Cetinje - Montenegro

So, from Therese and Jovica's we nursed a hangover by a little bay 10km up the road on Day 1, then got back into it, taking this road built by the Austrians in the 1880s that switchbacked up to the top of the mountain (1700m high).  Check out the picture we took from a postcard of the road.  The van did us proud - most of it was first gear stuff, passing cars and buses with an inch to spare and an abyss to fall down.   I (Brad) needed a couple of stiff drinks at the end of the day- it was a white knuckle drive, but the views were absolutely amazing - just took our breath away.

Butterfly at altitude

We headed back round the mountains to the open sea in southern Montenegro, firstly to Budva which we'd heard was a lovely beach spot (and ended up being the busiest beach we had ever seen - towels and sunbeds virtually touching at 7pm - full of stones and rubbish and yucky water, backed by ugly hotel and apartment complexes). We reckon 2/3 of Montenegro were on that beach.  We drove in....and promptly drove out again.  Not for us - it was like being in a totally different country to the days before.

Switchbacks over Kotor!

We drove past a little fishing island that has been bought up by an exclusive hotel (and used in the latest James Bond movie) and headed for Bar along more lovely coast.  Yup, more overdevelopment and another drive-through for us...........through to the Albanian border.

All up we loved Montenegro, partly for the awesome time we'd had with Therese and Jovica, but also the north part of the country itself, still unspoilt and really beautiful.  It's far cheaper than Croatia and far far less touristed (for now!).  Well worth a visit.  The southern part, apart from the lovely coastal scenery where there were no towns, you can keep.

And so to the survey :

Montenegro does a good : Seafood restaurant (fish is plentiful and really good), garlic sauce, windy switchback, fig tree (everywhere but we were a month early unfortunately), Australian ex-pat, friendly local, cheap vodka.

Kotor from the top!

But it doesn't do a good : Driver (scary stuff, honestly), supermarket, seaside resort.

Top o the switchbacks over Kotor