Kotor/Dubrovnik

[LuvCats!]

I am looking at a cruise Italy/Greece/Turkey) that will not include Kotor or Dubrovnik so am intending to do them on my own after the cruise.

 

We will fly into Dubrovnik and do that on our own.

 

For Kotor I found a tour company (well there are several) that does a day tour (12 hours). I'm trying to figure out what all is included (of the things I've seen talked about here). The tour companies describe the tour and it will include returning to Dubrovnik by Ferry (at least I think... I don't see it in the emailed description though I thought I saw it on the website... will check on that). I'm hoping this will be similar to the sail-away people have described. I'm also trying to figure out if it will include the drive out of Kotor people have mentioned (saw a video of a bus tour with 25 switchback turns). The tour person replied to me that something with 13 switchback could be included but I'm not sure if this is the same or even part of the same thing. Anyone have any idea?

 

Here is the description:

 

We drive through Župa dubrovačka, passing Cavtat and Konavle region. We will cross the border at Debeli Brijeg (you need to make sure that you have your passports with you). Driving onwards along Bay of Kotor passing towns of Igalo, Herceg Novi; Kumbor, Kamenari. After optional stop at Perast (Our Lady of the Rocks) we continue to Kotor where you will have walking tour and coffee break. We then continue to Budva where you will have also some free time for lunch.

 

Includes hotel pickup/drop off, english speaking driver guide with airconditioned vehicle (Toyota Corolla or Peugeot 307 SW), guided tour of Kotor and stop at Budva.

 

Optional stop to Our Lady of the Rocks is paid extra (6 EUR per person, includes tickets to church/museum + private boat ride Perast-island-Perast). Let me know if you are interested to take this optional trip.

 

We could do 13th switchback turn as the view is not that different from this one.

The tour company also does a Dubrovnik to Split tour but I'm not sure I'll have the time to add that in

 

This isn't until fall of 2017 so I'm still doing a lot of research but meanwhile I'm not familiar with the places (other than Kotor itself) that are listed. It is a private tour so we likely will be able to alter things. Would appreciate any suggestions those of you have been to Kotor have (especially if anyone has done it via land).

Edited September 9, 2015 by LuvCats!

[LondonTowner]

What I understand is you will be picked up in Dubrovnik and taken to Kotor. We stayed in Kotor on a land holiday 3 years ago and loved it.

 

The description is the normal drive down the coast road into Kotor. We flew into Dubrovnik so did this drive to reach our accommodation.

 

Kotor itself is like a mini Dubrovnik, so not very large. Persist is also on the bay with a few shops and restaurants. There is a little island off shore which is where the boat goes to. We didn't bother to go to the church whilst we were there.

 

I don't know how much this tour is, but we had a hire car and it was an easy drive. I also believe there is a bus service.

 

We loved Montenegro and the scenery is beautiful.

[LuvCats!]

Thanks for your reply! Renting a car is a thought. Maybe I could find someone (even a taxi) to take us up the 25 switchback road. I don't want to drive it (not because of the driving but because I want to just enjoy the views). So far the only tours out of Kotor itself I've found are really spendy (more than the 12 hour ones from Dubrovnik).

[take us away]

The walled city in Dubrovnik is wonderful so recommend you plan on spending at least 1/2 day there. After Dubrovnik's walled city, Budva was somewhat disappointing but interesting none the less.

 

Have heard that the bus between Dubrovnik and Kotor is a great adventure. The scenery is beautiful so if you go by bus, you do not have to worry about running off the narrow roads.

[roothy123]

The switchback road up above Kotor sounds like what we did on our recent 4 hour car tour of the Kotor bay with Tours by Milo. If you look at Google, you might be able to see it. It's basically "behind" Kotor. There is one road with switchbacks that goes up to the mountain town of Cetinje, but I'm not sure where we went was partway up on the same road or a different road. It only took about 10 minutes to get up from around the base of Kotor, and Milo stopped at two places along that road to show us our cruise ship below us.

 

We did the boat ride over to the little island from Perast. Loved it. It's just very scenic. It would likely add an hour or so to your trip.

 

I wasn't totally in love with Budva after being in both Dubrovnik and Kotor, but if you're only stopping there for a while, that would be nice.

 

I have pictures of Kotor here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123

You'll have to look for the Kotor pics.

 

A 4 or 5 hour tour with Milo of Tours by Milo would be great. He's not terribly expensive, and great to work with. I don't know if he would take you from Dubrovnik to Kotor, but if you want a day tour in the Bay of Kotor I would recommend contacting him, as he's willing to customize his tours.

Edited November 8, 2015 by roothy123

[roothy123]

Quite honestly, I'm not sure I'd pay extra for a cab ride up the switchback road and back. It was a nice view of our cruise ship, but nothing tremendously important in my whole day at Kotor.

 

Another alternative, if you have the time and stamina, is to pay 3 euros to walk up the many, many steps up to the church in Kotor, where there's a nice view back down onto Kotor and the Bay. If you've read posts of the "wall walk" in Kotor, you know what I'm talking about. It was not worth it to me, but I'm mid-sixties and probably shouldn't be trying to do all the stuff I still try to do!

 

Our sailaway from Kotor heading back out of the bay was fantastic - right before dusk, with the sun coming down turning the mountains a vivid orange/red.

Edited November 8, 2015 by roothy123

[roothy123]

Go to Google maps and enter Trojica, Kotor, Montenegro. That's where Milo took us. The other, longer, higher road is the one with many more switchbacks that goes up to Njegusi.

[maryann ns]

We did a land tour a few years ago, staying several nights in Dubrovnik. We had a car and drove ourselves to Kotor for the day. It is very easy to do and we had lots of time. We did the complete loop around the bay. The south side is a very narrow but interesting road. We did not take the boat out to Perast but you could easily do this. We hiked part way up i the town to the old church and had a wonderful view.

 

We did not visit Budva.

 

We had a lovely lunch in Kotor in a church square and just enjoyed soaking up the scene.