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Kotor Info and Beyond


KEITHH1
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We were not on a cruise, but drove to Montenegro for a day from Dubrovnik. I believe there are taxis at the port in Kotor and it is not far to where the boats to Perast leave. We ended up not going to Perast choosing to drive around the bay, climb up the hill in Kotor as far as the old church to see the view, and have lunch and wander about the town. It was a wonderful day. We made sure in planning to avoid cruise ships in Dubrovnik and Montenegro!

 

Post your questions on Trip Advisor and you may get more answers. Also do a google search for the Perast ferry information.

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It took us about 15 minutes to transfer once we were on the tender boat. It is unpredictable how long your wait will be to board the tender.

 

You might want to contact the tour company and advise them of your scheduled tender time. If you are a few minutes late, they'll probably wait for you.

 

Here's some info about the Kotor Cruise Port: http://Kotor.ca

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There are public buses roughly every hour from right outside the main gate to the old town for 1eur and there are plenty of boat services at perast to take you to the island for 5 eur.

There is a tourist office in Kotor at the main gate that can help you.

There was a boat service from Kotor but I didn't use it so can't give you the details

 

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Forums

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  • 3 weeks later...

We will be there in November as part of our 12-day port intensive cruise and are trying to do a mixture of Princess excursions, private excursions, and on-our-own ports. Kotor will be on my husband's 72nd birthday and I really want it to be a nice day. It sounds like a beautiful port both for the old city and the surroundings. At the moment, our plan is to get up early so we can enjoy the hour and a half or so cruising into the bay because I have read that the views are wonderful then. It also appears that it is an easy port to do on our own, getting off the ship and walking into the old city easily and fast. So, the plan (I am the researcher) is to spend several hours just wandering the interesting streets, maybe getting a little lost as we see the sights, before collapsing back at the ship. My questions in particular are: (1) If you have done the long mountain walk up to the fortress that is supposed to take about 90 minutes both ways, although long, is there a rail or anything to hold onto at all or at least good-size/safe feeling steps or is it a walk up for the brave who don't fear falling/slipping off the side of the mountain (that's not me)? (2) Will we still see plenty of the beauty around us by mostly doing the old city walk or should be do a bus or boat excursion as well as our planned on-our-own walking around time? (3) Being off season in November, if we don't do an arranged tour, do you know if there would still be people around offering either the bus/taxi/boat tours if we decided once there we'd like more or would there be little possibility of that in November? (4) There's a well known cathedral mentioned--is that something we would come to with our walking and be able to do on our own? I would appreciate your thoughts to make my husband's birthday be relaxed but also interesting.

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Kotor is such a lovely port to visit. It's a must to be up early for the sail into port. It's so tranquil and peaceful sailing in. The 2 times we have visited there it was June. Very hot, and for me I wouldn't have attempted the mountain walk then, but November will be cool. I am sure someone will chime in with information about the walk, I would be making sure you had good footwear on incase the steps, path are wet?

We docked right at the port, and you just walk off and you are in the town. First time we took a trip to ?Budva and it was really nice. Last year took the boat trip to the small island chapel and it was also lovely. I am sure what ever you do at Kotor it will be special for your husbands birthday. Have a great cruise, Jean.

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Check with Mladin , the owner of MTours Montenegro - very reasonable tours and very good - he can take you to Perast to the Lady of the Lake and Island of the Dead and scenic drive- really nice guy and well worth the reasonable price. He will schedule as long or as short as you like.

eclue:rolleyes:

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Check with Mladin , the owner of MTours Montenegro - very reasonable tours and very good - he can take you to Perast to the Lady of the Lake and Island of the Dead and scenic drive- really nice guy and well worth the reasonable price. He will schedule as long or as short as you like.

eclue:rolleyes:

 

I get the impression that going up to the Lady of the Lake has a series of about 25 hairpin curves....Is that the only part of the MTour that would have those narrow curvy mountain roads?

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I get the impression that going up to the Lady of the Lake has a series of about 25 hairpin curves....Is that the only part of the MTour that would have those narrow curvy mountain roads?

 

Going to the Lady of the Lake in Perast is a lovely drive - I would not call them hairpin turns by any means - once in Perast the boat will take you to the island.

Lovely ride.

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It is a lovely small town to stroll around. We climbed just up the hill as far as the old church. It is not on the edge of a cliff but it is rough going in places. The view was great when we got there. Whether or not you take the climb I think you have a good plan for a a relaxing day.

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We loved Kotor and can't wait to go back! Very charming town with super nice people, and an easy walk off the ship. We did not do the climb but talked to people who did and it took several hours up and back down. To see this gorgeous part of the world we'd recommend a personalized tour with Milo or maybe one of his organized tours for a few hours. See his website toursbymilo.com for more info and very reasonable prices. This port was really a surprise to us - we never even heard of Montenegro before and it was one of our favorite ports EVER, and we've been to lots of them! Have a wonderful day when you're there.

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My wife and I just returned from a Mediterranean cruise and we thoroughly enjoyed Kotor and Montenegro. We took a wonderful tour with Kotor Private Tours (Daniel and Liset) which I highly recommend.

 

We chose to see the seaside village of Budva and the private resort of Sveti Stefan (you see it from a viewpoint). Wee then stopped at Trojic Hill for an excellent scenic overlook of Kotor and the surrounding mountains.

 

We then toured Kotor. Kotor is wonderful. It is small and easy to see. It is literally across the street from the dock (You should check if your ship is docking in Kotor or you will be tendering). Tendering is obviously less convenient and more time consuming.

 

The cathedral you mention is St. Tryphon which is understated but interesting. There is also a Serbian Orthodox church which is something different to see.

 

We had an excellent lunch which consisted of a large cutting board with different types of prosciutto, cheese, olives, lettuce, tomato, pesto, and pita bread. This was very reasonable at 16 Euro.

 

We did not attempt the walk up to the chapel or fort has we had walked the walls in Dubrovnik the previous day and wanted a break.

 

We chose the tour we did rather than seeing Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks as we were able to see them from our ship during sail in and sail away. Which areas you see it obviously a matter of personal preference, however.

 

As for getting up early for the sail in, I did this. It was peaceful and beautiful. The light was not great for photographs. We had the same view when leaving the port. There was a narration on deck and my pictures were much better.

 

Hope you enjoy your time in Montenegro as much as we did.

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Hi got to see Kotor 2 times on a cruise in August. If you want to see the sail into Kotor you need to be up at least 2hrs before you arrive at Kotor. The sail in is magnificent and so is the sail out. They play the love boat theme on the way out and it echoes off the mountains and sounds really neat.On our first visit we just walked around town and it was interesting. On the second visit: we did the princess excursion ZKQ-200. It was a really nice way to see Kotor and some of the area around. And had free time at the end of the tour to look around town.then return to the ship which is not far from the old town.Hope you have a great cruise.:)

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I really appreciate all the comments that I have received so far. I still haven't made up my mind and my husband is content with whatever I decide. We are doing a private tour in Dubrovnik for several hours so we'll get to do a lot of driving around there so I'm still thinking that maybe just our exploring Kotor on our own (even now probably without climbing up the mountain which is sounding a bit too harsh) might be nice enough....But I'll keep contemplating. Again, thanks so much for your insights.

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I stayed a few nights in Kotor two years ago, was on a driving trip through the Balkans with a friend, we stayed enroute to Dubrovnik where we were scheduled to fly home from. We drove to Kotor from Serbia, stayed a few places enroute but drove to Kotor using the road that comes down the mountain its perched up against, basically skirted around the Lovcen national park. Once we got into Kotor we didn't bother hiking back up the hill, we had already stopped a few places along the road coming down. So we just looked up at it, its lit up at night, very nice. At any rate, its a lovely little town, easy to see in a day. A really great place we stopped at enroute to Kotor was the Ostrog Monastery, though that might be too far for a day trip from Kotor, but well worth it if there's any excursions offered to see it. The road around the Bay of Kotor is very pretty too.

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We just got off the Celebrity Constellation this week, from our Adriatic cruise. Kotor is a beautiful port, and an interesting town to wander about. I found the shops touristy with bunches of shops selling knick-knacks, rather than local crafts and nice things. However, I am not a shopper so I may be the wrong person to ask.

 

I did walk up the mountain---the one thing that I wanted to do in Kotor. Great walk in blue sky in October, but I would not want to do in the summer. I went with a group from the ship on a tour, because I wanted to find out about the history of the area, the role of Montenegro in the Serbian-Croatian war, and the daily life of the Montenegro people. Our English high school teacher was perfect to get that info from. If I had just wanted to hike up the mountain, that would be no problem without a tour guide. The way up in STEEP, with very smooth rocks in lots of places. Would NOT do this walk when it has rained. There were lots of people going up and down the trail. PRobably took about 90 minutes going up, and half hour going down. You will have to take water, and stop along the way, but the views are gorgeous. There are no handrails per se, but there is a rock wall that can be used most of the time.

 

I am 65 years old and work out, so I am in good shape, but my husband could not have done this hike. Instead, he went on a tour in a coach--Cetinje, Budva, and others. He really liked the tour and the scenery. The town can be seen in an hour, no problem. Lots of old buildings and walkways in the town, but no gorgeous scenery.

 

The cathedral is Tryphon, interesting but not astounding.

 

The best thing that I did was sit at an outdoor cafe and have a bowl of mussels with a glass of wine. Perfect!!

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So, we gather that you will be on Celebrity (we really like this line). The first question is will you actually tender or will you dock. Kotor's pier can handle a ship and if you are the only one in port you might have no issue. But if you tender, the main delay is that Celebrity does have a priority process. Passengers who book Celebrity Excursions will meet in a public lounge and have priority access. And then there are many other passengers who have Elite, Elite Plus...etc. status who are also entitled to tender priority. If you are not in one of these groups you will have to go to a specified lounge starting at a certain time...and obtain a tender ticket (they are free) for each of your party. You then wait until they call your tender group. So if you need to be ashore early, its wise to get your entire party to that lounge as early as possible so you get a favorable ticket number/color.

 

Hank

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  • 2 months later...

I did walk up the mountain---the one thing that I wanted to do in Kotor.

QUOTE]

 

Was the path for the hike easy to find? My husband and I will be in Kotor in early June and are thinking of doing this if the weather cooperates. I am wondering how easy it is to do on our own. In Akora, New Zealand last year we tried to do a hike on our own and the path was impossible to find. Thanks for your insights!

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We just got off the Celebrity Constellation this week, from our Adriatic cruise. Kotor is a beautiful port, and an interesting town to wander about. I found the shops touristy with bunches of shops selling knick-knacks, rather than local crafts and nice things. However, I am not a shopper so I may be the wrong person to ask.

 

I did walk up the mountain---the one thing that I wanted to do in Kotor. Great walk in blue sky in October, but I would not want to do in the summer. I went with a group from the ship on a tour, because I wanted to find out about the history of the area, the role of Montenegro in the Serbian-Croatian war, and the daily life of the Montenegro people. Our English high school teacher was perfect to get that info from. If I had just wanted to hike up the mountain, that would be no problem without a tour guide. The way up in STEEP, with very smooth rocks in lots of places. Would NOT do this walk when it has rained. There were lots of people going up and down the trail. PRobably took about 90 minutes going up, and half hour going down. You will have to take water, and stop along the way, but the views are gorgeous. There are no handrails per se, but there is a rock wall that can be used most of the time.

 

I am 65 years old and work out, so I am in good shape, but my husband could not have done this hike. Instead, he went on a tour in a coach--Cetinje, Budva, and others. He really liked the tour and the scenery. The town can be seen in an hour, no problem. Lots of old buildings and walkways in the town, but no gorgeous scenery.

 

The cathedral is Tryphon, interesting but not astounding.

 

The best thing that I did was sit at an outdoor cafe and have a bowl of mussels with a glass of wine. Perfect!!

 

Was the path for the hike easy to find? My husband and I will be in Kotor in early June and are thinking of doing this if the weather cooperates. I am wondering how easy it is to do on our own. In Akora, New Zealand last year we tried to do a hike on our own and the path was impossible to find. Thanks for your insights!

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I agree with 100% of what Jackiesr says. I tried the walk up the hillside and found it quite exhausting. Granted, I was 65 and not used to climbing and hiking, but it really is something that is not easy for most people. Some high school aged kids were doing it, and even they were huffing and puffing. There are few spots to rest, especially ones in which you can sit down, and especially out of the sun. I barely made it to the church before I turned around. Others can go all the way up to the ruined fortress up there, and then come back down the back of the hillside (mountain?) a different way. I was intrigued with that, but never made it up top. Of course, I only allowed myself about two hours for this adventure, so I was kind of in a rush. In the AM we took a 3 or 4 hour tour with Milo Popovic to Perast, Budva, etc. Then I ate a quick lunch on our ship (we docked) and went back out to see Kotor. Some pictures are here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/kotor_montenegro__sept_30_2015

 

Loved Kotor.

 

I found a good city map, but don't know how to attach it properly so it appears in a reasonable size. However, you can probably just wander in Kotor and find the entrance to the wall walk or whatever you want to find there.

 

Port website: http://www.portofkotor.co.me/

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