How to choose housing in Montenegro?

Montenegro in recent years has become a real center of beach tourism for guests from different parts of Europe, especially attracting the attention of citizens of the former Soviet Union. There is everything to create the atmosphere of a dream - a warm sea, sunny beaches, bewitching mountains, ancient architecture, and all this at prices that are very inferior to Western European ones. However, you will have to pay a lot to get here, because many travelers with experience prefer not to spend money on travel agency services, but to organize their holidays on their own.

There are no difficulties in finding rented private housing for every taste in Montenegro - the locals perfectly understand the tourism potential of their country and enjoy using it. On the Internet you can find several sites at once that offer a search for rental housing with various filters - thanks to them you can organize your dream vacation.

Experienced tourists say that in this Balkan country, it is most reasonable to look for apartments, since hotels do not often provide higher comfort, but they ask for more money.

At the same time, during the search for housing, it is worth listening to a few valuable tips.

Montenegro is literally a “rubber” country, it is able to accommodate tourists much more than locals live here, but the question is what will get to you - the best, chosen in accordance with your own tastes, or something on a residual basis.

Even 2-3 months before the start of the season, the choice is not the same, and if you come and start looking for housing already in place, you risk losing all day looking and either paying exorbitant prices for a normal cottage, or choosing what no one else to take wanted to.

The wilderness itself is not so bad if you wanted a secluded holiday in silence, but if you wanted a bright and fun vacation with a sea of ​​adventure, you may encounter deep disappointment. The fact is that only 625 thousand people live in Montenegro, it does not reach the level of many regional centers, because all these people are also scattered in many towns and cities.

If your rented apartment is located somewhere not in the center of Opshtina (not in the regional center, if in our opinion), you may encounter the fact that there is nothing here except the sea and the beach. The same store can be one and with overpriced prices, buses rarely go here, there are no taxis at all or for big money, there is nowhere to go with children, excursions from here also do not start - in short, by the sea, but like on a desert island.

If you ever sold something yourself, then you probably understand that the seller’s task is to concentrate on the good qualities of the product, trying not to recall the bad ones somehow. For this reason, beautiful phrases, to which the southern peoples have a special inclination, sometimes create pictures in the head of our compatriot that are extremely far from reality.

Suppose, under the promising phrase “apartments in a villa with their own kitchen”, an ordinary apartment in a small apartment building is usually hidden, but the very ornate wording can be confusing and you will overpay for housing that in Montenegro does not claim to be a class above the “standard”. Similar “Walking accessibility of nightlife” means that it will be extremely difficult for the lark to fall asleep in the evening, not to mention putting the baby to bed.

Many people want to relax in a “quiet place with wonderful ecology,” but it’s not customary to complain about the dirty air in Montenegro, and for this predominantly rural country a “quiet place” is a wilderness where there is nothing at all.

A great way to deal with your own imagination, which has played out from the local Montenegrin language, is to search for your future housing on the map. She will not lie, allowing you to clearly determine how far you will live from shops or public transport. On it you can check whether the owner has not spoken about the company Balkan bonus - a view of the cemetery from the window.

There are no large cities in Montenegro - walkers will easily cross any of the local villages. It is not surprising that housing is often described as located “10 minutes from the center” or “500 meters from the sea”, but this is not so simple.

In Montenegro, there are many mountains where they break off directly into the sea, and some townships snuggled right up to the rock, going down the water in tiers. It looks damn picturesque, but 10 minutes is convenient to walk on flat terrain, and here all this time can be spent on a descent (and on the way back - on an ascent) along a rather steep staircase. You must admit that the “thousand steps” looks less attractive than the “500 meters”, and in the heat and after the beach such a tour is hardly interesting, especially with a small child.

The Internet is good not only with the ability to conveniently search for suitable housing, but also because in it you can find useful information from other users. So, the owner will never write about the negative aspects of his proposal, but one of the previous guests can fulfill his social duty and leave a clue to other travelers about why this option is doubtful.

Montenegro is an ancient country, and local people carefully respect ancient architecture. Chasing color, you can choose a village with narrow streets where the car cannot be put even from reasoning of logic - it will obviously block half a street. In the private sector, this issue is usually a little easier, but in the center, where there are apartments, sometimes you have to pay extra for private parking, and even walk to and from it.

Travelers with experience know that the more people live in an apartment or room, the cheaper it is per person. To rent a three-room apartment for six people will usually come out cheaper anyway than renting three double rooms, even with a shared bathroom and kitchen. At the same time, the same guest room in the master's house is often described as accommodating up to four people, but the beds can be different - someone gets a comfortable bed, and someone can accommodate in a folding armchair.

If everything is equal in your company, this alignment can be a problem. In addition, couples often fundamentally want a double bed, but it is more beneficial for the owners to put single beds - then guests of any degree of kinship can be accommodated in the room.

Going on vacation, remember that Montenegro is located far in the south and that it is a country with a stunningly warm sunny climate. Almost the whole summer there is a noticeable heat, which is partially smoothed out by the sea, but can still cause discomfort. If suddenly you decide to come south in the winter, please note that Montenegro does not have central heating as such, and although the winters here are far from Russian, without a normal heater you will be extremely uncomfortable.

Many tourists consider it not a good idea to leave a deposit when booking, especially if vacation planning is carried out several months before the trip.

It so happens that the landlord comes across a more profitable client for you on the same dates, and since your agreement was only left on paper, nothing prevents the owner from doubting your arrival - sometimes you are not even warned that your reservation is canceled. It’s another matter if you have already paid part of the money, and you have confirmation of it.

Hotels are usually chosen by those tourists who rightly believe that it is not worth refusing comfort, and it is simply impossible to overpay if the conditions of the stay are improved. Here you need to pay attention that in Montenegro there are modern 4 and 5 star hotels with their own sandy beaches, a water park and the beloved all-inclusive system, as well as old “monsters” from Yugoslav times that no one has bothered since rebuild or at least radically upgrade.

For this reason, focusing on guest reviews, we will briefly go over several popular establishments, showing how well you can live in Montenegro.

The pearl of Budva. If you have chosen the most popular resort in the country, it makes sense to choose the best hotel in it, but this hotel is among the top in the whole of Montenegro. You will have to pay an average of about 15 thousand rubles per person per night, but the level of service is considered European. Naturally, this establishment boasts its own beach, as well as two swimming pools, a casino, baths and saunas.

Tivat is not located on the seashore, but it lies on the coast of the breathtaking Bay of Kotor, and this hotel is on the first line. In general, it can be called a sanatorium with a full treatment, because there is everything to maintain health - baths, saunas, exercise machines and a pool, tennis courts and bowling alleys. Nearby there is the opportunity to ride a real yacht or dive to the seabed with scuba diving.

Kotor - the resort is relatively calm, but this is its advantage. Oddly enough, even five-star hotels in this resort do not provide all-inclusive meals, but they offer breakfast (included in the room rate) on a chic terrace overlooking the bay and the surrounding mountains. Having breakfast with a view of the sailing ships is a pleasure available to very few of our compatriots.

It is located in southern Ulcinj and is appreciated by the guests for the fact that it offers full-fledged food throughout the day. Caring for guests is manifested in the fact that not only breakfast, lunch and dinner, but also beach items like umbrellas or sun loungers are already included in the price - you don’t have to pay extra for anything.

Unusual design in medieval Italian style attracts lovers of color here, and the location of the city literally encourages excursions to Skadar Lake and neighboring Albania.

At the same time, almost the entire coastline of Montenegro is densely built up with hotels and hostels for every taste, therefore both an individual tourist and a family or a group of friends can choose a place to stay on vacation. In addition, you can navigate by the wallet - there are budget options "for students", and there are also VIP numbers for the richest guests.

It should be noted that the main tourist flow leaves in Montenegro precisely on the sea coast, while any corner of this truly magical country can be called beautiful. Fans of walks in mountainous terrain and ancient architecture will find accommodation in almost any Montenegrin settlement, but due to the specifics of tourist flows, the infrastructure within the country is developing relatively slowly.

However, if you are driving for the sake of mountains and color, and not for a beach holiday, pay attention to the options in the depths of the continent - most likely the prices there will be much cheaper, and you can get to the sea by car if you wish.

For those who are interested not so much in the coast as in the mountains, Montenegro offers camping. It’s not worth considering a budget accommodation option like this, because this way of settling in this country has a characteristic feature - many local campsites essentially offer rental of small summer houses in the mountains.

On the one hand, there are clearly fewer amenities and infrastructure than in the center of the resort town, on the other hand, the organization of a water supply in such places may involve additional costs, because it is a mistake to think that living here is necessarily cheap.

At the same time, as befits campsites, many of these institutions still allow you to live the most budgetary of all known methods, that is, in a tent.At the same time, the tent may be yours - then you are offered to put it on the equipped, and possibly guarded territory, nearby with minimal infrastructure like a shared kitchen and the same shower.

Typically, such housing is concentrated in picturesque mountainous areas, where you can go in any direction and accidentally get on a fascinating walk through charming places. This, of course, is not quite a resort vacation - it is more like a trip to the countryside for a vacation, because many of the reviews especially highlight the opportunity to swim in the river or waterfall, see beautiful landscapes and even just overeat with juicy fruits from the trees growing around.

Another thing is that you can hardly find such an entourage within your native country - no matter how you say it, in Montenegro the mountains are very high, and most importantly - incredibly beautiful. Camping will appeal to those who like to visit guests colorful, and will definitely help to "reboot".

It is no secret to anyone that rest in a sanatorium can have a positive effect on the state of health, and combining business with pleasure is both reasonable and profitable. It’s another matter that in any post-Soviet country the sanatorium system is somehow wrongly built - in fact, you simply come to one or another relatively picturesque place where doctors constantly go after you with their pills and syringes.

In Montenegro, everything is arranged completely differently, because the local infrastructure is aimed at foreigners who will not specifically come to an ordinary hospital.

There is no problem with the surroundings anywhere - there are beautiful mountains everywhere, there is a sea, but there is no harmful industry, which is why the air is surprisingly clean. They are treated here with mud, mineral baths and even just the climate, because from ancient times people who wanted to recover from serious injuries or emotional upheavals sought here here. Those who have been here noted that the level of service here is no worse than in Italy or Switzerland, but the services are much cheaper.

The Mediterranean Health Center in Igalo has been known for several decades - in Soviet times, it was here that domestic party leaders and top-level athletes preferred to be treated. This center is world famous as one of the best.

Moreover, he does not have a specific specialization - local doctors deal with the problems of the musculoskeletal system, skin diseases, and the recovery of patients after operations or heart attacks. Here, nature itself contributes to the relief of symptoms of allergies and other respiratory diseases.

In Prcanj, there is a medical center with the same complex name “Vrmac”, which also deserves attention. Here, the main emphasis is on cardiovascular diseases, but they also treat the musculoskeletal system, nerves, and respiratory organs. It is proved that basalt sand on the sea beaches of neighboring Ulcinj is very useful for eliminating rheumatic pains.

Interestingly, there is even a beach nearby with the unusual name “Feminine” - in fact, it is not intended exclusively for the fair sex, it just has a sulfuric spring, whose water is very useful for treating female infertility.

They say that even the air itself heals at sea, and scientists have proved that this is true. Based on this statement, it makes sense for the general healing of the body to visit Montenegrin city of San Stefan. It is not famous for sanatoriums in the usual sense of the word, but it is located on a peninsula remote from the main continent, and connected only with a narrow isthmus.

Whatever type of housing you choose in Montenegro, you probably want to save some money without losing comfort. As often happens, tourists with experience can advise some interesting solutions that are economically advantageous, but do not completely spoil the impression of a vacation.

• Do not contact travel agencies - go to Montenegro yourself. In recent years, the country's tourism industry has flourished, it is easy to find hotels and private housing on the Internet - use it without paying for intermediaries.

• For many local hosts, guest rooms and houses in the homestead provide comfort comparable to a three star hotel. The owner, however, carefully monitors his estate than a simple hotel manager, but sets prices lower, so the private sector is still more profitable.

• As this often happens, the longer your stay in the apartment, the cheaper you can stay. The specificity of the tourism business is such that on certain days the influx of tourists can be extremely high, and on other days there will be no demand and housing will be empty. Naturally, the owner wants a clearly visible future, because he will agree to a discount if, figuratively speaking, you want to stay for the whole summer.

• According to the logic described in paragraph above, it makes sense to book accommodation as early as possible - this allows the owner to calculate his budget for the year ahead. Sometimes with early booking you can grab a discount up to 50% of the cost, and this despite the fact that the "early bird" is given the best choice absolutely among all available options. As mentioned above, it is theoretically possible to settle in Montenegro on the day of arrival, but competent tourists begin to become interested in the issue of summer living in January.

• Do not be like a cannonball - get into the same funnel twice. If you are already resting in Montenegro with a local host, you like everything and you would love to come back, start agreeing right there next year. The owner knows you, and if you behaved normally, for him this is a certain guarantee - he will know that next year he will not come across typical “Russo tourists”. In addition, this, again, allows him to build financial plans in advance and not engage in the search for future visitors.

• The region determines the price. The cost of living depends in part on the demand of guests, because in promoted resort areas the room will cost a little more than exactly the same, located somewhere in a quieter corner. In Montenegro, the most expensive housing is traditionally located on the Budva Riviera - in Budva itself and its environs. The same Tivat and Kotor, located on the banks of the extremely picturesque Bay of Kotor, offer tariffs slightly lower, although the beauty here is pristine, and the first is also located near the airport. In the outback, prices will be the lowest, but then far to the sea.

• To save money, it is wise to go with several families at once and rent one huge villa. For the price it will come out like small apartments for every family, but there will be much more space and amenities.

On how to choose housing in Montenegro, see below.