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Make Montenegro your next holiday destination for some James Bond-style glamour on a budget – Mirror UK

Make Montenegro your next holiday destination for some James Bond-style glamour on a budget – Mirror UK

Montenegro is one those places that sounds incredibly glamorous – but, truthfully, do you even know where it is?

Before you start Googling, let me admit that I was shamefully hazy about its exact position on the planet too.

Sandwiched between Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Albania, it has a population of just 620,000.

Easy to miss, you might say – but with easyJet now offering low-cost flights from both Gatwick and Manchester to Tivat, one of its top resort towns, that is sure to change rapidly.

With its stunning coastline, good-value hotels (yes – even considering our poor, precarious pound) and less than three-hour flight time, Montenegro is rightly tipped to be one of this year’s rising European destinations.

After landing in Tivat on the Adriatic coast, the transfer to the Hotel Splendid Conference and Spa Resort in Becici was just 30 minutes.

The Splendid, as James Bond geeks will tell you, was the name of the imposing Baroque hotel in Casino Royale where 007 takes on the terrorist financier Chiffre in a nail-biting poker game.

In fact, much of that 2006 movie is set in Montenegro, which possibly accounts for the country’s newfound glamorous reputation.

Yet, sadly, no filming actually took place in the country itself.

The Czech Republic provided the locations and let Montenegro claim the glory.

But while my Hotel Splendid may not be a stunning period building – complete with Daniel Craig strutting around in his budgie smugglers (if only) – there was lots to recommend this modern, five-
star resort.

My giant circular bed was one of the most comfortable I’ve slept in, and waking up to the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore, with a balcony view of the Adriatic, is nothing to complain about.

You do get some rain here, but on top of the sprawling outdoor pool and beach, there’s also an indoor one to retreat to from the showers.

Bay of Kotor
The hotel pool from above
And the spa area has several kinds of saunas and steam rooms with varying heats and herbal smells to suit anyone who enjoys this kind of detoxing downtime.

If you’re fond of a firm massage, you won’t be disappointed – with Montenegrin men and women being famously tall, they seem to have plenty of strength to unknot your tensions and makes your worries from home melt away.

The five-star rating here may not exactly translate to the UK version – you are charged €1.50 for every coffee machine pod you use in the room, and none of the whirlpool baths really seemed to work properly.

But these are minor points and staying here is still luxury at a good price.

Back up the coast at Tivat is Porto Montenegro, a new multimillion-pound marina on the Bay of Kotor where wealthy Russian holidaymakers and Europe’s yachting fraternity flock to enjoy the facilities and show off their super-vessels.

The Porto Montenegro Yacht Club (or PMYC as it’s known) must be the most chic place in the country to knock back a decent cocktail and laze with a good book.

Djurdjevica Tara Bridge
The Tara Bridge in Djurdjevica (Photo: Alamy)
You don’t have to be a member, just pay to use the pool for the day. With its slick-white aesthetic, geometrically-placed palms, and gigantic bronze sculpture in the middle by Catalan artist Jaume Plensa, there is a cool Miami vibe to enjoy here.

And, at a whopping 210ft long, there has surely never been a more aptly-named infinity pool than this (portomontenegro.com €40 per day).

The club is also home to the Naval Heritage Collection museum, worth a quick look if only for the chance to board the Yugoslav Navy P-821 Hero-class submarine outside.

Here you see first hand the cramped, claustrophobic living quarters sailors had to cope with when it roamed 600ft under the surface in the late 1960s (admission and tour €5). If you like to keep active on holiday, Lustica Bay is in development on the other side of the Bay of Kotor.

Here you can learn to sail or paddleboard in calm waters. A sizeable water park is also being built and it’s sure to attract families and thrillseekers alike.

Montenegro, Crna Gora, Durmitor National Park, Tara river
An exhilarating raft trip up the Tara River is a must (Photo: Getty)
More adventurous souls can, and certainly should, make the winding trip along the Tara River through unspoiled, breathtakingly lush countryside to Kolasin in central Montenegro.

Donning a wetsuit and hard hat, and equipped with gung-ho bravado, I boarded a raft at Splaviste for some whitewater action.

Guiding us through the rapids at the back of the raft was a stern local who, we were assured, knew the Tara River ‘’like the back of his hand’’.

His English was limited but effective when he boomed, “EVERYBODY!’’

It was the signal for all passengers on board to frantically paddle while he steered us through rapids and rocks. ‘’STOP!’’ meant sit tight –and just hold on for dear life.

The official age you’re allowed to raft here is three, but I strongly suspect it would be a little bit older back in the health and safety conscious UK ( montenegroexplorer.co.me €60-75).

However, it was a thrilling way to discover the Djurdjevica Bridge, which featured in 1978 British war movie Force 10 From Navarone.

And you get to see up close the shortest and most powerful river in Europe, the 500ft Ljutica (rafting is forbidden down this, and when you see it you’ll understand why).

Tara River Trip
The hotel’s view of the Adriatic
If you’re after a slightly more sedate spot of sightseeing, Kotor is the place to head for. The Lonely Planet’s 2016 yearbook named it as the number one city to visit.

While I’m not sure it quite lives up to that hype, the medieval architecture and numerous cultural heritage monuments certainly make this walled city well worthy of its place on the Unesco list.

With its atmospheric back streets, incense-filled churches and a museum devoted to cats (the city is famous for its huge feline population), this is the ideal place to potter around for some souvenirs. Sampling the Montenegrin cuisine is a must.

The five-star hotels serve the kind of top-class international menus you would expect, but if you venture outside this affluent scene, the family-run seafront eateries are quirky, friendly and cheap.

The owner of the Jadran restaurant in Budva, along the coast from Becici, laid on a feast of black risotto and octopus salad, followed by a tasty mixed seafood stew known as buzara.

Then he proudly brought out his showpiece – dentex (a bit like sea bass) in a salt crust which was then dramatically set alight to impressed gasps from the entire dining room.

My stomach was groaning, but happily it was nothing an after-dinner grappa couldn’t fix.

Four days in this enchanting and relatively undiscovered country was enough to make me want to return.

I reckon I’d better make it quick though. Its Google search stats are bound to be rising even as you read this.

Get there

easyJet holidays has 7nts B&B at the 5* Hotel Splendid Conference and SPA Resort in Becici, Montenegro, from £479pp inc flights from Gatwick to Tivat on Oct 10; Manchester departure on Oct 13 from £455pp. easyjet.com/en/holidays

Tourist info: visit-montenegro.com

Time zone: UK +1hr

Currency: Euro £1 = 1.17

Best time to go: As soon as you can – beat the rush!

Source: Mirror UK

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/europe-short-haul/make-montenegro-your-next-holiday-8514311

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