After our trips to Perast and Kotor, we turned our route to Budva! It took us 45 minutes just to cover the 35-kilometre road. Watch out for the traffic in Kotor! Now let's get to Montenegro's famous Budva: what's it like, what's here...
Places to visit in Montenegro: this way!
If you're wondering where its fame comes from, the city of Budva is the most visited spot in Montenegro. We heard it's even described as "the country's tourism hub and its Miami Beach". You'll understand why as you explore the city. As with the buildings in Kotor and Perast, the Venetian architectural influence can be seen here too. And this little city of 14 thousand people apparently gets more than 1 million tourists a year! All we can do is congratulate them!
Since it was taken from the Venetians, the name of the country was translated from Black Mountain as Karadağ in Turkish. Montenegro, which declared its independence from the Ottomans in 1878, was recognised worldwide as an official country in 2006. Most of the people living here speak Serbian and Montenegrin. But with the city's attractive character, many languages are spoken in Budva.
Budva has a history of more than 2,500 years. That makes the city the oldest settlement on the Adriatic. The influence of the Romans, who once occupied it, can't be missed in Budva's old town today. Many historians believe the old town was once an island connected to the shore by sand. Who knows, maybe it's true!
Budva is warm almost all year round, giving everyone who comes the chance to swim constantly. It's a seaside town you can go to whenever you like, except in winter.
Now let's give you a few details about the places to visit..
Slovenska Beach
Let's start with Slovenska Beach, one of Budva's largest and most popular beaches. The beach, with a shoreline about 1.6 km long, is surrounded on all sides by green hills and by the umbrellas among the sand. They're actually quite right to compare it to Miami Beach. If the weather is sunny, it gets more and more crowded as time goes on.
Our advice, if you go, is to get to the beach before 11 in the morning and pick your sunbed and umbrella. Along the beach, on the pavements, there are cafés, bars and restaurants where you can eat.
Mogren Beach
Almost all the beaches we'd seen in Montenegro so far impressed us a lot, and we liked them all very much. Another beach worthy of a Mediterranean country that we can recommend turned out to be Mogren Beach. There are two separate beaches here. These two beaches are connected to each other by a small tunnel. The beach as a whole is surrounded by cliffs and green vegetation.
The best thing is, on a scorching sunny day at Mogren Beach, sipping your iced coffee against the stifling heat and swimming in Mogren's untouched waters, where you can easily see the bottom when you look..
The beach got a blue flag in 2004. Of course, with that, the number of people coming started to grow every day. :) You can walk to the beach from the Old Town.
Old Town
The old town, also called Stari Grad, is on a small island through which the years have passed. Along the old Venetian walls there are 5 entrances to the Old Town in total. Of course, unsurprisingly, they're all overflowing with narrow streets, terracotta roofs, cobbled roads and plenty of places to shop and eat. As we mentioned in our Kotor post, the real reason the streets are narrow and confusing was apparently to prevent attacks by confusing the enemy when they came.
So what's daily life like on these streets in Budva?
Couples travelling like us can eat delicious food for a meal in the €25 - 30 range. Of course this meal is filling enough and of good quality.
In the Old Town you can find churches, monasteries and many remains from the past. Best of all, since vehicles aren't allowed into these lovely places, you can explore everywhere on foot. As you walk through this 2,500-year-old city, influenced by many peoples such as the Romans and Ottomans, the city's magnificent panoramic views will impress you and take you back in time. Be sure to go into the Budva Museum; it holds many works showing Budva's long history and developing culture.
Budva Citadel
The Budva Citadel is the finest of the structures overlooking the old town. Built almost 1000 years ago, this magnificent fortress has tremendous power as a lookout. By the way, I (Anıl) love visiting castles, but convincing Berna to visit castles can sometimes take a while. Still, to see the city's best views and its whole silhouette, stopping by the castles is a must.
The citadel was built as a protector for the city, and looking from the top, it's designed so that any possible attack from the sea could be seen instantly.
Today there's a small entrance fee of about €2. Climbing up the stairs is a must for the best view in the city! When you get to the very top, you'll see the blue ocean, the orange roofs and the paradise sea below you. Other places to see nearby are the Holy Trinity Church, St. Ivan's Church and the Church of Santa Maria in Punta.
If you're curious about our 9-day Balkans trip, our post is here! 9-day Balkans tour
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