I went to the understated Croatia-alternative with fewer crowds
REMOTE, rugged, and refreshingly underrated, Montenegro doesn’t scream and shout for your attention.
Everyone goes wild for Croatia’s polished reputation when planning their summer travels, but that comes with a conveyor belt of tourists pottering through various old towns and restaurants lining the Adriatic Sea.
An understated alternative, Montenegro is every bit as beautiful, but far less busy.
Explore further and you’ll find an abundance of great food and adventure without needing to reserve any sun loungers or doing serious damage to your bank balance.
Little but lovely, this country in the Balkans is one of Europe’s most unsung, and you should go before others catch on.
On the way through various towns, you won’t find any attempts to cater for mass tourism, a testament to their “Polako, Polako” approach to life, which translates as “slowly, slowly”.
Nothing reflects that more than McDonald’s attempt to crack the market in the country.
The fast-food giants opened a restaurant that was so unsuccessful they quickly closed it — the people here prefer to eat locally.
Surprisingly, while the culture and people are beautiful, warm and welcoming, they’re far from the standout feature of this stunning country.
Variety is perhaps the word that describes it better than any other.
In a matter of hours, you can go from ski slopes to beach sun lounger — and that’s without considering its stunning lakes.
Montenegro is not somewhere you go to sit still for a week, although you could. It’s somewhere you must explore.
For me, the best way to ease into the “Polako Polako” way of life was on a boat trip through Lake Skadar.
Getting there is an experience in itself. Winding along one-track roads, we arrive in the village of Rijeka Crnojevica.
Clambering aboard a local’s traditional wooden boat, we glide silently along narrow channels lined with towering reeds.
As we emerge into the open water, the lake reveals its true scale, a shimmering body of water framed by the dramatic, jagged peaks of the Albanian Alps on one side and the rolling green hills of Montenegro on the other.
Keeping our eyes peeled — it’s a sanctuary for more than 280 species of birds — we attempt to spot the rare Dalmatian pelican, known to perch on the ruins of the 19th-century Lesendro Fortress.
The rare bird evades us, although we do spot a lone heron and plenty of other birds chirp overhead.
Looking at the almost turquoise waters, you see colours you would expect in the Maldives or Australia — not somewhere less than a three-hour Jet2 flight from Stansted.
The lake tour is around two and a half hours.
For couples, it’s an easy win: Relaxed, scenic, and just enough activity to feel like you’ve done something with your day.
After the cruise, a simple lunch of freshly prepared local fish rounds things off, and every bite tastes as fresh as the water we’ve been floating through.
That sense of authenticity carries through to the food more broadly, and nowhere is that clearer than at one of the country’s traditional olive farms.
Moric Olive Farm on the Lustica Peninsula is a perfect example and the journey there takes us past wild pomegranate trees, dry stone walls and into the silver-green olive groves.
We are welcomed by Ilija Moric, whose family has tended the trees for eight generations.
His passion is obvious as he takes us through the farm’s history, showing us the contrast between the ancient stone mill where donkeys once turned the heavy wheels to the shiny, modern organic production they use today.
If Lake Skadar is about slowing down, Montenegro’s vast black mountains are where the country comes to life.
Paved roads give way to rugged tracks, and the scenery becomes more dramatic with every turn, revealing sweeping viewpoints, scattered churches perched in improbable locations, and a sense of isolation that feels both exciting and grounding.
Exploring this landscape on foot, stopping to take in the silence or to light a candle and say a prayer in a small, weathered church, adds a layer of depth to the experience.
Rarely does a destination manage to balance contrast so well, moving seamlessly between rustic and refined, active and relaxed, without ever feeling disjointed, and it’s that consistency of variety that makes Montenegro so worth visiting.
Our base was the 4H Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort, set right on the edge of the bay.
There’s an underground tunnel connecting the hotel with its private shingle beach, and the hotel itself features two pools including a vast, heated infinity pool overlooking the bay.
There’s three restaurants on site but it is just a 15-minute drive to the medieval maze of Kotor’s Old Town.
For couples searching for a summer escape that delivers on scenery, activity and atmosphere without the crowds or price tag of more established hotspots, Montenegro makes a strong case as the quieter, more affordable alternative to Croatia.
GO: MONTENEGRO
GETTING/STAYING THERE: Seven nights’ B&B at the 4* Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay is from £1,389pp including flights from Stansted in September, 22kg baggage and return transfers.
See jet2holidays.com.
OUT & ABOUT: Boat trip, from £58per adult and £29per child.