Kotor Montenegro Excursion Please help Decide.....

[fishman620]

For those who have been to Kotor before, please give me some insight on which of these two excursions I should take........Sure would appreciate help in deciding........Best of Montenegro ......"A perfect combination of sights and flavors is yours to experience today. Take a scenic drive towards the mountain village of Njegusi. Enjoy breathtaking views of the Bay of Kotor from above. Drive through winding mountain roads with interesting rock formations. Sample some local specialties of Njegusi during your stop at restaurant. Follow your guide through Cetinje, the old Royal Capital of Montenegro. Visit the Court of King Nikola Petrovic. It now houses the National Museum of Cetinje, displaying valuable collections.  Enjoy some free time, to explore this lovely town on your own. Stop to catch the magnificent views overlooking the “Riviera of Budva” and the open Adriatic coastline. Back to Kotor, you’ll enjoy a walking tour of the old town, a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a beautiful example of the different cultural influences that have left their mark here. Stroll the streets of the historical center, learn about its history and enjoy the atmosphere."  Or.......Kotor, Persat and Our Lady of the Rock......"Between dramatic cliffs and the sparkling waters of Boka Kotorskam, you’ll find the towns of Kotor and Perast, each with a charm of their own. This amazing landscape was created 300,000 years ago by tectonic forces and is part of UNESCO’s list of protected natural sites. A short scenic drive on the inner part of the bay, full of contrasts, takes you to Perast. This easternmost shore was the earliest inhabited area in the Boka, as evidenced by archaeological finds. The town reached its peak in the 18th century under the Republic of Venice. At that time, ornate baroque palaces and magnificent houses were constructed. Walk the quaint streets of this town full of typical Venetian architecture.  Visit the cathedral of St. Nikola, a beautiful example of Venetian-Romanesque style. The two small islands in front of Perast offer an impressive view, each of them with a picturesque chapel. Sail to one of these islands, and visit the Church of Our Lady of the Rock and learn of its legend. Most of the present day church was erected after the great earthquake of 1667 when the original sanctuary was destroyed. You’ll find a collection of paintings and a beautifully embroidered tapestry made by a local lady, among its treasures. Once back in Kotor, you’ll continue on a walking tour of the town with its historical buildings and delightful streets.

[ober134]

Following

[fishman620]

We have chosen the shorter excursion to Persat and Lady of the Rocks...........it gives us more time in Kotor to explore this UNESCO town.

 

[JeffGag]

We did the similar or the same tour named Best of Montenegro with www.monttravelers.com last year. I believe the other tour is more educative than the first one. Best of Montenegro is more sightseeing, nature, local feel, views but much more drive too. 

I would take B of Montengro if have enough time. By the way, Kotor is close to the port so you can go after the tour and explore on your own. true, you will miss some historical pieces of information but if you are ok with that... 

[CTBob]

We just returned from a cruise where we went to Perast and visited Our Lady of the Rocks and really enjoyed it.  Then after touring Kotor you can always climb the Ladder (A hiking trail) up to some amazing views (We didn't) if you want some exercise.  CTBob

[Marck123]

We just did the Best of Montenegro tour by Mont Travelers as suggested and recommended by many travelers here and we did not regret. Great experience. 👍

Edited June 24, 2019 by Marck123

[Mr305]

We booked Bay of Kotor, small groups, hope to enjoy the scenery of the bay plus spend time in Perast and Kotor instead of driving around.

Edited June 24, 2019 by Mr305

[MDTrip]

On 4/14/2019 at 8:45 AM, JeffGag said:

www.mon

 Following...

[oxfordgirl20]

Interested to read your description of the two choices on your cruise.  I'm going solo on a cruise in August, and wondering whether I need to book an excursion for Montenegro?  I understand that the cruise port is right next to the town so it's possible to just walk there.  Does anyone think it would be better to have an excursion or would a few hours alone in Kotor be enough?  I like to find out about places while I'm there but assume I could visit the Tourist Information.

[edinburgher]

Kotor itself is very easy to DIY and a lovely town to wander around. Full of tiny narrow streets and many little squares, no real need for an excursion here. Plenty online info about history etc. Read and/or print before you leave home.

 

Can also take either the public bus or a taxi the short distance to Perast (which is incredibly tiny but pretty) Boatmen are there to take you the short distance across to Our Lady of the Rocks. You will see Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks on the sail in.

 

Do get up early for the sail in. It really is beautiful. We have visited twice, and each time the sail in was much more tranquil and had better light than the afternoon sail out, when the sunshine was too strong.

[chipmaster]

On 6/30/2019 at 6:03 AM, edinburgher said:

Kotor itself is very easy to DIY and a lovely town to wander around. Full of tiny narrow streets and many little squares, no real need for an excursion here. Plenty online info about history etc. Read and/or print before you leave home.

 

Can also take either the public bus or a taxi the short distance to Perast (which is incredibly tiny but pretty) Boatmen are there to take you the short distance across to Our Lady of the Rocks. You will see Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks on the sail in.

 

Do get up early for the sail in. It really is beautiful. We have visited twice, and each time the sail in was much more tranquil and had better light than the afternoon sail out, when the sunshine was too strong.

I was torn but agree, our family of four just DIY, even though it was tender and we lost a valuable two hours due to Star Tender mess, we hiked to the top of the old fort ( it is only for the fit/adventurous ), wonderful views! ) then wandered the narrow streets and had a nice local meal, some shopping, and visited the cat museum ( you need to love cats ), LOL, then back to the shop.

 

Edited July 4, 2019 by chipmaster

[Moxiefurball]

Recommend using a company called Montenegro M, owner is Madden a great guy.

they have a 6 hr tour that leaves at 8 am from cruise ship port, that takes you to Perast, Our Lady of the Rocks, Budvah, and Kotor.  In Budvah try lunch at the National Restaurant worth the time to stop. They can tailor your stops to your needs.  Mlladen or Sasha should be the tour guides you ask for. We had Sasha , he was marvelous. 

http://mtours.me/

[DENIE]

We booked a tour through Tours by Locals...there are a number of highly qualified guides.  Though about wandering around the town ourselves, but not sure if/when we would be back, so wanted to see more.

[erby2283]

14 hours ago, Moxiefurball said:

Recommend using a company called Montenegro M, owner is Madden a great guy.

they have a 6 hr tour that leaves at 8 am from cruise ship port, that takes you to Perast, Our Lady of the Rocks, Budvah, and Kotor.  In Budvah try lunch at the National Restaurant worth the time to stop. They can tailor your stops to your needs.  Mlladen or Sasha should be the tour guides you ask for. We had Sasha , he was marvelous. 

http://mtours.me/

I have him booked for Aug and am excited! But now am worried after hearinf horror stories about the Vision and tendering. They did change the time of our arrival from 11am to 9am so that makes us the first ship in port that day. Hoping that makes it a little better in getting us off faster. 

[joejoe 59]

This is great info, thank's. We will be there next year.

[Moxiefurball]

12 hours ago, erby2283 said:

I have him booked for Aug and am excited! But now am worried after hearinf horror stories about the Vision and tendering. They did change the time of our arrival from 11am to 9am so that makes us the first ship in port that day. Hoping that makes it a little better in getting us off faster. 

I would NOT  worry about the tender.

On the Emerald princess we also tendered at Kotor, and the tender took barely only around 5-  minutes to shore, once tender took off.  Im sure once you tell Mlladen of Montenegro M tours your schedule, he will be at port when you need him.

Do you know when your ship departs Kotor later in day?  The tour I spoke about is 6 hrs so you need to be able to fit that into ships port times.  Otherwise he can tailor another tour. 

Edited July 8, 2019 by Moxiefurball

[erby2283]

7 hours ago, Moxiefurball said:

I would NOT  worry about the tender.

On the Emerald princess we also tendered at Kotor, and the tender took barely only around 5-  minutes to shore, once tender took off.  Im sure once you tell Mlladen of Montenegro M tours your schedule, he will be at port when you need him.

Do you know when your ship departs Kotor later in day?  The tour I spoke about is 6 hrs so you need to be able to fit that into ships port times.  Otherwise he can tailor another tour. 

Thank you. We depart at 6pm. I already emailes Mlladen and advised him of us arriving at 9 versus 11. No one on my roll call as any interest in joining the tour. No clue why?! Looks amazing! 

[Yankee123]

I just received the following email below. We had originally planned to do the coast line for the views but with the tour company’s statement of traffic I wanted your help. 

 

How bad bad is the traffic in the last week of August and which tour would you recommend?

 

“Your tour is fast approaching and we would need you to please let us know which of the two options offered you prefer

1). Over the top best of our coastline tour (without Blue cave) or 

2). Blue Cave, Perast, Our Lady of the Rocks island and Kotor tour only by speed boat.

Our summer is very hectic and traffic is a big issue , therefor we strongly recommend the speedboat option”

 

Looking forward for your responses

 

thank you

[oxfordgirl20]

On ‎6‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 2:03 PM, edinburgher said:

Kotor itself is very easy to DIY and a lovely town to wander around. Full of tiny narrow streets and many little squares, no real need for an excursion here. Plenty online info about history etc. Read and/or print before you leave home.

 

Can also take either the public bus or a taxi the short distance to Perast (which is incredibly tiny but pretty) Boatmen are there to take you the short distance across to Our Lady of the Rocks. You will see Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks on the sail in.

 

Do get up early for the sail in. It really is beautiful. We have visited twice, and each time the sail in was much more tranquil and had better light than the afternoon sail out, when the sunshine was too strong.

 

That is so helpful, thank you.  I will do it on my own.  I want to make sure I have enough time in Kotor without being hurried, and without having to attend a carpets demonstration/hard sell, as was the case on a previous excursion to Ephesus. 

[balanceok]

On 6/30/2019 at 7:03 AM, edinburgher said:

Kotor itself is very easy to DIY and a lovely town to wander around. Full of tiny narrow streets and many little squares, no real need for an excursion here. Plenty online info about history etc. Read and/or print before you leave home.

 

Can also take either the public bus or a taxi the short distance to Perast (which is incredibly tiny but pretty) Boatmen are there to take you the short distance across to Our Lady of the Rocks. You will see Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks on the sail in.

 

Do get up early for the sail in. It really is beautiful. We have visited twice, and each time the sail in was much more tranquil and had better light than the afternoon sail out, when the sunshine was too strong.

 

 

We appreciate your post too, as it has helped me make the decision to just DIY this port.

 

Thanks.

 

 

Edited July 23, 2019 by balanceok

[hubofhockey]

I would recommend a private tour in Kotor.  We used Mont Travelers, but any well vetted tour reviewed in Tripadvisor would probably do.  The drive up the winding mountains over Boka Bay is spectacular and unique.  We also enjoyed Budva which we found more interesting than the town of Kotor (really not close).  Our tour did get us to Cetinje as the Lipa Caves we visited were near there.  Cetinje has a certain charm to it, but can be missed and the town seems like a throwback to the late 1960s and that probably relates to the economics of the area.  If I had a do over, I'd skip the caves and do a sit down lunch instead in Budva.     

[torontotraveller]

thanks everyone their opinions and options - this was very helpful

 

[cruiselovin'girl]

On 6/30/2019 at 9:03 AM, edinburgher said:

Kotor itself is very easy to DIY and a lovely town to wander around. Full of tiny narrow streets and many little squares, no real need for an excursion here. Plenty online info about history etc. Read and/or print before you leave home.

 

Can also take either the public bus or a taxi the short distance to Perast (which is incredibly tiny but pretty) Boatmen are there to take you the short distance across to Our Lady of the Rocks. You will see Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks on the sail in.

 

Do get up early for the sail in. It really is beautiful. We have visited twice, and each time the sail in was much more tranquil and had better light than the afternoon sail out, when the sunshine was too strong.

Can you advise as to how much it will cost to take the bus or taxi to Perast? And, how much the boat ride to the Lady of the Rocks would cost? Weighing my options of a tour or DIY.

Thanks so much!

[edinburgher]

No need for a tour.

 

We took the public bus from the stop close to the shopping centre near the dock. I think it was either E1-50pp or E2pp each way. Minimal anyway.

 

I think the boat ride was something like E5pp return, but cannot remember exactly. Be aware that shorex will be there at some time in the day and you may have to wait for a boat. We arrived before them and there were several boats waiting. If you can avoid shorex, do, as the little island and church are tiny.

 

All current info on taxis, buses etc will be online if you internet search, and Tripadvisor, especially on the Forum section.

Edited September 6, 2019 by edinburgher

[oxfordgirl20]

Well, thank you everyone for all your comments but in the end the ship didn't go to Kotor … 24 hrs before we were due to sail, we had an email saying that we would be leaving Venice later (at the Harbour Master's request) and wouldn't have time for Montenegro at all.  So that day became an at sea day instead, and we just moored in a bay off Bar, to use up 2 hours of time I suppose, but couldn't get off the ship.  I'll have to go and have a look at Kotor some other time …!