Backpacking Kotor
Kotor is a small Town on the Adriatic coast in the south west of Montenegro. The coastline in this region of Montenegro forms a stunning natural harbour and combined with the mountainous surrounds has made for a fantastically strategic location for settlement over the centuries. The medieval Old Town (or Stari Grad) of Kotor is one of the best you will find in the region and is the focus of any visitors stay in Kotor. If you are currently in Mostar, Dubrovnik, Shkodër or Podgorica and looking for your next stop, you absolutely should look no further than Kotor.
Hostels
Old Town Hostel
This hostel is split into two separate wings, east and west. The two wings are listed separately on the various hostel booking sites but the prices, location and services provided are the same. The cost of a dorm is €9 up to €12 for the smaller dorms. This is the most popular hostel in town and for good reason. The staff were very friendly and there was a nice social atmosphere within the hostel with plenty of events organised by the hostel to allow the guests to socialise. Book Old Town Hostel here!
Sights and Highlights
Climbing the Old Town Walls
The old town walls in Kotor are a beautiful sight, if you are after an example of stunning medieval old town architecture without the throngs of tourists found in Dubrovnik, do not miss Kotor.
The old walls of Kotor stretch up behind the town into the mountains for many kilometres and provided protection in medieval times from attacks originating in the mountains to the south. The winding switch back walls are somewhat reminiscent of the Great of Wall of China in form and function. The view from the top is spectacular, most of the glorious photos you will see of the Old Town and the Gulf of Kotor around the web will have bern taken from the mountain side that the walls traverse.
For Food
Caffe Pizzeria Pronto
This place can be a little hard to find so its worth trying to memorise the path that you need to take to get here from whatever hostel you end up staying at. Late at night after a few drinks your sense of direction in the twisting streets will not be at its best. They serve pizza by the slice which is pretty hard to pass up at a price of €2.
Tanjga
At first glance this place looks like a run of the mill butcher’s shop. Take a longer look and you will notice that while they do have all their meats on display, they also give you the option of having the food cooked in store and presented as a full meal. Overall a great range of food, very typical for the Balkans and a very reasonable price. The hamburger was delicious. The perfect place for a backpacker. It gets bonus points because it’s on the way from the bus station to the old town and so you can grab a feed on the way if you are particular hungry.
Nightlife
Maximus Nightclub
This is the best night club in town. A good mix of locals and tourists with some quality DJ’s playing. Part of the nightclub burnt down in early 2016 but indications are that it will be back operating again in time for summer 2016.
Transportation
Local
Local transportation is not really required. The town is very small and best explored by foot. Bikes can be rented if you want to go for a bit of a bike ride around the bay.
Getting In and Out
There is a bus station a short walk away from the Old Town. Tickets can be bought from the cashier. The next major stop if you heading south down the coast is likely to be Budva. Buses are also available to Dubrovnik or Mostar. It is not uncommon to organise a shared taxi in order to get to Dubrovnik. If you speak to the staff at Old Town hostel they can help you organise this. The cost of a taxi split 4-ways is only marginally more than the cost of a bus. The best resource online to find bus timetables for Kotor is balkanviator.com/en/
Useful Links
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