I Should Have Allotted Less Time for Kotor (And More for Podgorica!)
We have spent the last week in Kotor, Montenegro: a destination known for its gorgeous bay and historic Old Town.



Indeed, both the bay and the Old Town are simply beautiful. Beyond the hiking and kayaking, we have thoroughly enjoyed wandering through the preserved fortress and admiring the architecture.



And, most importantly, Kotor’s many many cats.


But, what doesn’t come through from the photos is that Kotor is primarily a cruise port. And having a constant influx of cruise ships, plus dozens of big bus tours per day, does strange things to a place. The town is filled with restaurants and souvenir stores that are expensive and westernized – nothing like what you find in the rest of the country.


It is also insanely crowded, even during the off season. Most of the photos from this post were taken on a day when no cruise ships came by, AND it was raining. But on sunny cruise ship days, we were too busy elbowing our way around selfie sticks to take many pictures.

Contrast this with our two-day stop in Podgorica last week: the capital of Montenegro. We didn’t allot much time for Podgorica because I had read that it is drab, uninteresting place. But we did not find that to be true at all.


In Podgorica, we enjoyed a trendy nightlife scene, an amazing spa, and some of the best meals we’ve had yet in the Balkans. And, a wine tour in a military bunker!


This bunker used to store up to 26 military planes at a time. Now, it stores two million bottles of wine instead.

If I came back to Montenegro, I would skip Kotor entirely, and spend a lot more time in Podgorica. That said, we have still enjoyed our week in Kotor, primarily as a rest week. After two months of nonstop travel, getting to watch movies, catch up on random tasks, and cook our own meals in our rental apartment has actually been really nice.
Fun fact: In Montenegro grocery stores, each produce item has to be weighed and given a sticker before you can purchase it. This piece of garlic gets a sticker for .04 euros.
