Tiny, beautiful Montenegro becomes a big destination
The Associated Press
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BUDVA, Montenegro -- "Experience Wild Beauty" is Montenegro's newest tourist slogan. But while the beauty of the "Pearl of the Adriatic" is undeniable, the wilderness is disappearing.
The tiny Balkan state -- nestled in the southeast corner of Europe -- is a breathtaking mix of colors: blazing blue skies, lush green mountains, white pebble beaches and turquoise Adriatic Sea waters.
Since it split from much larger Serbia in 2006, Montenegro experienced a real estate boom, with mostly Russians and Britons investing in new hotels, tourist resorts or complete new villages. The result: narrow, winding roads along the coastline are jammed with construction trucks, and hills and forests are being leveled to accommodate new concrete structures that dot the landscape.
A small peninsula that used to be a thick pine forest on the entrance of Montenegro's main resort of Budva is being turned into a Dubai-style skyscraper hotel, surrounded by a dozen luxury villas.
"The nature is spectacular, but it is sad to watch how it is being eroded," said Donna Jones, an English retiree vacationing in Budva, in the center of Montenegro's 180-mile-long riviera.
Even so, tourism is rocketing in Montenegro after a decade of bloody Balkan wars in the 1990s slowed the stream of visitors. Most tourists now come from Russia, but the sparkling sea waters, stony mountain peaks, crystal-clear rivers and lakes increasingly draw Western visitors.
Montenegro is a bargain tourist destination for Westerners. A room in a private home goes from $30 per night, about half the price of a similar room in a beach town in neighboring Croatia. In new luxury hotels on the Becici beach south of Budva, the prices for a double room can start from $160.
According to official statistics, Montenegro was visited last year by 1.1 million tourists, a 50 percent increase over 2000, a figure that makes clear the tiny republic is back on the map.
Sveti Stefan, just south of Budva, is a tiny peninsula whose sun-bleached limestone homes were turned from a fishing village to a luxury hotel complex in the 1960s. It is under reconstruction after being taken over by a Singapore company.
Once frequented by movie stars such as Sylvester Stallone, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, it looks like a tiny, shining jewel neatly placed onto deep blue sea waters. Its 15th-century stone walls, narrow streets, tiny church at the top and red tile roofs shimmer in the sunlight, with oleander, bougainvillea and palms providing green and shade.
Close by is Budva, featuring a quaint, stonewalled Old Town with its maze of little lanes lined with shops and restaurants buzzing with activity. With its Venetian fortress walls, Budva is a mini version of Dubrovnik, the much better known Croatian resort just to the north.
Some of Montenegro's best restaurants are located in Budva's neighborhood. But those who seek a change of the classic Mediterranean scenery can visit restaurants located on wooden rafts on the Bojana River, covered with marsh grass and flocks of wild geese, where it joints the Adriatic in the far south of the riviera.
The must-have Montenegrin meal includes "loza" (a strong brandy made from grapes) as a before-dinner drink; hors-d'oeuvres of traditional extra dry ham and goat cheese dipped in olive oil; followed by grilled fish spiced with garlic and parsley, all coupled with famous Montenegrin Vranac red wine.
Such a meal could cost up to $64 per person, without a customary 10 percent tip. Even though Montenegro is not a European Union country, the euro is its official currency.
The best time to visit Montenegro is off-season -- May, beginning of June and the end of September -- as the Montenegrin Riviera tends to become overcrowded with tourists amid scorching summer heat, sometimes even triggering water shortages.
"The main tourist season now lasts four months, compared to two months not so long ago," said Nikola Lazarevic, owner of the Grispolis restaurant in the quiet village of Bigova -- just north of Budva -- perched on a deep sea bay nestled between hills covered with ancient olive trees.
A day excursion from Budva to Mount Lovcen via the village of Njegusi, home of the best dried ham in the Balkans, is popular among tourists. Nearly all of the tiny country can be seen from the top of the mountain still covered with snow as late as May.
"Montenegro has become a real tourist destination, and is no longer a wild little place in Europe's back yard," Lazarevic said.
If you go
Getting there
Montenegro Airlines flies to the capital of Podgorica and to the Adriatic Sea airport of Tivat from European cities, including Paris, Rome, Budapest, Zurich, Moscow, Frankfurt, Istanbul and Ljubljana. JAT Airways, the Serbian national airline, flies to Belgrade from most European capitals, and has several flights a day from Belgrade to Podgorica and Tivat. A return ticket for a 45-minute flight from Belgrade costs $160. Austrian Airlines flies to Podgorica from Vienna, and Adria Airways from Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Staying
A night in a hotel with breakfast can start from $80 for a double room, but new hotels on the Adriatic coast start from about $160 per night for a double room. Private owners offer a double room for $30 a night.
Eating
The favorite Balkan fast food -- cevapcici -- small, spiced, minced meat sausages, and a pint of beer runs about $13. A full dinner of local delicacies such as octopus salad and stuffed squid will cost around $55, including a local wine.
Speaking
Serbian, or Montenegrin as it is now called after the split from Serbia, is the local language. Broken English, Italian and German are spoken by many locals, especially restaurant waiters and hotel staff.
Sightseeing
Buses for the famous Croatian resort of Dubrovnik leave Budva every day. Daylong boat excursions from Budva to Sveti Stefan cost about $15. A day trip by bus to Mount Lovcen via Njegusi, home of the best dried ham and goat cheese dipped in olive oil in the Balkans, is a must. The Montenegro Tourist agency provides day trips to many sights.
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