2015 Montenegro

This was a trip where I was not sure what to really expect. I had been hiking in Romania, so I naïvely assumed that the scenery would be about the same. I expected rolling hills, some mountain views and then coastal towns with plenty of seafood. Well, I was quickly, and pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the country side on our way to Zabljak. Driving through canyons with crystal clear rivers and lakes, the pictures below cannot even come close to showing how awesome the scenery is.

Žabljak (2 Nights)

I was not expecting the views on the way to Žabljak and the views on the hikes we did in the area.  The first hike was pretty flat and aimed to get our legs moving and for the guides to judge our fitness levels so I did not expect much but it was a wonderful hike. Lakes with crystal clear water and mountain views.

Next is the start of a travel day with some fun.  A little white water rafting (Class 1+) and the longest zip line in Europe. You quickly find out that everything is either the biggest, longest or oldest in Europe.  🙂

Kolasin (3 Nights)

We had a nice, easy hike in the afternoon before checking in to our hotel for the night. We won’t mention that we extended the length of this hike due to someone (Vlatko) leaving his laptop at the rafting site and needing to go back and get it and explain to the local police why he might have been speeding a little bit.  We won’t talk about that, we’ll just say what a nice walk we had around the lake.  😉

Hike #3

Distance 4.20km (2.61 miles) (OK, a little longer as I didn’t start track immediately.)

Elevation Change 148m (486 feet)

Hike #4 was a great hike, a good combination of challenge as we were around 5,000+ feet above sea level with some good hills, but absolutely wonderful views.

Hike #4

Distance 11.95km (7.42 miles)

Elevation Change 763m (2,503 feet)

The next day was supposed to be an easy hike, not much of an elevation change but very scenic.  Ohh we should have known, whenever a guide says it’s an easy hike it means, it’s going to be memorable.  Hike #5 had my heart racing, but no regrets.

Hike #5

Distance 9.64km (5.99 miles)

Elevation Change 667m (2,189 feet)

After Hike #5 we are ready for something a little less heart pounding and our guides definitely delivered. This was felt like it was more of a walk but after Hike #4 anything would feel easy. However, to compensate it was a hot day but the water was absolutely amazing clear!

Hike #6

Distance 8.70km (5.41 miles)

Elevation Change 308m (1,012 feet)

Virpazar (1 Night)

Just one night in this little village. We took a little river taxi out across the lake to a wonderful little place for dinner. A great meal and relaxing evening on the water.  A nice way to cap off the great views from Hike #6.

Kotor (3 Nights)

OK, I have been on some twisty roads before (Lombard St in San Francisco, Machu Picchu to Aguas Caliente and a few others) but the road from the mountains to Kotor is a fun one.  Lots of switch backs, with huge drop offs, and you think it’s a one lane road until you get a tour bus coming the other way. Everybody squeeze in tight and keep your arms inside the vehicle at all times. 🙂

Time for the last hike of the trip, this hike is a little long with many, many switchbacks and due to heat there was a time restriction and a brisk pace was needed. There would only be three of us and one guide to do this hike, while the rest of the group split off after an hour to partake in another hike. Compared to terror hike #5 this trail was good but still plenty of rough terrain to walk over and we quickly found out that much of this trail is open to the sun and it gets very hot, hence the reason for a brisk pace and short breaks when we found a little shade. However, the trail did have some great views of the bay and ended by the water.

Hike #7

Distance 12.92km (8.03 miles)

Elevation Change 458m (1,505 feet)

All the hiking is done and now it is time to just relax and enjoy this beautiful coastal town. We have tonight to ourselves and then it’s off to Perast to see the monastery on an island, and a boat cruise through the islands.

Logistics

This is the second of three countries visited on this vacation.  The trip started in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) for a day before leaving for Montenegro and finished with us being dropped off in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Airport pickup in Sarajevo was normally included but due to my flight changes I had to take a taxi (only 20 Euros) and it was pretty easy. There were nine of us on the trip (7 travellers, 2 guides = 6 men, 3 women) and everyone was in good physical condition for this trip. One of the better groups that I have travelled with lately.  🙂  Most of the travel was done in an 8.5 passenger van and was comfortable for our group, good thing we did have one more petite person or it could have been tight.

The main part of the trip was a packaged tour trip organized by Wilderness Travel and it was the second time I have used them and I have not had any issues.  Their office staff were able to answer all my questions and have been very friendly and willing to help. This was an 11 day itinerary that they called Montenegro and the Adriatic Coast. We meet our group on the Saturday at 3pm and had a quick city walking tour and left for Montenegro the next morning.

Cheers, Nigel