For a long time I wanted to go to Serbia, but I went to Montenegro. Here's a twist. More precisely, I also wanted to visit Serbia, but did not have time, so I postponed it for the next time. However, if we are talking about the sea and a warm climate (after all, it is for the sake of the climate that, as a rule, people go somewhere), then Montenegro «not looking» fits better than Serbia.
I was in Montenegro in October, that is, I cannot judge the winter months, but even in October, it is already possible to draw some conclusions, with which I want to share with you. And also I will tell you my impressions about this country.
The content of the article
Is it worth going to Montenegro for the winter
Climate
Just because of the climate, there is not such a large flow of people in Montenegro in winter. For it is cool and rainy. On the coast there is a maritime climate, winters are mild, usually without snow, but the temperature can drop to +5 degrees. Cold? Yes, not Thailand, you can't swim in the sea. But again, everything is learned by comparison. After -20 degrees, the above zero temperature will not seem so bad. Moreover, the temperature usually does not fall below +15, and in November and May there will be all +20.
And, if it is definitely worth going on vacation to Montenegro (either in summer or in the off-season), then it is hard to say whether it makes sense for wintering. I think everything is quite individual, but it seems to me that there has not been and will not be a trend, as long as there are Asian countries (Thailand, Vietnam) and all sorts of Dominican Republics with Costa Ricans. For warmth and sea in the winter, it is definitely not necessary to Montenegro. The off-season (autumn, spring) is also ambiguous in terms of climate. It seems still warm, but the rains are already beginning, which can pour for several days without stopping. On my arrival in October it rained for half of the days, but on others it was sunny and +25 degrees. In general, I liked it and I would have lived like this for a couple of months, warming up after a cold Moscow. You know how great it is to go out on the terrace in the morning and drink tea, soaking up the sun.
Beaches in Budva in October
Montenegro in the off-season, either for freelancers or retirees 🙂
Visa
Russians without a visa can now go to Montenegro for 30 days. As soon as I wrote a post, it was cut 3 times. All summer 2016 it was possible to come for 90 days. Eh ... As far as I know, the citizens of Ukraine have 90 days left. But not bad too! I just bought a plane ticket and flew away for 1 month. At the border, as a rule, no supporting documents, such as return tickets or hotel reservations, are asked. At least, neither me nor my friends were asked (we flew and flew at different times).
If you need to stay for more than 30 days, then a visa is made in Moscow at the consulate of Montenegro. Consular fee 62 euros (32 euros children), takes 1-2 weeks. Residents of other cities can apply for through the Pony Express visa service, additionally paying for their services. To obtain a visa, you will need to show a hotel reservation or a rental agreement.
There is also an option to go to a neighboring country and then enter Montenegro again and again for 30 days. Albania (from May to September), Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina are located nearby. And if you have a Schengen visa in your passport, you can drive to Croatia. I don't know how many times you can go back and forth like this, it's better to ask the regulars of Montenegro.
The most important thing upon arrival within 24 hours is not to forget to register at the place of stay. It costs 0.8 euros per day and 1 euros for the registration process itself. That is, in 30 days you get 25 euros.
Registration in Montenegro, receipt
Impressions from Montenegro
handsomely!
So, the first thing I would like to say is that it is beautiful there. No, not even that, damn beautiful! You yourself can substitute here several obscene epithets characteristic of a Russian person when he sees something really beautiful. Honestly, I didn't expect it to be like that. Well, Montenegro and Montenegro, well, mountains and mountains. But already from the window of the plane I thought, wow, what a beauty around. I'm not exaggerating. Although, perhaps, only a fan of the mountains will be able to appreciate it. My friends, right after my arrival, took me to Boko-Kotor Bay in the city of Perast to fly a drone. This is where the juice is.
You know, those who lack aesthetics in life, who are tired of dull everyday life and slushy landscape outside the window, should go here. Now, in fact, if the view from the window or on the way to the store means a lot to you, then this is the place for you. I am one of those, from dullness I fall into depression. Moscow summer is quite wonderful, albeit without mountains / nature, but since October, despondency begins for me, so I am ready to escape from here even in Sochi, where recently it has also become very good if we talk about the visual component (well, the climate is of course better than Moscow).
Montenegro by plane (Budva)
Boko-Kotor Bay
Boka Kotorska bay in Montenegro
Sveti Stefan Island
Sveti Stefan Island
Budva from above
On the way to Skadar lake
On the way to Skadar lake
We drive along the Skadar lake
Skadar lake and view of Virpazar
The island of Our Lady of the Merciful near Tivat
Fortress wall in Kotor
Beautiful almost everywhere, you can take pictures right and left
Lodging
I am smoothly moving from beauty to housing. In Montenegro, there is no central heating and the floors are usually tiled (sometimes partially laminated), so it can be cool in the house during the off-season. I'm lucky in apartments in Budva, which I rented were individual heating batteries powered by the owner's boiler (the owners lived on the floor below). But in general, everywhere there are air conditioners working for heating, however, the electricity bill may not like it if they are constantly heated. Another way out is warm socks and slippers, but this is not for everybody. However, this problem exists in almost all European countries..
At prices. I paid first 60 euros per day, then 50 euros per day. Despite the fact that they wrote to me in social networks, they say, it is expensive, I think that the price for the conditions that we had is adequate. And finding 120 square meters for daily rent (2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms), with radiator heating, cleaning and changing linen / towels, with a superview from a window and two balconies, is not cheaper. At least quickly, in 2 clicks on the site. For a monthly stay, the prices, of course, would be lower, but I have no such experience. As I understand it, you can rent quite normal apartments of the same plan for 300-400 euros..
Our apartments in Budva
Budva from a quadcopter
Budva at night, cloudy
Roads in Montenegro
You can and should travel around Montenegro by car. To be honest, I just have no idea what other options there might be. Yes, I've seen cyclists, but this is not an option for everyone. So for those who cannot for days «seal» on the beach, I recommend renting a car. The cost will be somewhere around 25-30 euros per season, and about 15 euros out of season (we just took 15 for 15). Gasoline 1.15 euros at all gas stations.
The easiest way is to rent through the MyRentaCar office. Someday I'll devote a separate post to them, the guys really did us a great service for travelers.
The roads in Montenegro are quite good. Yes, yes, I know, depending on what to compare. But in reality, we drove around all sorts of different outskirts and everywhere there was asphalt and pretty good. True, sometimes there was not enough width, but the flow of cars there was such that it was quite possible to endure.
Car rental in Montenegro
Narrow roads in Montenegro
Civilization
Montenegro reminded me very much of the Krasnodar Territory (just somewhere near Sochi) and the Crimea. Only in Montenegro are the mountains higher and more brutal or something - so outwardly harsh, covered with rocks instead of forests. But in terms of civilization in the Krasnodar Territory, it will be more. One of the largest cities in Montenegro, Budva, has only 10 thousand population, and the capital of the country, Podgorica, 150 thousand. At the same time, they say that the capital is not far from Budva in terms of development. In general, I mean that you need to go to Montenegro not for civilization, but in spite of it. It is clear that when you travel in the summer for a couple of weeks, you don't really need anything, but in the off-season, if you travel for six months or more, then not everyone will find something to do. Neither Mega with Ikea, nor a varied array of year-round entertainment, including theaters and events. There is definitely nothing of the kind in Budva, I don’t know about Podgorica, but I think it is also much inferior to large European cities..
I personally had a thrill to sit in such «the village», quietly working at the computer, looking out the window to enjoy the view, and from time to time getting out on the embankment in a cafe for fish soup and Greek salad, alternating with occasional trips to the sights. For me, this is an ideal place for an introverted freelancer who is not prone to big companies and the hustle and bustle of a big city. But I guess the rest of the offseason would get a lot bored, especially if there is no need to work. I have no idea what one could do in Budva for a long time out of season, and in season too, if you did not come to rest. A resort town with all that it implies. True, as I already wrote above, moving to Podgorica, too, it seems to me, would not have saved a thirsty for activities.
Sitting in a cafe on the waterfront, took fish soup and greek salad
I also noticed this feature - the country is rather poor at first glance. Modest housing and sometimes shabby outwardly, an abundance of inexpensive European foreign cars of the 90s, simple clothes ... However, either due to grooming, or due to the stunning nature around, the impression of a poor country does not appear. Such a double impression, everything seems to be so simple, but at the same time it is quite cute. Maybe not everyone will agree with me, but that's how I saw.
In Budva, there are such not quite well-groomed places.
Somewhere in the mountains there are rickety houses
But most of the housing is perfectly preserved (Perast)
The old town in Budva is so licked at all
Postman in a small town
There are such rarities on the roads
An interesting replacement for the roof box
Police officers, however, can also ride Dusters.
Food
The range of products in the supermarket is the same, nothing special. I didn’t go and didn’t compare prices in detail, I don’t need to somehow, but I didn’t see anything special there. Well, there can be a better variety of cheeses 🙂 Fruits and vegetables in the supermarket are just as bad, the market is better. In all the cafes where I was, the menu was similar. I suppose that is the case throughout the country. Typically, food fits on 1-2 pages. Meat / fish, a side dish of potatoes or vegetables, 2-3 soups (watery soup), and a few salads. That, in fact, is all. I ordered myself fish soup and Greek salad as a standard, which cost me 5-7 euros. I ate without problems, although the soup was only made of fish (no vegetables), but with bread it was.
Inexpensive cafe on the way to Lake Skadar
Almost all cafes have the same prices and pleasant surroundings
Supermarkets in Montenegro have about the same assortment
There are Russian products
The medicine
I will separately mention medicine, it is usually important for families with children. You should not expect high-quality medical services in Montenegro. Yes, a lot of children go there, after all, in the summer there is a beautiful warm Mediterranean Sea (more precisely, the Adriatic), but you yourself understand, it's one thing to come to rest for a week and get maximum snot or rotavirus, it's another to come for six months or a year, when you may need completely different specialists. Therefore, to whom medicine is important and who chooses hospitals of the Bangkok Hospital level in Thailand, they will not get anything like this here. Yes, I myself have not yet had to visit the Montenegrin hospitals, but they even outwardly look like a hospital in a small town in Russia. In addition, I was told that some people generally go to Serbia for medicine, where everything is much better, but there, too, is far from Germany. I will need to study at my leisure travel insurance topic, but I'm afraid even good expensive insurance will not save you from some serious situations.
Mobile Internet
There are several operators in Montenegro, I bought Telenor, this is the same company as Dtac in Thailand, the logo is the same. I gave 10 euros for a SIM card and an Internet package for 6 gigs for 2 weeks. In my opinion, the prices are quite good. The speed is also more or less everywhere - 3G or 4G, only in the mountains it is worse, there hardly any Edge made it through and that's it. Suitable for most tasks. On average it was like in the screenshot.
Mobile internet speed in Montenegro
P.S. What do you think, is it worth going there for the winter, or at least for a couple of months in the off-season? Or in winter only to Asia?
P.P.S. Since recently, all photos are in new articles of large size, they can be viewed by clicking on the large monitor.
