Day trips, Dubrovnik

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When you've had enough of the crowds and commercial delights of Dubrovnik, and especially if you have your own transport, you only have to drive an hour or so to find yourself not only in another country (Montenegro - Black Mountain) but in another world. The Gulf of Kotor lying just south of Dubrovnik, is the southernmost fjord in Europe. Not only is it blissfully quiet, it is stunningly beautiful, with steep mountains dropping into its still, blue waters. The closed nature of the landscape creates its own micro-climate with a higher than usual rainfall for this part of Europe and the result is lusher, almost subtropical vegetation with lots of palm trees and exotic species such as magnolias and camellias as well as the usual Mediterranean citrus, pomegranates, figs, grapevines, etc. Pretty small towns and villages lie along the shoreline - we stopped at Perast where a local offered to take us out to the two churches we could see in the middle of the bay, each on their own small island. Regretfully, we refused, and drove on to Kotor, stopping along the way for a picnic by the waterside, not another soul around.

The Gulf is actually four bays and to drive right around would take quite some time. We opted to drive around the north of the bay to Kotor and then continue on past Kotor to Leperane where we took the car ferry back to the northern shore for the road back to Croatia.

We had no trouble taking our hire car into Montenegro. The border crossing took just a few minutes, coming and going, on both sides. As we crossed into Montenegro we were greeted by a local tourist officer who presented us with an excellent English-language guidebook and waved on our way with a smile.

If driving yourself isn't an option, there are day tours available from Dubrovnik. The tours are very long all-day affairs but are the only way to get to Kotor for the day without a car of your own as distance and timetabling preclude doing the journey there and back in a day via public transport.

Click on main photo for a full panorama

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A 300km round trip from Dubrovnik will take you into Bosnia-Herzegovina for a chance to visit the city that perhaps symbolizes all the heartache of the wars that followed the breakup of the old Yugoslavia. Who can forget the way the world watched as the famous old bridge at Mostar held out for so long - and ultimately fell.

The bridge has been reconstructed and Mostar is slowly rebuilding itself. There's much more evidence here of the war in terms of damaged buildings and overgrown bomb sites (warnings too, to stay away from uncleared sites) than in Croatia but the town's setting above the Neretva River is beautiful. Mellow old stone buildings and green trees line the high river banks. The approaches to the bridge on both sides take you through the twisting narrow streets of the old town. The small shops of souvenirs on both sides of the bridge have a distinct feel of the souk about them - though now the small shops are mostly just more of the same tourist stuff. A short walk along from the Kujundziluk will bring you to the Koskin-Mehmed Pasha mosque, now, like so much of this area, restored looking as it has done for centuries.

The road to Mostar will take you past Pocitelj, where the old stone houses, domes and the tall minaret of its mosque are overlooked by the ruined Sahat-kula fortress. It is a picture book scene - which makes it all the more poignant when you learn that this village saw one of the last acts of brutal ethnic cleansing and destruction of the war here. The last few years have seen the restoration of the village's Hadzi Alija mosque which has stood here since 1562, the medressa of similar age and one of its beautiful old Ottoman houses - all of which are open to visitors.

Public transport isn't an option for this trip. You'll need to drive yourself (hire cars can be taken into Bosnia without extra formalities) or take a tour. You can book a day tour with Atlas Tours in Dubrovnik.

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We'd been told the town of Kotor, a scenic 1 1/2 hour drive from Dubrovnik, was well worth a visit, and when we were told we could take our hire car into Montenegro without any extra paperwork or insurance, our mind was made up. A mediaeval walled city to rival Dubrovnik, albeit on a smaller scale, was promised and Kotor delivered. Set on the far end of the Gulf of Kotor, the walls of the city seem to be vertical as they climb for 4.5 km up and down the mountain behind the city. Entering the city through the main gate (meeting some of the city's seniour citizens on the way) by the harbour, we found we had the narrow streets and elegant squares virtually to ourselves on a hot Sunday in June.
The town is charming with street after street lined with old stone buildings. With its palaces, churches and those astounding walls it's hard to realize the town was severely damaged by a massive earthquake in 1979. UNESCO funded much of the restoration since when the city has been declared a World Heritage site.

Spectacular as the the walls of Kotor are, for me the abiding memory of the little town is the heady perfume which filled the air as we towards drove down the long avenue leading through the modern part of town. Huge magnolias line the road and when I got out of the car to go into the bank the perfume was everywhere. It was wonderful!

You'd need to come in summer for this olfactory experience. The old walled city is there for visitors at any time of year

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We definitely recommend Mljet!!

It´s magical!!! National park, sea lakes with crystal clear waters surrounded by pinewoods and a incredibly good asphalt road where it is so easy to cycle.

Tips:

- stay at least one night in the island; you can try private rooms
- rent a bike to explore the National Park
- take the path to Soline. After the asphalt ends, continue in the footpath for 2 minutes or a little more. There is a beautiful rocky beach where the lake connects to the open sea which is just gorgeous
- watch out for the urchins: use footwear. IT IS WORTH IT, the sea is just too gorgeous to be true
- have a nice, relatively cheap spaghetti with lobster sauce in Soline
- watch the sky at night and...

HAVE FUN!!! We found it very romantic...

If you like claiming the mountains, the Snjeznica is the right place.
First there is a way to the village Kuna , and you can get there with the car, and continue on foot.
It is not easy to clime but it is worth it, at the top St. Ilija the view is beautiful and you can see the Montenegro.

Well than the island Lopud is the place for you. Island Lopud is pretty close to Dubrovnik and you can take a ferry every day. Lopud is one of three Elfafiti Islands. Other two are Kalamota or Kolocep and Sipan.

The fort is pretty high up so try to get there in the morning and bring plenty of water. There are many signs showing which way to go. I wouldn't recommend hiking this place at night. The way up is not that great, make sure you have some good hiking boots or tennis shoes. Don't confuse the way up the Fort with the brisk walk around the city walls.

Dubrovnik is near the border with Montenegro, which makes for an interesting day trip. You can cross into Montenegro and do a drive around the Boka Kotorska (Bay of Kotor) which offers stunning natural scenery as it is a fjord surrounded by mountains. On the shore of the Boka Kotorska is the historic town of Kotor, which is a smaller version (about 1/4 the size) of Dubrovnik with about 2% as many tourists.

If you do go to Montenegro, remember to bring your passport. Americans and EU citizens only need a passport (no Visa) to enter Montenegro.

If Dubrovnik is the pearl of the Adriatic, Montenegro is the diamond in the rough. I don’t usually advocate coach tours, but hop on the bus for about $50 at the tour office near the main gate, and take a guided tour of a fairly obscure and less traveled European County. The only problem, if it is a problem, is that you may want to stay.

The tour will show you several old yet fascinating cities including the old capital, kotor and budva, lunch in a traditional mountain village, and a natural wonder - Kotor Fjord.