Kotor and Perast
October 2025

My time in Montenegro was rather boring (I think this is my first time being bored during this journey).

My first stop was Podgorica, which is the capital city. I stayed in a beautiful Crowne Plaza hotel. There wasn’t much to see or do around the hotel other than a mall (15 minute walk). I was able to find a laundromat (20 minute walk), so it wasn’t all bad. They have an Old Town but after researching, there didn’t seem to be much to see. And a big factor was the cooler weather. On the day I ventured to the laundromat, the wind was so strong it pushed me back so hard that I almost lost my balance. So between cold days and rainy days, I stayed around the hotel. (No pictures were taken.)

Oh, there’s also the thing with transportation… taxi only and euros only. 

I took a 2 hour taxi ride to Kotor and stayed at the Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort.  Beautiful place! It had 3 pools (1 indoors), 3 restaurants (good food), spa, gym, and private beach.  

A visit to the Old Town was nice. Several historical buildings and narrow streets with hidden gems. You also run into a lot of people from the cruise ships. The hotel has its own boat ramp, so the boat tour I booked was able to pick me up from there. The boat tour was to the island of Perast and a stop at the Lady on the Rock.

• Lady of the Rocks is an artificial island, created over centuries by local sailors who threw rocks into the sea after successful voyages, beginning in 1452. The legend states that two fishermen found an icon of the Virgin Mary on a rock, and after it miraculously reappeared there multiple times, the townspeople vowed to build a church there. This tradition, known as “Fašinada,” continues today on July 22nd, when locals gather to throw rocks to expand the island. The present-day church was built in the 17th and 18th centuries, replacing an earlier one and housing a 15th-century icon of the Virgin Mary.  

Sunbathing for a few days and rain bringing in cooler weather rounded out my stay.