Three years in Montenegro. All 25 municipalities. Zero press trips. This is the guide I wish existed when I arrived.
I was an architect in Bristol. Came to Kotor for a fortnight to study the Venetian walls. Decided I wasn’t done. Rented an apartment in the old town. Still there.
Three years inside the walls, outside the tourist season, and all 25 municipalities.
I know which months Kotor empties of cruise ships and becomes something else entirely. I know the correct path up the walls that avoids the bottleneck at the cats’ sanctuary. I know which konoba near Perast actually makes its own wine and which one is just bottling from the supermarket.
The Montenegro travel guides I found online were all the same: “Visit Kotor Old Town. Take the boat to Our Lady of the Rocks. Drive to Budva.” Fine. But what about the villages in the Durmitor highlands where no guide has ever been? The food in Pljevlja? The road to Prokletije that most rental companies say is off-limits?
Nobody was writing the honest version. So I did.
Montenegro Unlock is for independent travellers who want the real thing — not the sanitised cruise-ship version. I write like I’m giving advice to a mate over a rakija at a Kotor bar.
Real prices in EUR (Montenegro uses the euro without being in the eurozone — it’s complicated). Real restaurant names. Real timing that accounts for the fact that “30 minutes by boat” depends entirely on whether the season ferry is running.
I’ve gotten things wrong — restaurants close, roads wash out, ferry schedules change every October. If you spot something outdated, email me.
“The 25th municipality was Pljevlja — way up in the north, three hours from Podgorica on a road that climbs through mountain fog. Most visitors never get there. The monastery is genuinely extraordinary. Worth the drive.”
Travel writing has a lot of empty calories. Here’s what I do instead.
Questions, corrections, or want to debate whether Kotor or Dubrovnik is better (it’s Kotor)? I’m always up for it.
✉ tom@montenegrounlock.comSome links on this site earn a small commission if you book through them — at no extra cost to you. I only link to things I’ve personally used or would genuinely recommend. The income keeps this site ad-free and paywall-free. The trade-off: I only recommend things I’d tell a friend about over a rakija at a Kotor bar.