Dalmatian baecation
Ah another day, another holiday! And this was a belated birthday holiday, planned after the success of my Gibraltar birthday holiday last year. In between the two I certainly didn't do too badly. Edinburgh, Cyprus, Malta, The Maldives, New York, Cancun, Turin, Dublin, Cologne, Lisbon and Palma. I managed an impressive 12 holidays while being 25, so I figured I’d kick 26 off the right way by ticking a new country off my bucket list; Montenegro.
When we booked the holiday, I was already expecting to love it there. I’d loved Dubrovnik in Croatia, and Budva in Montenegro seemed to offer the same vibes. Walled old town, lively nightlife, beachfront setting, a hotspot for bars, shops and restaurants. There are a number of great towns and cities to choose from when planning a trip to Montenegro, but we felt like Budva was a nice mix of everything in one. Plus it was only a stone’s throw from some other hotspots, that meant we’d be able to explore those while we were there too! Hotel wise, we ended up choosing the Hotel Fagus, which was basically on the coast, a 10 minute walk away from the old town, lovely and modern and had (can you guess) a rooftop pool. They also shot straight to the top of our good books when we arrived at 11am, exhausted from a 2am wake-up and nightmarish airport experience (Manchester airport is as bad as you’ve read), and our room was already ready so we could check straight in and relax!
A quick nap and then it was time to get ready and head out to explore. Our first stop was obviously food, so we had a wander down to the seafront. From our hotel, we popped onto the seafront at quite a satisfying point; walk left and there was a big expanse of beach, largely operated as beach clubs from the cafes and bars that lined it, walk right and it was more of a marina, lined with less casual restaurants and bars plus loads of boats you could book trips with. For our first meal, we chose to walk in neither direction, and instead got lunch at essentially the first restaurant we popped out at! It was the most beautiful setting; start as you mean to go on afterall.
I'd read that the old town at Budva wasn't nearly as impressive as the one at Kotor, but Budva had more of the other things we wanted so it won out. And actually, I found that their old town was sold a little short. It was lovely! Quaint windy roads with loads of cute tiny shops, lovely little bars in all the nooks and crannies, and some gorgeous buildings and views! We had a little wander around before stopping for a drink in the sun.
By this point we were in need of a cool-off, so we went back to our hotel for a couple of hours by our hotel pool. It was so lovely and we had amazing views of the town from there. One thing I would say though is that the rooftop was basically all taken up with the pool, and then there were a small handful of chairs, no sun loungers. So it was ideal for the kind of holiday we'd planned, where the pool is an added extra but I don't think it'd be a great choice if you wanted a sunbathing holiday.
Then it was time to get ready for night 1! When planning my Montenegro wardrobe, I'd gone with a dressy-casual vibe so my first outfit was this bright orange skirt, one shoulder polka dot top, cream heels and cream bag. I also mix my hairstyles up a lot more on holiday (a lot, because I literally don't mix it up at all at home) so went with a centre parting.
If you like seafood, you're well in luck in Budva. There are loads of lovely seafood restaurants right along the water, and we had two amazing grilled fish dishes, followed by a local favourite dessert to share (because we're just that cute). I love the restaurant we chose because they also had live music playing, which is always lovely!
The next day I got myself all kitted out in my new birthday presents; Quay sunglasses, rattan straw bag and dogtooth print hair scarf to protect my scalp (which literally always gets sunburnt). I worked them all into a neutral outfit which I just loved; dark nude top, scarf print shorts and brown and gold sandals. We were planning to explore a little further afield so after loading up at the hotel breakfast, we were off to find ourselves a boat taxi. It didn't exactly take a lot of looking, as they're literally everywhere! We knew we wanted to go to see Sveti Stefan, but they offered us something better, which involved going to see the blue caves first, dropping us off at Sveti Stefan for a couple of hours and then picking us up at any time we wanted for €50. The boat taxis were pretty slow but we thought they were good value and I just love a boat ride on holiday.
The blue caves were beautiful and I'm so glad we got to see them! Although seeing them as we did seemed to be the best option; there were other boats arriving where people were jumping off to swim but to be honest the caves weren't very big so I doubt it would be worth doing. A quick peak and a few pictures was good enough for us.
Somewhere I could've happily spent longer though was Sveti Stefan. It was like a little island connected to the coast by a long walkway, with gorgeous beaches and views on either side. The island itself is actually a luxury hotel resort so we didn't bother wandering up there. Instead, we set up camp on the beach. All the beaches we visited were pebble/shingle beaches rather than golden sands so you do have to pay for sun loungers really. That's fine by me as I don't like lying directly on the sand and getting it everywhere anyway; I like my creature comforts. The only bad thing about pebble beaches though is it makes going in the sea a pretty painful ordeal. I so wish I'd remembered to take my water shoes or a pair of flip flops that I could get wet! Although I have to say that lying on a comfy sun lounger and reading a great book was hardly a bad alternative.
After we'd been picked up and brought back by our boat taxi, we followed our noses to find some lunch. Having noticed the day before that turning left along the seafront led to more cafes and beach clubs than proper restaurants, we figured that would be the perfect place. In fairness, most of the menus in Budva were very similar - we were definitely sick of chips by the time we got home! Having almost ordered it the night before, I went for a seafood pasta.
The only thing that our rooftop pool was missing was a bar for some early-evening drinks. So we took matters into our own hands! Popping into a shop on the way back, we got a few bottled cocktails to enjoy by the pool while soaking up some rays (it was still an impressive 30 degrees until the sun went down).
Instead of sticking to the seafront, we looked for a restaurant along the main high road instead, the road that ran parallel to the sea and had a number of bars, pubs and shops (which weirdly stayed open until like midnight just in case you got a late night hankering to buy a new inflatable lilo?). We found a lovely spot where Ollie got a steak and I got a speciality pork dish - see what I mean about the chips though?
After dinner, we followed the high street all the way up to the old town walls, where there was a massive open square (well, not so much a square as a giant L shape) full of bars and late night cafes, where we enjoyed a few drinks.
Having discovered the row of beach clubs the day before, we planned ourselves a beach day. I suppose part of the reason I normally prefer the pool is the fact that you're all set; you can get a drink, you can get some lunch, you can nip to the toilet. Whereas the beach can feel a bit more feral. But slap the word bar or club after it and it suddenly seems a lot more appealing. So we rented sun loungers for the day at a place called Coco beach club, and read in the sunshine while being brought drinks. How delightful. I'd whipped the birthday present wardrobe back out again as I wore my new orange gingham top, with some white linen shorts that are just perfect for holidays.
The clouds had been swirling and rumbling ominously over the mountains all morning and by lunchtime, they started to make their way to the coast. We managed to time the first rain storm perfectly, as we'd just sat down for lunch in a covered restaurant when the heavens opened. Unfortunately, our timing wasn't so great with the second or third storm, as we were back on the beach and not very protected by our parasol! But we're Brits after all; we don't get scared off by a bit of rain.
Every holiday I go on, I try to tempt myself not to take this dress again as I've worn it so many times. But I just can't resist - it's perfect! Budva was actually really casual in the evenings though so instead of the cream heels I'd planned to wear with it, I went with my white sliders and rattan straw bag. When ended up being a serendipitous move; more on that shortly.
By this point we were pretty sick of fish/meat/potato type meals, so we were excited to find a Cantonese/Sushi fusion restaurant just outside of the old town. While the sushi menu looked amazing, we figured the two didn't go together in one meal and so opted for just the Chinese instead. The food was incredible - we definitely made a good choice on that one!
And then our night took a rather strange turn. We were back in the same L-shaped square as the night before to have a few drinks and after spying a roof terrace the night before, we planned to go there. We couldn't, however, figure out how to get up there, so after dismissing the bar below it for having no tables, and the one opposite it for seeming too restaurant-like, we ended up at the next one along. We were sat chatting when I heard a really loud banging noise start going off, maybe 3 or 4 bangs in a row. At first I thought it was fireworks and couldn't see anything from where I was sitting as we were on the corner and I had my back to that direction. Ollie saw people were starting to run away and scatter though, so in one swift millisecond, we realised it was gunshots and were up and running with the rest of them (all the better for wearing flat shoes). The gunshots were still going off at this point so as we headed towards the sea and the road back to our hotel, I started to ponder if my relatively high threshold for pain would extend to being shot. Luckily we were fine and made it back to our hotel shaken but not shot (always a bonus). I'd suspected a terrorism attack but it wasn't until the next morning that we read that a high ranking member of a local gang had been shot dead at close range. Apparently a guy on the table next to him just stood up and started shooting! Honestly it's always something on mine and Ollie's holidays (riots in Barcelona, mumps in Berlin, lost luggage in the Maldives) but this was by far the craziest yet!
The next morning, everything was a little calmer and it was back to holiday business as usual (thank god). Something we'd seen lots of boat trips offering was a trip to Hawaii beach at Saint Nikola's island (the same island home to the blue caves). It was only €5 return so we hopped on the ferry that went back and forth every hour and planned to have a few hours there. I'd worn denim shorts with tied floral shirt and my trusty hair scarf (I was determined not to burn my scalp).
Back earlier than intended, we had another bout of serendipity. After craving a trip to a pool that we could comfortably sunbathe round, I'd done some googling and found just the place. Torch beach club seriously need to up their marketing though, as it was incredible and yet you could barely tell by looking online. A big gorgeous pool, massive round sun beds that practically qualify as sofa beds, cocktails on tap, a lovely food menu, a view of the beach and the sea from where you were sat. It was literally the definition of the best of both worlds. And having been to similar places like Ocean beach and Nikki beach, I was bracing myself for the cost of one of the massive sun beds for the day. €20 for the two of us!! I was really surprised and practically bit their hand off; Montenegro was definitely good value and we really didn't spend a lot the whole time we were away. The serendipity comes in when all the sun beds (which had been empty apart from one when we arrived) were taken less than an hour later. So if we'd remembered cash and spent longer at Hawaii island as planned, we couldn't have been blessed with a perfect day at the beach club.
I always like to save a white outfit for the last night of the holiday to accentuate the tan, so I'd saved my white shorts and scarf top combo for Saturday night. I love this scarf top with its gold chain, and the colour of the print perfectly matched my new blue shoes too. I had my hair up with curled tendrils and finished with statement gold jewellery.
You'd think we wouldn't want to go to the old town after the events of the night before, but I reasoned that lightning is very unlikely to strike in the same place twice. we were both fancying Italian food so we actually ended up at a restaurant I'd been eyeing up the day before. It was the cutest little back alley pizza place and the food was amazing! Yes, mine might look like they accidentally dumped a whole bag of salad on it, but it was actually beef prosciutto, goats cheese, tomatoes, rocket, walnuts, truffle oil, honey and parmesan and it was 10/10.
We finished off the holiday with a few drinks and some live music at a bar on the main high street. I love live music and although I couldn't understand a word of it as it was all in (presumably) Montenegrin, it still had the same effect and we had a lovely time. For anyone who hasn't heard of Montenegro before or hasn't considered visiting, I would highly recommend it. The luscious green landscape, the perfect blue water, the super cheap food and drinks, the amazing scenery, the great local wines, the lovely old buildings. It was certainly one that I enjoyed ticking off my bucket list!
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