Montenegro was the fourteenth country on our #IceColdinIstanbul adventure and after some wild and woolly times in the Balkans, it’s all started to get much glossier. The roads have surfaces and signs, the restaurants are stylish, and the yachts are plentiful. Of course, that’s reflected in the prices, so expect some professional spreadsheet manipulation over the next few days. 

Kotor Bay was in our guidebook’s top ten Eastern European highlights, and rightly so. Byron said:

‘At the birth of our planet, the most beautiful encounter between the land and the sea must have happened at the coast of Montenegro. When the pearls of nature were sown, handfuls of them were cast on this soil.’

He’s a much better writer than me, so I’m going to leave it at that and add a few photos.

Our campsite was tucked away on the other side of the gulf from Kotor in a small fishing village called Morinj. It meant we were away from the cruise ships and much of the hustle and bustle of the bay. It also meant there was another unexpected ferry to get across the bay, but it was a slick operation, only cost €8 and was a much more exciting way to arrive at our destination.

Camping Naluka was in a beautiful spot where the river meets the gulf. I’m not going to lie, my bottom lip started quivering when all the waterfront pitches were occupied- but I got over myself. It really was a gorgeous tranquil site with stunning scenery all around.

The site was full of German RVers of a certain age. They were extremely friendly and chatty but spoke no English at all. Every day seemed like my O-level German oral exam, I was waving my arms around expansively and digging out vocab from the very depths of my memory. They spoke to me rather like Englishmen abroad, slowly and loudly and had rather glazed expressions when I expostulated in reply.

We were camping, but please don’t think that me and Mr G were keeping it real. The village had a chic waterside beach bar and a fabulous fish restaurant that’s been frequented by Novak Djokavic, Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler and the legend that was Bruce Forsyth. It was a real Brucie Bonus for us, we only went there because it was next door to the campsite and were shocked to enjoy the best meal of our entire journey so far. Beautiful fresh fish, simply but elegantly prepared. It reminded me of one of my favourite places, Passos in Portugal. If you’re ever in Kotor Bay try Ćatovića Mlini. They’ve got a helipad, so easy to get to if you haven’t got a campervan!!!

 Ćatovića Mlini

Quick campsite comment: 

We stayed at Autocamp Naluka in Morinj.

The good bits: Roomy pitches, reliable WiFi, clean facilities and good hot showers. The very best bit was the location, we could walk in minutes to great restaurants, the beach and a mini-market. It was a very reasonable €20 a night.

The bad bits: No laundry, lots of people staying for several weeks so you may struggle to get a waterside pitch.