HI hostel in the most beautiful gulf of Montenegro
On my few day visit to Montenegrin coast I was most impressed by the wide gulf of Boka Kotorska. It is surrounded by tall mountains, at points resembling Norwegian fjords. But the climate is much nicer and the plants include olive trees, citrus and other Mediterranean vegetation. I started exploring the gulf in Tivat, with the most frequently visited airport on the coast of Montenegro. It got its name after the Illyrian queen Teuta. There are no really old and significant houses there, but the beach is all the more tempting. At the same time it is a great base for exploring the coast – among other things, because here you can stay at the only HI hostel on this small country’s coast.
Hostel Anton is in a quieter part of town. It is set up in a large family house and taken care of by Maja and Ivan. Both really enjoy work that involves contact with young people. Both are also musicians, which is clear from the goings on. Ivan especially likes Jazz and many evenings in the hostel are spiced up by performances. For small audience events they’ve set up a large winter garden with a bar made on an old boat. They can hold concerts without upsetting their neighbours. There are some 50 beds in the hostel. A two story house also has a terrace with a view of the beach, just a few hundred metres away. During the summer they also take on an assistants, among which is also a fellow from England that just fell in love with this land and stayed at Tivat.
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The town has a nice beach walkway, beach and many places to sit and sip a drink. The harbour also has a large sailboat, which was at sea a lot in the days of the former Yugoslavia. Who doesn’t care much about beaches can cycle a bit to the picturesque stone villages inland or hike over the mountains with many viewpoint, to the town of Kotor – just four hour’s hike away. Because Kotor can take quite some time, it is an interesting town after all, it’s best to return by bus, that connects the towns.
The picturesque old centre of Kotor dates back to 12th century and is very well preserved. No wonder it made the UNESCO World Heritage years ago. A labyrinth of narrow streets is full of shops, bars and also churches and museums. You should also visit the town’s marketplace, just under the city wall. Apart from seasonal fruits and vegetables you can also find excellent cheeses, prosciutto and wine (all locally made).
A special challenge is reaching the upper fortress, connected with hundreds of stairs. It takes about an hour to reach it, but it has one of the best views in Montenegro. The town is at the palm of your hand and the gulf opens up before your eyes.
Boka Kotorska is subdivided into four smaller bays: bay of Herceg Novi, bay of Risan, bay of Kotor and bay of Tivat. Along it there are attractive towns and small villages such as: Kotor, Perast, Risan, Tivat and Herceg Novi. The latter features many preserved fortresses and an attractive town centre with a town’s center behind a city wall. Around the bay there are many beaches and you can visit some of the small islands. Among more attractive ones are Sveti Juraj and Gospa od Škrpjela, near the harbour village of Perast. The settlement was quite developed in the 17th century, due to its harbour. There are still stone palaces standing as testament of those days.
Most settlements in the golf are easily reached by local buses. It’s easier and faster to rent a car, though. Or better said, you can even rent a scooter, because the distances are rather short and there are no parking problems for a scooter. For the more adventurous there is also a ship tour available in the summer, with a ship that connects the most interesting points in the gulf.
Igor Fabjan
Volunteer of Hostelling International Slovenia
Translation: Borut Jurišić
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