next day, we woke up early as we had to go
to a daylong tour that was pre-booked through my favourite online tour operator VIATOR. On the way, I had to go
to the Bank to get some Euro currency. In Montenegro, Croatian currency Kuna is
not accepted. So, if you go to Montenegro, always get Euro currency from the
bank or from your local exchange shop. Even though, Montenegro is not the part
of EU, but they are the member of Euro zone currency. Hence, they only use Euro.
Once the currency was collected, we parked our
rented car in a paid parking place in Kamelija shopping centre. They charge
around Two Euro per hour. Walking distance from the Parking place to the tour
operator spot is about ten minutes. There is no vehicle access to the tour
operator place. Hence, I will suggest you to park your car at the shopping
centre.
We were little late to reach to the Tour Operator
spot as we were struggling to find the place. However, when we managed to get there,
I have noticed people are from many parts of the world in our tour group. i.e
USA, UK, Switzerland, South Africa, Spain, Australia, Netherland etc. The tour
bus drove through narrow road of mountains and stops many beautiful places to let
us to take photographs/videos of magnificent natural beauty. Montenegro:Full-Day Tour to Lovcen National Park will take you to the Kotor Serpentine, Njegusi,
Lovcen National Park, Njegos Mausoleum, Cetinje, Lake Skadar (Boat trip), Sveti
Stefan Beach. Entry fee of the Lovcen National Park is 11 Euro per person and our
tour operator collected entry fee money in cash from everyone. They do not
accept card payment.
At Lovcen National Park Njegos Mausoleum, we climbed up 461 steps to get highest peak. Before going to a Boat trip, we had a great lunch at restaurant that was selected by the tour operator. Food was really enjoyable, and price is quite inexpensive compared to the food dishes they served us. After having the lunch, we started our boat trip in Lake Skadar. In the boat, we were offered drinks by the tour operator, and I had rakija and a glass of red wine. Not to mention that Rakija is the most popular drinks in Montenegro. Both drinks were served by our friendly tour operator.
I was so pleased that; I took many astonishing
video and photo shots during this Full-Day Tour to Lovcen National Park. I have
shared some of them on this post. Overall, the tour was pretty exciting, and we
enjoyed the excursion very much. Around 8 p.m. evening time, we completed the
day long trip, and our tour operator drops us at Kamelija shopping centre where
we parked our car. After a hard day, when we got back to our hotel room, we were so exhausted
that we went to our bed without having our dinner.
Next morning, when I got up from the bed, I have decided to do the Zip wiring at Njegos that I have noticed during our Montenegro: Full-Day Excursion. Njegos Zip wiring is on the way to the Lovcen National Park. I checked with the Hotel staff about the Njegos Zip Lining, and they have mentioned that’s best Zip Lining place in Kotor. My wife was little worried and nervous about doing zip wiring. However, after finishing our breakfast, we started heading towards Njegusi. While I was getting prepared, I was feeling little nervous. As a result, I have started mumbling while talking to the person who was preparing me. Finally, when I got ready for the ride, I was pushed through a zip wire from the edge of a mountain peak. Strangely, instead of getting frightened, I got thrilled and enjoyed the quick ride very much. The ride lasted only a minute from one pick to another. I was so thankful that, I did manage to do zip lining this time. Previously I wanted to do this many times but did not make it due to various reasons. However, finally I made it in Kotor and relatively delighted about it.
On that day, we had also been to Budva (another town of Montenegro) which is 25 Kilometres from Kotor. We have been to Mogren beach and spend some time there to take some photos and video shots. Thereafter, we started to look for a restaurant to have our lunch. We found an Asian restaurant; ‘Taste of Asia’ to have our lunch. There is no parking space at this restaurant, and we had to park our car in a paid parking place close to that restaurant. At the restaurant, we were told by the waiter that, the chef is a Montenegrin who learned cooking Asian food when he lived in Thailand for many years. Later he started his own restaurant in Budva. This restaurant mainly provides Thai and Chinese cuisine. Food was really delicious but little pricier than some other local restaurant.
There are many other places to see in Budva but due to time shortage, we were not able to go those places. I will recommend you visit Citadel, Becici Beach, Ploce beach, Island of St. Nicholas, AquaparkBudva etc.
Next day we checked out from the hotel just
after having our breakfast at 10 a.m. As customary, we left a Thank you note
and some tips for both room and catering services for their excellent service.
We tried enjoying as much as possible during our short stay in Kotor. On the
way back from Kotor to Dubrovnik, I recorded a video shot from the car using my
GoPro camera that I have shared in this post.
It took us only an hour reaching to our hotel in Dubrovnik that we booked for a night only. This hotel also has ocean view, but they do not have any breakfast or restaurant service. We had our lunch in a restaurant that was just across road. I had a thin crust vegetarian pizza and my wife had Spaghetti Bolognese. Although it is not a top end restaurant, but the food was really delicious and price was very even-handed.
In the evening time, we have decided to have our dinner in a Bosnian restaurant which is in the medieval old town of Dubrovnik, just fifteen miles away from our hotel. The restaurant name is Taj Mahal, which is in a Five Star Hotel. You can park your car in the hotel parking space and let the hotel reception know so that, they can let you out once you finish your dinner.
Taj Mahal restaurant service and food was
amazing. They also do live music in the dinner time. Although I was not hungry,
we ordered for all traditional Bosnian food. The evening weather was warm and very
comfortable; many people outside the restaurant were having their dinner and enjoying
the live music. We did love the evening atmosphere of the restaurant as well as
the ride on the way back to our hotel.
We only stayed in Dubrovnik for a night only. There are many places to see in Dubrovnik. i.e. Sponza Palace, Rector’s Palace, DubrovnikCathedral, City Walls, Old Town, Cable Car etc. We have a plan to explore these places if we go there next time.
The next morning on our last day in Dubrovnik, we
got up around 9:30 a.m. and went out to have our breakfast in the restaurant
that was just across the road. However, the restaurant was not open to serve
breakfast until 10.30 a.m. We decided to go back to our hotel and started
picking orange fruit from the orange tree that is within the Hotel vicinity. On
the previous day, the hotel owner has mentioned us, we can have as many oranges
as we like. In Croatia, you will be able
to see orange fruit shops and tree all over the places. We tried some of the oranges
and they tasted quite sweet and juicy.
After spending some time in the hotel, we checked out
from the hotel and started driving towards Dubrovnik Airport, which was only 15
minutes away. We went to a Gas/Petrol Station to fill up the fuel tank before
returning it to the Car rental office. Fuel station is just a minute away from
the Dubrovnik Airport. After returning the car to AVIA rental office at the
airport, they released our deposit fund Euro 900 immediately and we started
walking towards the Airport Terminal to catch our flight to London, Heathrow
Airport. Thank you, Croatia, for your hospitality.
Overall, our Montenegro and Dubrovnik trip was
very pleasant and enjoyable. I will recommend you visit there in off peak
season if you want to get the best deal on the Hotel, Air fare and on the Car Rental
service.
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my post. Furthermore,
please visit my YouTube channel (NewZest Media) where I upload all my travelling
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