Kotor, A City of Montenegro That Stole My Heart

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Kotor is my second last city before heading back to Istanbul once again. Kotor is a fortified town sits in the northern part of the Montenegro coast on the Adriatic Sea. And that's mean I have ticked off another new country - Montenegro. While the name of Kotor might seems funny to us as it mean "dirty" in Malay language, but the fact is that it has become one of my favourite cities in Balkans Peninsula. I love this coastal town so much that I stayed here for 4 days and 3 nights without doing any city hopping. 

FROM TIRANA (ALBANIA) TO KOTOR (MONTENEGRO)

#1: Bus from Tirana to Kotor with few stops at Skadar, Podgorica and Budva

Kotor is fairly well connected with neighboring countries by bus. You can get to Kotor from Dubrovnik and Split (Croatia), Sarajevo and Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Skopje (Kosovo), Belgrade (Serbia) and even Tirana (Albania). However, do take note that the bus schedule and frequency varies according to season and there is no accurate source of the varying schedule available online. Hence, the best thing you can do is immediately check out the bus schedule once you arrive at your destination.

As I was from Tirana, I took a local bus from Skanderbeg Square to Tirana Temporary Bus Terminal for international bound lines which is just behind a sport centre (Pallati Sportit Asllan Rusi) for 40 lek (approx. to RM1.50/€0.33). Alternatively, you can walk for about 25 minutes there. A single bus trip to Kotor from Tirana costs €25 (approx. to RM116) and the bus ride is nearly 6 hours, or more depending on the traffic conditions. I purchased the bus ticket on the day itself right after I reach the bus terminal 30 minutes earlier in order to secure myself a seat. In case you have huge luggage with you, you need to pay €2 of storage fee to the bus driver. Oh well, this is quite common practice as it happened during my trip in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia.

ARRIVING IN KOTOR (MONTENEGRO)

#2: Kotor Main Bus Station

Kotor Main Bus Station is not that far away from the Old Town (known as Stari Grad) which is about 10 minutes walk and for the first time in my record, I booked my stay outside of the Old Town. If you read most of my previous posts, you will know that I always love to stay inside or within the Old Town but not this time. I booked the hostel that is facing the seafront of Kotor Bay and guess what, it's the wise choice I ever made and I'm absolutely satisfied with it. Wondering why Wikitravel didn't list this hostel - what a shame! Luckily I put extra effort to search for more.


#3: The hostel I stay in Kotor is facing the seafront of Kotor Bay


#4: This is how the hostel looks like - clean, chic and pretty cheap too. It's just €9.50 for a night stay.

Hostel Pupa
Date Stayed: 21 April - 24 April 2019 (3 nights)
Room Rate: €28.50 for a bunk bed in mixed dormitory room for 3 nights (Booked from Booking.com)


#5: The best part is that the grocery store is just behind the hostel.

STARI GRAD (OLD TOWN) OF KOTOR
Kotor might seems small in size, but I would recommend to spend at least 2 minimum nights here. Though in some part where I might find this city has almost similar features as Dubrovnik especially where both cities are walled and close to each other, Kotor tends to be more cheaper than the latter.


#6: Similar to Dubrovnik, Kotor is also a walled city but then I found it's more cheaper than Dubrovnik.


#7: Sea Gate of 1555, the main entrance of Old Town

Obviously, Stari Grad (Old Town) is the place where you shouldn't miss when in Kotor as this is where its history, culture and tradition are being preserved until today. It consists a handful of interesting and fascinating monuments of the medieval architecture: from churches and cathedrals to palaces and even the museums. Besides that, you will find yourself walking through multitude of narrow streets, squares and markets within the walls. You might get lost while wandering through the old town which it's like a maze but trust me, it's really fun and full of adventures.

Below are few photos I took while wandering through the Old Town:


#8: Old Town Clock


#9: St Tryphon's Cathedral


#10: Maritime Museum (Entrance fee: €4)


#11: Serbian orthodox church of St Nicolas


#12: Laundry hanging on a washing line


#13: Most of these stone buildings with green painted windows


#14: Venetian fortifications of Kotor


#15: Kotor is one of the destination for major cruise ship

During my days in Kotor, I saw at least two enormous cruise ships docked in Kotor Bay. Therefore, Kotor tends to be more happening and crowded with a group of tourists from the cruises during the daytime. However when the sun was about to set, the city immediately turned into a quiet and less happening zone. Most of the restaurants and shops within the Old Town close as early as 6pm.


#16


#17: Postcards (€0.30 per piece) and magnets (the cheapest I found €2 per piece)


#18: Anyone interested with this oil for erotic massage?

I almost forgot! The official currency for Montenegro is Euro (€). Hence, you don't have to bother to exchange any local currency, unless you don't have any Euros with you.

Apart from Stari Grad, actually there are more things to do and see in Kotor itself, like climbing up the Upper Walls and hop to the Island Gospa od Skrpjela. I will blog more about these soon.

Coming out next

>> Next Post: Hiking San Giovanni Fort of Kotor >>