Road trip through Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania

A few friends and I spent 4.5 days exploring the countries of Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania by car which makes countries 36, 37 & 38 for me!

                                           Montenegro

Our first stop in Montenegro was the city of Cetinje where we saw the Cetinje monastery and the Castle church.

 Budva, a coastal and touristy city in the Adriatic Sea. 

From there we had two choices on how to get to our next hotel. We could either take the loop around the bay seeing Kotor and hitting some traffic  or take the car ferry across. We decided to take the car ferry which was 4 euros to get across the bay. There are multiple ferries running. When we arrived we pulled into one lane and got a ticket.  

We stay in Herceg Novi for the night, which is known for their many steps. 

Ostrog Orthodox Monastery is built into the face of the mountain so you have to drive up many bending and twisting roads. Normally one has to walk from the parking lot up many steps but with the mobility of the people I was traveling with we were able to park right next to the monastery.

In Bar we saw the  Church of St. Jovan Vladimir. ​Then spent the night in Ulcinj.

From there we went to dinner at a local restaurant recommended by our host. We ate at Pod Volat where I had Goulash, which was yummy. 

We saw Orthodox Temple of Christ's Resurrection. Pictures were not allowed but it was beautifully painted.

We visited the Dajbabe Monastery, which is located inside a cave. When we arrived we had to wait for a baby baptism before we could headed inside the church. While we waited we looked in the little gift shop. The monastery is focused around Saint Simon. While looking one of workers open the coffin of Saint Simon. His funeral robe was beautiful and you could smell lavender incense. When we went to leave we were invited in for drinks, apple juice. We communicate the best we could due to the language barriers.

​We had breakfast at Luce cafe and restaurant. If you ever are in Podgorica, check it out! They also have lunch and dinner options. I have a fit omelette.

                                   Bosnia and Herzegovina            

First stop was Trebijine. We drove down a gravel road leading us to the Duzi monastery, which is located in small complex and was the church was unlocked by the locals. 

We explored Tvrdoš Monastery and then had lunch at Restoran Kukurića Vrtovi which overlooked the River and on the outskirts of town. While driving we saw water wheel in the river which was used to water the crops.

                                              Albania

The border crossing from Montenegro into Albania, was long but we finally made it through We drove through taking in the sites. We stopped at a gas station which had a pizza shop, so we had pizza for lunch. On the way back to Montenegro we saw Rozafa's castle on the hill. 

There is so much to see in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania, I would love to definitely come back one day. Another great trip in the books!