Discovering Montenegro, a corner of Europe that remains untamed by tourism

By DAVID ROSE

Off the tourist trail: A castle overlooking Kotor Bay in the newly independent Montenegro


Its fur was white with a streak of grey and it sat magnificently by the roadside, staring into the distance. We had no doubt what it was. On a lonely route high in the Durmitor mountains of Montenegro, we had just encountered our first full-grown wolf. We stopped and fumbled for our cameras, but by the time we were ready it had ambled into the undergrowth.

Somehow, it didn’t seem so surprising. Having gained its independence from Serbia as recently as 2006, Montenegro can often feel untamed, its tourism far less developed than it is, for example, in neighbouring Croatia.

As for the interior, a dizzying assembly of lakes, mountains and precipitous limestone canyons, it is truly wild and often empty, with few tourist facilities at all.

Meanwhile, anyone contemplating a holiday in Montenegro needs to know that driving on its narrow, winding, single-carriageway roads requires care.

Unprotected drops of hundreds of feet are common, as are bus and taxi drivers who seem to think that driving on the wrong side of the road when negotiating a tight blind bend is acceptable. On the other hand, to see the country properly, driving is pretty much the only feasible way for a family to get around. Just make sure you have strong nerves and good insurance.


Untamed: Wolves roam the Durrmitor mountains


Having flown to Dubrovnik in Croatia and picked up a rental car, my wife Carolyn, our sons Jacob, 11, Daniel, six, and I drove across the border and spent two-and-a-half weeks in Montenegro last August.

The package holiday industry here is in its infancy, and apart from just one big resort, Budva, much of which resembles a garish Adriatic Blackpool, there are relatively few hotels. However, we found a good selection of self-catering accommodation on the internet and, determined to experience as much of the country as possible, we divided our holiday between two spacious and well-appointed apartments. Neither cost us more than £550 a week, and both came equipped with stunning panoramas and large shared pools.


Delightful backwater: David, Daniel and Jacob take a boat trip


In the sea, the water was always crystalline, and the beaches spotless. Moreover, the weather was perfect the whole time, with cloudless days and maximum temperatures in the low 30s. But there is much more to Montenegro than buckets and spades and snorkelling.

We spent our first week at Muo, a village deep inside the Montenegrin coast’s jewel – the Gulf of Kotor, a 15-mile-long fjord with white limestone walls that at their loftiest, beneath the summit of Mount Lovocen, are almost 6,000ft high. Kotor itself, at the far end, is a small walled city, an ancient stone Venetian-Gothic labyrinth of shady alleys and sunny piazzas, most with pavement bars and restaurants.

Their Italian-style ice cream is as good as it gets. There is also a Byzantine cathedral dating back to the 9th Century.


Venetian: The island of Sveti Stefan which is linked to the mainland via a causeway


The beaches in this area were the best we found, while Przno’s fishing harbour proved to be a delightful spot in which to watch the sun set from its waterside restaurants. There were further cultural attractions nearby, too, such as Bar Stari Grad – a semi-ruined Ottoman city. Our last night was Carolyn’s birthday, and we booked a table at what was reputed to be Przno’s finest restaurant, Bianca. It looked delightful, perched on a cliff overlooking the end of the beach, with a lovely terrace and starched white tablecloths. The menu was tempting, the wine superb, and the bread and olives on which we nibbled were of the highest quality.


Travel facts
Thomson Airways (0871 231 4787, www.thomson.co.uk/flights) offers flights direct to Dubrovnik from London Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham throughout the summer. Return fares start from £179.

For car hire contact Gulliver Travel (www.gulliver.hr).
Package holidays are available through Travelsphere (0844 567 9960, www.travelsphere.co.uk), Balkan Holidays (0845 130 1114, www.balkanholidays.co.uk) and Inghams (0208 780 4433, www.inghams.co.uk).
For information on Montenegro visit www.visit-montenegro.com


source :dailymail