Exploring the “Pearl of the Adriatic”, and beyond – Days 5 and 6

Day 5: Another day-out into Montenegro

Took a day-trip to Montenegro with a tour company with a small group of 12 people. After a scenic ride along the coast of Bay of Kotor for about an hour, our first stop was a small coastal town Perast, known mostly for the Roman Catholic Church Our Lady of the Rocks located in a small island in the Kotor bay. A 5-6 minutes boat ride took us to the island giving us a 360⁰ scenic vista from the middle of the bay. The church itself was impressive with its sky blue dome and bold and colourful paintings and sculptures inside. A small museum upstairs has on display some old weapons and antique items used/leftover by sailors. Retuned from the island and continued our journey to our next stop Kotor. Sitting in between a quiet side of the Bay Kotor and brooding mountains, Kotor took us back in time with its archway entrance to the old town with its cobblestoned narrow streets, medieval museums, churches, buildings and squares (now filled with cafes and souvenir shops). Outside, Kotor is very modern with all the trappings of tourist entertainment- buzzing with pubs, bars, cafes, nightclubs etc. Kotor is a delightful place where the past coexists with the present.

Our third stop was Budva, a seaside resort town more popular for nightlife and beach parties than its interesting old town quarter. We had a late lunch in one of the scenic waterfront restaurant

The food was not great but not bad either. The beach front literally packed with jet skis, speedboats and smaller ferries- all aimed at tourists. Surprisingly we saw number of Russians and many signboards and placards were in English and Russian languages! We were told that several Russians have invested in Budva’s tourism sector! Wandered in to the old town – very similar to Kotor with churches and historic residences and a few museums. Budva seems to be a money-churning hotspot for Montenegro’s tourism. Spent a couple of hours and then returned to Dubrovnik on a shortcut that included our bus being loaded on to a ferry to cross the Bay of Kotor.

Day 6:Exploring Lokrum Island

This was our last day in Dubrovnik and so we had a late start. Took the big passenger ferry (every 20 minutes) from the fort harbour for a 10-15 minute ride to Lokrum Island.

Took a walk through the well-maintained botanical garden with lots of pine, cypress, olive and other leafy trees and bushes to reach the Benedictine Monastery at the other end of the island. Built during the medieval era, the monastery is still operational and recently it was one of the filming locations of the Game of Thrones.

There are several locations marked safe for swimming and we chose a convenient place and spend nearly three hours swimming (it was cold still) in total tranquillity and peace in the clear, blue water and relaxing in the shade! Took the 4 pm ferry back to the town and did some last minute souvenir and cheese shopping from the mega Konzum store near the bus station and returned to our place to pack and rest.

Day 7: Our return flight to Milan was at 12.30 pm via Zagreb so we had good time to enjoy a breakfast and reach the airport on time.