WaterTurtle: Croatia & Montenegro: Part 3 - Dubrovnik, Croatia + Bay of Kotor, Montenegro

Part 3 - Dubrovnik, Croatia & Bay of Kotor, Montenegro

Click here for Part 1 - Split & Trogir, Croatia

Click here for Part 2 - Island Hopping/Biking the Croatia Dalmatia Coast

Departing the boat and leaving Trogir that morning, we went to the Split airport for a rental car, then set out for Dubrovnik, about 2.5+ hours drive south towards the southern border of Croatia. We had the entire afternoon to tour old town Dubrovnik, which turned out to be just right.

As another designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, Dubrovnik is a stunning ancient, walled medieval city along the Adriatic Sea dating back to the 7th century. Complete with a pedestrian-only old town filled with narrow cobblestoned alleys and world class restaurants, one could easily spend more time here. It is a prominent tourist destination in the Mediterranean. It has to be experienced and certainly has a way of grabbing you, even more so than Split (at least for me), but everyone else was there too it seemed. We were there in "shoulder" season when it's supposed to be less crowded but there was still plenty of other people visiting there as well.

Part of the new attraction to it, I'm certain, is the fact it was a major filming location for the Game of Thrones HBO series, which I never did watch. Apparently, much of the city is featured in the show. There are official Game of Thrones tours you can take in there, many to choose from apparently. The main thoroughfare through Old Town, called The Stradum, was also a filming location for Star Wars Episode VIII (Incidentally, I also haven't seen).

The city has been through a lot, including the Napoleonic Wars and has been ruled by different forces over time. In 1991 during the Croatia War of Independence, the city suffered heavy damage from constant shelling from the mountain overlooking the city by the Yugoslav People's Army (made up of mostly Serbs I'm told by a local). Repairs have been made since and tourism has given rise in the last several years.

Entering through Pile Gate and going down steep staircases, we started wandering around some of the internal old town district.

"When in Rome..."

We ate a late lunch at the highly recommended Taj Mahal, which has nothing to do with India, as it specializes in authentic Bosnian food. Pictured below is Cevapi, which is a very popular Bosnian meal of grilled minced meat served in flatbread and eaten with onions and sour cream. It was delicious as was everything else we tried. Reservations recommended during busy summer months.

After lunch, we began our tour around the entire Dubrovnik Walls that surround the old town. It costs 40 Euros per person for a ticket to walk the walls, which also included access to Fort Lovrijenac. It was stunning throughout and as you can see, I took tons of photos. There are restaurants and small shops along the way. With stops to take in viewpoints and take photos, it took us almost two hours to walk the walls not including touring Fort Lovrijenac, which is worth doing just for the views of old town Dubrovnik.

Fort Lovrijenac is at top left, Pile Bay is bottom right (a constant filming site for Game of Thrones)

Fort Lovrijenac

Walking the Dubrovnik Walls

Greg, Charmaine, Kris and I

Pile Bay

Looking back at old town Dubrovnik from Fort Lovrijjenac

The Stradum, the main thoroughfare through old town Dubrovnik

Climbing back out of old town Dubrovnik

A final view from above old town Dubrovnik

We opted to stay outside Dubrovnik this evening, at Sun Gardens Dubrovnik resort, a bit quieter setting.

Bay of Kotor, Montenegro

Choosing where to visit in Montenegro was tough. Initially, I was looking to do a hiking-centric itinerary in the mountains (Prokletije National Park, Mrtvica, Dumitor National Park, etc) but it became apparent that would be a lot to chew off especially after a week of biking. It would have extended the trip a bit longer plus a lot more driving required. We made the call to simplify and just get a taste of the Montenegro coast for a couple days, then get on home, and save the Montenegro mountain hiking for another time hopefully.

On that note, with just a couple days, the Bay of Kotor area was the call to visit. Just a 2 - 2.5 hour drive from Dubrovnik, its a scenic drive that meanders along the Bay of Kotor through small towns and villages with giant green cliffs plunging into the blue waters of the bay. We visited the towns of Herceg Novi, Perast, and Kotor along the way (and the scenic Serpentine Drive above Kotor to Lovcen National Park and back the next day). We stayed in Kotor just outside the old town for two nights.

Note regarding crossing the border - I got a rental car in Split with the intention of dropping it off in Dubrovnik. I had to get a "green card" from the rental car agency that is essentially the necessary paperwork allowing me to drive across the border from Croatia to Montenegro and back (along with our passports). The line at the border to get through can be a long one especially during the summer months, so plan accordingly.

Herceg Novi, Montenegro

Herceg Novi has its very own waterfront water polo pool with a view

After Herceg Novi, we set off for Perast, considered to be one of Europe's most beautiful small towns (along with Dubrovnik and Kotor)...

Our Lady of the Rocks - we had intentions to visit it by boat but it was overcast and cloudy with some spotty rain so we lost interest in doing so. This is a photo of it from the town of Perast. Our Lady of the Rocks is a Catholic Church built on an artificial island. In 1452, a fisherman found an icon of the Madonna and child on a rock sticking out from the bay here. The Perast locals decided to build a church at this spot. Rocks were dumped there and the church was built atop the artificial island. Every year, more rocks get added, growing the island. The tradition continues as every July 22, locals fill their boats with rocks and drop them around the perimeter of the island.

Our Lady of the Rocks

After Perast, we continued on the road by the bay to the town of Kotor, a small medieval town settled on the southern end of the Bay of Kotor.

Kotor Fortress, overlooking the town

The old town city wall of Kotor and the Kotor Fortress on the hillside behind it

There were cats everywhere - feral but very healthy looking - a waiter joked, "The cats live better than we do."

You can barely make out the Castle of San Giovanni on the hillside to the right

We walked the walls of Kotor, which surround one side of the town. They were built between the 9th and 14th century

Wandering the narrow alleys of old town Kotor

A shop dog keeping watch

Cats everywhere!

A cat checks out Charmaine's meal

Kotor at night

The next morning, we set out to hike up the Ladder of Kotor, a series of switchbacks leading up the mountain overlooking Kotor. It was a 5.25 roundtrip hike from our villa apartment. We could have hiked further but turned around at a good spot just above the Kotor Fortress. This was the first of many stunning views that day, as you'll see.

Dobrota, the next town north of Kotor, was a nice waterfront spot outside of old town Kotor with good restaurants & bars.

We drove up a winding narrow road to Fort Vrmac and Goran's Farm, then hiked a short trail to the Vrmac Overlook to take in a great view of Kotor from across the bay. This is supposedly a great sunset spot too.

Looking down on Kotor

If you look closely at this photo, you can barely make out a series of 16 switchbacks along road P1 (known as the Serpentine Road) going up that steep mountain, just above the larger rocky area and just below the clouds. We drove up that narrow, super winding road next to get the views you're going to see next...

Beware: that Serpentine Road isn't for the faint of heart and anyone that doesn't like narrow roads. We had to stop a couple times and back up to let large buses pass by, and slow down to let other cars pass by.

At the top of the mountain, we then drove on a little further to Lovcen National Park for a brief visit. There are hiking trails here but we only stayed a short while and took in some of the incredible views at the base of the park's mausoleum.

We then drove back down P1 towards Kotor and stopped at a couple viewpoints to take in incredible views overlooking Kotor and the Bay of Kotor. The clouds that had dominated the first half of the day had blown off and the sun came out.