Pros and cons of holidays in Budva Montenegro. My experience of emigration to Montenegro. Inexpensive prices for rental housing

Having returned from Montenegro on August 1, I still could not bring myself to take up the report. Probably because the impressions from this trip did not form a coherent picture, crumbling along the way and losing clear outlines. And even now, almost a month later, I cannot accurately formulate my feelings from this trip and from the country itself. But I'll try anyway. I won’t lie - I expected much more - from nature, from the sea with beaches, and from attractions. During the two weeks I spent in Budva, I didn’t make any bright discoveries for myself, nothing really caught my attention, and there weren’t any strong shocks that would make me gasp. Rather, Montenegro made a moderately pleasant impression on me, nothing more. Just a cute, small country with a homely and cozy atmosphere. Trying to always find positive aspects in everything first, I’ll start with the positive.

First of all, I liked that the country is very calm and absolutely safe. You can walk and drive everywhere without hindrance, there is a relaxed, homely atmosphere everywhere. Of course, I look at many things with completely different eyes and in this context I compared calm Montenegro with the realities of life in South America and recalled the dangers that await tourists in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina. Here such moments were completely excluded, which I immediately appreciated. Cozy, homely and absolutely safe! Great advantage!

Very nice, friendly people, but not pushy, with dignity, they do everything in moderation. Almost all of the older generation speak Russian, the younger generation speaks English. Thus, there are no problems with communication. We lived in the Sentar villa, whose owners Marina and Michaud turned out to be very nice, pleasant people. They constantly invited us to the table, tried to help us with everything, and created a homely atmosphere.

What are Montenegrins like? beautiful people, just a sight for sore eyes! Especially young people. Everyone is perfect - tall, slender, bright, thoroughbred! More than once I admired local girls and boys, receiving great aesthetic pleasure.

Montenegrin prices also pleased me. And for housing, and for food, and for transport, and for excursions. Very, very acceptable. We rented a small studio with a kitchenette and bathroom for 42 euros for two. This is in high season, in September prices fall by half. You can have a modest lunch for two for 10 euros, or a more varied meal for 15. There are also relatively expensive restaurants on the embankment - Yadran, Don Coda Nicolet, Tropico. The most expensive dishes are seafood, meat is at reasonable prices. Popular meat dishes are cevapchichi, pleskavica, and sacha meat. For my taste, Montenegrin cuisine overuses salt; many dishes are frankly over-salted. I liked the local fast food even more in the form of hamburgers, shawarma, pancakes and waffles. All this is sold everywhere in abundance. For 2-3 euros you can have a tasty snack. Of the local delicacies, I liked prosciutto, how could I live without it, and Njegushi, a spicy cheese.

Now about excursion program. The prices for excursions are also very reasonable. On average, from 17 to 35 euros per person. Children are given a discount of a little more than 50%. We bought all the excursions on the promenade from Vladimir, the travel agency Gardashevich. Initially there were more plans, but on the spot I decided not to torment the child and not take much time away from the sea. Therefore, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cetinje and Mount Lovcen, Bar and other little things were ruthlessly thrown back. As a result, we went on only four excursions - along the Bay of Kotor, to the canyons, to the Ostrog monastery and to Dubrovnik. We went to St. Stephen on our own (it’s better to go in the morning and see both from above the road and from the water, completely different views)

For most Russians, it is no secret that Montenegro is one of the most cozy places in Europe, where there is wonderful ecology, beautiful climatic conditions And picturesque nature. Who dreams of buying a house or apartment on the seashore in this country? Very, very many. The Russia - Montenegro route is quite popular among our tourists. It would seem that if you buy real estate, it would be better in Bulgaria. But it turns out that from the point of view of investment attractiveness, Montenegro is no worse.

Why this country?

There is everything for comfortable rest: gentle sea, warm climate, clean air. In addition, Russia and Montenegro are countries with a common culture, and they have a lot in common. For many years, our compatriots have been coming here to relax.

This means that it makes sense for potential business investors to pay closer attention to local real estate. First of all, properties located in the Bay of Kotor and in the south of the country are considered profitable acquisitions. Those entrepreneurs who bought apartments or a house on the Lustica peninsula, where a powerful construction boom has unfolded, will also benefit.

Is it worth it or not?

As paradoxical as it may sound, purchasing housing abroad also carries certain risks. Let's take, for example, real estate in Montenegro. Pros and cons of purchasing an apartment or cottage in this European country also exist. Let's look at them in more detail.

Advantages

Flaws

Of course, some may have doubts about whether it makes sense to invest in real estate in Montenegro. The pros and cons of purchasing housing in this picturesque corner of the planet make you think about it once again. The thing is that the local infrastructure in terms of comfort and convenience is still inferior to the American Miami and France.

There is no central heating, and the rooms are heated by air conditioning. As a result, electricity overloads often occur, which regularly turn off. The qualifications of the service staff also leave much to be desired. It should also be taken into account that the purchase of housing in the country in question does not in all cases imply automatic receipt of a residence permit. It’s not enough to buy an apartment; you also need to take out health insurance and have 3,600 euros in a bank deposit.

So to buy or not to buy real estate in Montenegro? We have examined the pros and cons of this investment; the conclusion arises that a transaction to purchase an apartment or villa in this country can bring good profits if you subsequently rent out the property.

The situation on the new buildings market

“Are apartments in Montenegro expensive?” - you ask. As already emphasized, the price depends on several factors. You'll have to try hard to find a budget option. The thing is that many people put up for sale the apartments of their friends and relatives, pursuing the goal of basic profit. If you are looking for the best priced apartments in Montenegro, then resolving the issue yourself may become more expensive than if you turned to specialists for help.

It should be noted that local market real estate is quite archaic, and when thinking about a specific option, you need to take into account that earthquakes sometimes occur in the country.

Recently, a construction boom has intensified here, and many developers are trying to build the last floors of high-rise buildings as quickly as possible in order to start selling apartments. As a result of such haste, the quality of housing suffers. Particular vigilance should be exercised in a situation where a contractor offers you apartments in a new multi-storey building, which is built in close proximity to mountain range. It is possible that after a couple of years your building will tilt or, even worse, collapse.

Maybe a house by the sea...

Today you can often find an advertisement with the following content: “Real estate. Montenegro. Coast. Acceptable prices" How true is it?

Of course, those who want to buy a villa for Cote d'Azur everything is added and added. But if demand increases, then the price increases: these are the laws of the market. Note that the price level of households in the coastal regions of Montenegro in the pre-crisis period was close to those in Spain and Italy. However, this market segment was very oversaturated, and the price-quality ratio was clearly out of balance. According to reviews, after the crisis there was a sharp decrease in the cost of the above apartments. Only in the prestigious areas of Montenegro - Budva and Kotor - prices have not undergone serious adjustments. More cheap option houses with a pier can be found in the Bar area.

Despite all the difficulties, as reviews say, the real estate market in Montenegro is systematically developing, and making a transaction to purchase housing in this country is a very realistic procedure for a Russian.

We've lived here for almost a year, but summer season 2015 was an unpleasant surprise. This is not the everyday joy of the sun and sea, but practically a struggle for survival)) I’ll tell you everything in detail, without hiding anything, and I’ll start with the advantages of this summer, and in general just with the advantages of life in this beautiful country.

Pros of Montenegro:

Visa regime.

Russians still enjoy fairly humane and comfortable conditions here. 30 days without a visa, then travel to another country, and again 30 days. That is, for now you can live here completely without problems, traveling to Bosnia or Albania once a month.

Inexpensive prices for food.

The products here cost quite reasonable money and are very pleased with their quality, because... do not have any additives or impurities and are usually completely natural. Average prices for meat are 3 euros per kg, milk - 60 cents per liter, bread - 30 cents per loaf.

Inexpensive prices for rental housing

You can find an apartment here from 100 euros and above, depending on its class and size. average price for comfortable housing - 250 euros per month, subject to long-term stay.

Clean air and beautiful nature

Excellent, clean air and a rich heritage of many cultures, which entails incredible pleasure from traveling around the country and visiting the many attractions. There are places where nature is completely untouched by man - this can mainly be seen in the north of the country.

Relatively safe.

Walking the streets at night is not scary, even the myriad of stray dogs are kind-hearted and I have not heard of cases of attacks on people. A murder here is an event of national scale, the whole country discusses it for several weeks, and this usually happens due to clashes between local criminal gangs, and has nothing to do with tourists.

Good-natured people.

If you met one of the locals, or helped, then they will drag you home, feed you, give you homemade wine and brandy, and give you a full bag of fruit from the garden for the journey. It is almost impossible to avoid this, and if you have such neighbors, you will already be pumped up with brandy and wine from early morning.

Cons of Montenegro:

Electricity.

As soon as you arrive, you see primus stoves and gas cylinders in every store, and huge generators near the stores. This is no accident. There may be no light here for several hours a day or more. Sometimes there are periods when the lights are not turned off for several months - but this happens in winter and out of season. During the season, from June to September, the light disappears here several times a week for a couple of hours or even a day. At the same time, the Internet and even Mobile Internet, and in some cases mobile connection. If you have a multi-storey building with an elevator and a water pump, then in the end you will not have an elevator and water all this time and your happiness if at this time you do not cry for help in Russian between the 6th and 7th floors, which is not widely spoken here .

Water.

With the beginning of the season, periodic water shutdowns begin. It is used for irrigation, beach showers and other needs, and all the water that was at your disposal during the off-season disappears right before your eyes. At night you can still wash yourself, get water for tea and soup, fill jars with water to flush the toilet during the day, but at other times you will be deprived of this opportunity. If you live in the private sector, then all the water during the day will be spent on irrigation, and in the city - on beaches and washing tourists after their vacation. If you are going on vacation, then problems with electricity and water will affect you in the same way as ordinary residents - none of the landlords spend money on generators and water tanks, they live one day at a time and do not think about the future. Perhaps in good hotels There is a backup power supply and water tanks, so it makes sense to find out this in advance so as not to ruin your vacation.

Traffic jams.

With the beginning of the season, for some unknown reasons, simply unreal traffic jams form here. You can drive 40 kilometers from Bar to Budva for four hours, or you can stand in the Sozino tunnel all day on the way to Podgorica - depending on your luck or bad luck. We can definitely say that during the season it is better not to use a car and leave the house only when you run out of food.

Theft.

With the season comes theft. This includes theft of wallets on the beach and break-ins of apartments - both tourists and locals. For some reason, many people take their passports with them to the beach - they are stolen along with other documents and money and are not returned, so as not to get caught. You can leave Chg without documents only through the embassy and there are a lot of difficulties. So keep your documents and everything important in your hotel rooms - that's where the least amount of theft occurs. They usually steal from private houses and sometimes from apartments. But in any case, these cases cannot be compared with the fact that you go to the beach and leave your bag there unattended with docks and money for 2 hours while you bask in the sea.

Visa regime

White cardboard is what they call the means of registering tourists who do not have a residence permit. The fee for it is from 70 cents per day and above for each adult tourist. Per month this works out to about 22 euros per month per person tourist tax on the coast. When the season begins, you will stand in the heat for an hour or two under the scorching sun to pay it and get yourself into the database (to do this, stock up on an agreement to purchase a camp (an apartment rental agreement) and a copy of the personal card of the owner of the camp (a copy of the identity card of the apartment owner ), at least for the first time)

Rent a Car.

You won’t find a more expensive and pointless car rental in the summer anywhere in Europe. ALL cars are without insurance (unless, of course, you want to use traditional rental offices, from which you can expect no less dirty tricks), with a deposit of 200-300 euros. And the price per day is from 30 euros and above. Take photographs of the entire car in front of the owner, climb under the bottom and into the trunk - not a single little thing should escape your gaze.

Internet.

Usually, the fastest Internet here is coaxial, with a speed of 16-32 Mbit/s. Moreover, you will also pay for television - 10 euros, even if you don’t use it. Total - 30 euros for 16 Mbit/s, if the connection is lost every week a couple of times for several hours or days. I have not yet encountered a more unstable Internet in any country in the world, and no recalculation is made. Well, either you need to have an excellent knowledge of Serbian in order to organize all this)) For tourists, most likely, this will not be a problem, but the connection is quite poor and unstable throughout the country.

Shops, queues

From the advantages, the disadvantages automatically follow - they will perfectly cut half a kilo of ham and cheese for you, but the one who is behind you will wait. And even in large retail chains there is usually only one seller, and you can wait 10-40 minutes just to buy cheese or sausage. There is no time in large stores when there are no people there - everyone shops there, including small businesses, cafes and small restaurants. After a 40-minute line for cheese and ham and a 20-minute line for pork, you're sure to wait another 20 minutes at the checkout. Or you can buy products in local markets at one and a half times more expensive - but also due to the queues high prices, there is no. As an option, you can buy already chopped and packaged foods or eat semi-finished products, but you must agree that this is not a way out of the situation.

Inadequacy of many drivers

Frankly speaking, here and during the rest of the year they don’t particularly follow traffic rules, but with the arrival of summer, heat and traffic jams, everyone just starts pretending that they are alone on the road - dangerous overtaking by driving into oncoming traffic in front of a convoy of cars, turning from the right lane to the left , driving from the secondary to the main one without even looking around. People are caught driving drunk. I won’t say exactly how many ppm are allowed in Montenegro and whether they are allowed at all, but a couple of beers here is not a reason to give up your car. The favorite pastime of locals is to meet two cars in a narrow alley window-to-window and leisurely discuss current news for 10 minutes, creating inconvenience and traffic jams. However, everyone understands and doesn’t even honk - this is the norm here, just like parking in the second row in the middle of the road if there is a normal parking lot 20 meters ahead, blocking 3 cars, and leaving on business.

Stray dogs.

There are an insane number of them, almost like in Sri Lanka, but here they are quite sweet and good-natured, even gathering in flocks in the spring. All the same, this is unsanitary and a possible danger, but this problem is not being solved at the state level, and the few volunteers simply do not have time to collect dogs from the streets before a new litter appears. At night they usually hold a roll call, and if they drive some unwary cat under the car, you will definitely not fall asleep until the morning.

Beach pollution

In July, some beaches located in small coves begin to bloom quite naturally, but this is not such a problem. The main problem is the release of garbage from yachts and coastal cafes. Many beaches have become unsuitable for comfortable swimming due to waste of food, hygiene products and other abominations that are in the water.

I will consider the most popular beaches in terms of the quality of the beach itself and swimming.

Velika Plaza.

The longest beach in Montenegro, it is divided into many small sections, each with its own name - Coco Beach, Noki Beach and others. Closer to mid-July, there is a huge crowd of people on the beach, attractions appear: kite surfing, banana, jet skis, for the sake of which a small piece is fenced off with buoys near each beach, in which only tourists can swim. The rest of the endless expanses of the sea are reserved for entertainment, however, this is not enough for jet skiers, and in order to move to another part of the beach, they can maneuver between swimmers near the shore without any problems.

The beaches themselves are cleaned by workers, there are garbage bins, and the sea is not that dirty, except for the suspension of sand. So, apart from the danger from jet skis, I don’t see any problems with visiting this place. In addition, towards evening they no longer charge money for sunbeds, and you can enjoy all the benefits of the beaches completely free of charge. By the way, keep in mind: after lunch the wind picks up there and decent waves begin, which is why this place is chosen by all sorts of surfers.

Swim Horizon.

One of the most popular and cozy beaches near Budva. Sandy cove, inexpensive restaurant with delicious pizza, there is a place under the treetops to lie down for free (take mattresses or travel mats with you) - besides, there is excellent shade and it is very cozy. In mid-July the water blooms, but only near the shore. You can walk around the bay and go down the stairs straight into the water towards the end of the bay - it is always clean and beautiful. Take a mask and snorkel - there are a lot of fish and interesting bends in the water in the water. The water is practically not littered; apparently, they promptly remove debris that could have been blown into the water by the wind. Ships and yachts do not sail there, so there is no one to dump garbage. Perfect place with cheap parking (3 euros for the whole day with the ability to leave and enter using a receipt at any time).

Ploche.

Stunning beach, also not far from Budva. Free parking, three swimming pools from the smallest “paddling pool” for children to quite impressive in size with a depth of 2 meters, there is also a pool-bar with foam and charming multi-level “mountains”, on which there are also several sun loungers - they are fenced, and you will practically basking in the sun alone. The sea is clean, but the entrance to it is small pebbles, and the beach-mountain area is entirely made of polished stone and concrete.

During the day it gets hot and you can no longer go there without slippers. Perhaps the best accessible beach in the entire country. But even here there is a fly in the ointment - showers and toilets on the beach itself are paid, and salty water flows in the accessible taps sea water. For those on a budget, I’ll tell you a secret: there are free showers and toilets upstairs, in the parking lot.

Bar. Kralevska plaza.

City beach of Bar. Rocky approach, small and large pebbles mixed. There are paid and free areas, it is quite dirty, including in the water. Among the advantages is an excellent embankment, where you can simply relax on the grass in the shade of trees and order ice cream or a glass of water at a nearby cafe.

Chan.

It is located a little further from Sutomore, towards Budva. Enough cozy place, hidden on three sides by mountains, and not crowded, due to the fact that there is not a single hotel on the shore, and there are not so many private apartments in the area. There are cafes and eateries on the embankment, and also right next to the beach Ending station city bus that will take you directly to Bar. The beach is clean, the water is also quite acceptable for swimming. A cloudy foam appears from time to time, but its origin and health hazards are not clear. I can say for sure that vacationers are not afraid of it and do not crawl out of the water.

Sutomore.

Small resort town near Bar, the curse of everyone living in it and nearby because of huge amount pedestrian unregulated crossings, causing some kind of unreal traffic jams, comparable to traffic jams on the third transport on Monday evening after a snowfall. There is a fairly large city beach, quite dirty, and there are small beaches already at the exit from settlement, cleaner. A distinctive feature of Sutomore is loud music, crowds of people and unimaginable traffic collapse. Unfortunately, the road through this place is the only link between Ulcinj and Bar with the rest of civilization. We stopped resting there immediately after we swam from the buoys to the shore in the slop of food and personal hygiene products that someone had dumped. Although before the season it was the cleanest and nicest place, I think by October it will be like that again.

Kolardovo.

Beach behind the airport in Tivat. A small, cute place, quite secluded from civilization, quiet and without pretense of coolness. Its main advantage is calm water and the sight of planes taking off, flying literally a couple of hundred meters overhead. This already applies to the Bay of Kotor, so you won’t get waves there, but you can while away a couple of hours before departure. During the season, it can take a very long time to get to the airport from any city, traffic jams are possible everywhere, so the best option All you have to do is arrive early, about three hours in advance, and get to the beach. There is also a shower there, completely free.

Budva. Mogren Beach.

One of the few places in Budva where tourists simply make a pilgrimage, which means there are a lot of people and little comfort. The beach is small pebbles that dig into your feet painfully, so don't forget your slippers. Most cases of robberies of tourists took place on the Budva beaches, so do not take anything valuable with you, especially passports - believe me, they will definitely be safer at the hotel. In general, the most you can take with you for a walk around the city and to the beach is money for sunbeds, cocktails and dinner. No cards - 99% of restaurants on the shore do not accept them anyway, due to the completely inhumane conditions of owning a cashless payment terminal.

Sveti Stefan.

There are two beaches near this magnificent island - left and right. On the left there are quite humane prices for sunbeds, plus there is a free coastal area where you can lay out a blanket and lie in the sun without paying anyone anything, but the beach in the photo is on the right, it belongs to the infrastructure of the island and entry costs 75 euros! True, even for this money you won’t find sand there - only small pebbles.

Picturesque landscapes, clear water, civilized beaches, excellent National cuisine. There are places to go on excursions, go out for fun in the evening, and something to keep the kids busy. Decent service and a lot of impressions.

Considering the pros and cons of holidays in Montenegro, we can highlight the following positive points:
1. Food. Everything is very tasty, plentiful and of high quality. Wide variety of seafood dishes. The products are environmentally friendly and are controlled by the sanitary service. The meat has a magical taste, without the usual domestic disgusting aftertaste.
2. Varied excursion program. Here you can see the beautiful Bay of Kotor, Lake Skadar, canyons, famous island Sveti Stefan, national park Durmitor. For believers and history buffs there are educational Monastery tours. Those interested can also travel to Dubrovnik or Albania.

3. Gorgeous views of nature - rocky terrain, picturesque coves, emerald water. If you don’t want to crowd around the city beaches of Budva, you can walk to less crowded places. There are bays with comfortable beaches. You can go to where the wonderful beach is.
4. Don't get bored in the evening. Budva is considered a party place where young people, and not only others, can have fun all night in numerous clubs and restaurants. In small villages there are also places to take a walk. There is a lot of entertainment along the embankment. IN big hotels Tourists often visit Montenegro, and you can, for example, listen to jazz performed on the hotel’s open lawn.
5. Everything is relatively inexpensive. You can have lunch or dinner in a cafe/restaurant for 10-20 euros for two. Fast food is also quite edible if you don’t want to eat well (from 1.5-2 euros). The same applies to rental housing and other services when compared with famous European resorts.

There are also disadvantages, although the pros outweigh. Disadvantages include:

There are a lot of compatriots. Arriving abroad, a tourist finds himself surrounded by the same people as at home. And not all of them behave like Europeans.
During the high season, the beaches are crowded. This is especially felt on central beaches. Not very wide beach strip, all covered with sun loungers. The towels have to be laid close to each other. But this is an expected drawback if you go during the high season.
There are many boats, speedboats, and yachts on the beaches. They are located close to vacationers. This is not environmentally friendly, and does not always allow you to swim far.
Cleanliness is far from ideal. Tourists throw garbage not only into trash cans, but the local service is in no hurry to clean up.
Most beaches have pebbles. In some places the shore is rocky, making it difficult to enter the water. This is not very convenient, especially with small children.

Book a hotel in Montenegro

First of all, I liked that the country is very calm and absolutely safe. You can walk and drive everywhere without hindrance, there is a relaxed, homely atmosphere everywhere. Of course, I look at many things with completely different eyes and in this context I compared the calm Montenegro with the realities of life in South America and recalled the dangers that await tourists in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina. Here such moments were completely excluded, which I immediately appreciated. Cozy, homely and absolutely safe! Great advantage!

And what beautiful people Montenegrins are, just a sight for sore eyes! Especially young people. Everyone is perfect - tall, slender, bright, thoroughbred! More than once I admired local girls and boys, receiving great aesthetic pleasure.

Montenegrin prices also pleased me. And for housing, and for food, and for transport, and for excursions. Very, very acceptable. We rented a small studio with a kitchenette and bathroom for 42 euros for two. This is during the high season, but in September prices drop by half. You can have a modest lunch for two for 10 euros, or a more varied meal for 15. There are also relatively expensive restaurants on the embankment - Yadran, Don Coda Nicolet, Tropico. The most expensive dishes are seafood, meat is at reasonable prices. Popular meat dishes are cevapchichi, pleskavica, and sacha meat. For my taste, Montenegrin cuisine overuses salt; many dishes are frankly over-salted. I liked the local fast food even more in the form of hamburgers, shawarma, pancakes and waffles. All this is sold everywhere in abundance. For 2-3 euros you can have a tasty snack. Of the local delicacies, I liked prosciutto, how could I live without it, and Njegushi, a spicy cheese.

Now about the excursion program. The prices for excursions are also very reasonable. On average, from 17 to 35 euros per person. Children are given a discount of a little more than 50%. We bought all the excursions on the promenade from Vladimir, the travel agency Gardashevich. Initially there were more plans, but on the spot I decided not to torment the child and not take much time away from the sea. Therefore, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cetinje and Mount Lovcen, Bar and other little things were ruthlessly thrown back. As a result, we went on only four excursions - along the Bay of Kotor, to the canyons, to the Ostrog monastery and to Dubrovnik. We went to St. Stephen on our own (it’s better to go in the morning and see both from above the road and from the water, completely different views)

Sveti Stefan island, view from above
Sveti Stefan island, view from the water

and to Kotor, where they made a difficult climb to the very top of the fortress.

Fortress in Kotor

The views of the Bay of Kotor from there are simply superb.

View of the Bay of Kotor from the fortress

It is very worth going there separately from the excursion and early in the morning, while there is still shade.

Returning to the topic group excursions, we must pay tribute, everything was organized at a decent, decent level, the guides were competent, the buses were of average comfort. The price-quality ratio pleased and satisfied. Of all the organized excursions, my favorite was the trip to Dubrovnik. Cost - 30 euros per adult, 20 - per child. From this year, a Schengen or Croatian visa is required to travel to Dubrovnik. We took care of the visa issue in advance, so we were able to go to this wonderful city.

I’ll try to write about Dubrovnik separately. I give second place to a sea excursion along the Bay of Kotor.

Bay of Kotor

Pleasant Boat trip along the beautiful bay with stops in different picturesque places. We visited Herceg Novi, Kotor, the island of the Virgin Mary on the reef opposite Perast and Zhannitsa beach.

Virgin Island on the reef
Perast

The cost of such an excursion is 23 and 15 euros. In general, I liked it, the only thing was that I wasn’t pleased with the mass participation, there were a lot of people on the boat, this spoiled the impression a little.

But the trip inland, to the canyons and lakes, did not make much of an impression on me.

Moraca River Canyon

The issue price is 35 and 20 euros. Pseudo-alpine Montenegrin landscapes could not be compared with either Swiss or Italian mountain views, not to mention the stunning pictures of Chilean Patagonia. Someone from the group said that these landscapes are more reminiscent of Transcarpathia, I don’t know, I haven’t been there, I can’t judge. But in any case, these are not the alpine landscapes loudly proclaimed by the guides. The canyons of the Tara and Moraca rivers, the Durmitor park with the Black Lake, the Djurdzhevich Bridge - all this left a very average impression. It's beautiful in places, but nothing more.

Tara River Canyon

In a word, it didn’t catch my attention. In addition, this excursion is quite tiring, from 6 in the morning until late in the evening.

The Ostrog Monastery hanging in the rocks, where the relics of St. Basil of Ostrog are kept, is certainly a picturesque and very special place for believers.

The only thing that didn’t please me was the huge queue, where in total we stood for almost two hours.

Public transport in general is quite well developed, especially the direction from Budva to Petrovac. Small Mediterane Express buses run along this route every 15 minutes. The fare is 1.5 euros; children are not charged. In the opposite direction to the beaches of Jaz, Trsteno and Ploce, buses run much less frequently, once every hour and a half, at 8, 9.30, 11.00, etc. The ticket costs 2 euros. This is the main inconvenience. Sometimes we were just too lazy to wait for the bus, so we took a taxi. A taxi to Jaz costs five to six euros, to the distant Ploce - eight. You have to bargain with taxi drivers; they often inflate prices.

About the beaches. We tried to go around more beaches to diversify beach holiday and don’t sit on the same beach all the time. Of all the things we tried, I liked Jaz beach the most - it’s not far from Budva, and the bay is very beautiful and large, as a result of which the people are evenly distributed along the beach and there is no feeling of crowding.

Jaz beach

This factor is very important, because there are not just a lot of people on the beaches of the Budva Riviera in July-August, but a lot! I also liked the entrance to the sea on Yaz - small pebbles turning into sand, a river flowing into the sea, and picturesque hills around the beach. And the prices on Yaz are quite affordable - a set of two sunbeds with an umbrella costs 7 euros, on other beaches it’s more expensive.

Second place goes to Ploce Beach, the farthest from Budva towards Kotor.

Ploce Beach

Very picturesque beach in rocky coves with crystal clear water. The trick of Ploce is that there are several swimming pools with sea water, but the entrance to the sea is inconvenient, there are large stones, you can only wear slippers. A set of sun loungers and an umbrella - 10 euros, you are strictly forbidden to bring and consume your own food, they watch like Cerberus.

I didn’t like the sandy beach of Trsteno, located between Jaz and Ploce at all.

Sandy beach of Trsteno

A very small bay, not enough space, it feels like everyone is lying on top of each other. There are sun loungers on pontoons in the sea, which cost 15 euros, on the shore - 10. A very long entry into the sea, you walk and walk, and it’s shallow all the time.

The famous Mogren did not make much of an impression.

Mogren beach

It is acceptable only early in the morning, then people come rushing in, so by noon there is nowhere for an apple to fall. The water, compared to Jaz and Ploce, is downright dirty. One of the advantages of Mogren is the beautiful, postcard view of the Old city and a sculpture of a gymnast on the way to it.

View of the Gymnastka and the Old Town of Budva from Mogren

I liked the city beach to the left of St. Stephen. There is a confusing gradation of price tags for sun loungers - from 15 to 30 euros, depending on the comfort and size of the umbrella, but this is not critical, you can always find a place in the shade between the umbrellas and lie on your towel for free. Small pebbles, easy entry into the sea, lots of fish, plus a magnificent view of St. Stephen itself. In addition, you can swim almost to its walls and swim around the island itself, admiring its houses and looking through the windows. This moment was very pleasant.

You can get to the beach of St. Nicholas Island by boat from the city beach of Budva, they run frequently, or you can take a sightseeing trip along the coast for five euros and land on the island on the way back. That's what we did. But the beach itself, although picturesque, with rocks right out of the water, was not very pleasant.

beach on the island of St. Nikola

The entry is inconvenient, there are huge cobblestones everywhere, only in slippers. The ban on my own food didn’t make me happy either. In general, we did not like this beach. To my surprise, the water in the sea in the second half of July was very cold, twenty degrees or a little higher. They say there is some kind of anomaly in the form of a cold current. This, of course, spoiled my impressions of the sea; I was not able to really enjoy swimming. Towards the end I even caught a cold. And in general, the rocky beaches of Budva did not particularly impress me; I expected more.

Now directly about Budva itself. I won’t write at length about this resort; I don’t want to describe its attractions for the hundred and fifty-first time. I'll just tell you about my impressions. In general, Budva left the impression of a fairly developed resort with all the necessary paraphernalia. The downside is that there is a crowd of people in the high season, you can hear Russian speech everywhere, you get the feeling that you are somewhere in Alushta or Gelendzhik. Although, personally, the dominance of my compatriots did not bother me too much, and sometimes it was even a joy, after almost a year in a foreign land. Budva is often criticized for being crowded, noisy, and party-like, but this didn’t bother us; we rather liked that we were not separated from civilization. And there is a lot of entertainment for children - we visited the rides, trampolines, etc. several times.

I also liked the Old Town, it was especially nice to walk there at sunset.

Budva - Old Town

From the top there are beautiful views of the island of St. Nicholas

View of the island of St. Nicholas

and Mogren beaches. And in the lower old town there is something to see, where to wander, and something to admire. There are many cozy, authentic corners and courtyards.

Cozy corners of Old Budva

So, I won’t criticize Budva. A party place, and this should be kept in mind when choosing a vacation spot. For lovers of quiet, have a relaxing holiday it won't fit at all.

These are my impressions of Montenegro, quite moderate, without enthusiasm, but also without dissatisfaction. A small, cozy country, but, of course, not in the first tourist category. There are, of course, things to see and places to go, but I personally didn’t have any discoveries or shocks.