We hate traveling like this, zipping through countries, not being able to take the time to really get to know the people and the culture. But at this point though, we had a schedule to keep. My parents’ visit is just around the corner (!!), and we have our hearts set on spending time in Croatia before they arrive. As such, our crawl up the Adriatic Sea continues…

Leaving Albania behind, we entered newly independent Montenegro. We hopped on an early morning minibus up the spectacular coast and began to discover the beauty of this tiny nation of less than one million inhabitants. Making a name for itself out of the shadows of its former Yugoslav self, we could tell from first stepping foot in the country that this place was special and home to, perhaps, the most dramatic coastal scenery in all of Europe.

Winding through the countryside of southern Montenegro, we sped down narrow streets lined with stone walls and red-roofed villages. Admiring the sea of towering pines backed by pristine mountains, we wound our way down to the coastline, hugging the ribbon of coastal towns overlooking sandy beaches and sapphire blue waters.

We made a brief stop in the walled-city of Budva, which we discovered was the hub of Montenegrin tourism and not a place we’d want to plant our feet. Budva was crawling, and I mean crawling, with tourists, destroying any ounce of charm the medieval Old Town once had. Goodbye unspoiled beaches, we found a shoreline covered with trampolines, put-put courses and hot dog stands. Clearly time to move on.

Our final destination was Kotor, a picturesque walled town sitting at the head of Europe’s most southern fjord. We stayed in the heart of the Stari Grad (Old Town), which consists of a maze of cobblestone passageways linking sunny squares with churches and aristocratic, red-roofed mansions. While the rest of the Montenegrin coast was cloaked in sandy beaches, Kotor was not. The setting of this town, sitting on a bay of clear, azure waters surrounded by massive limestone mountains, is even more remarkable. Take a look at the surroundings we enjoyed on our stay…