We lived in Kotor, Montenegro for 6 weeks.

Why Kotor? While galavanting the globe, we needed to get out of the Schengen Zone for a few weeks. IYKYK. But if you don’t know, you are only allowed in the EU for a certain amount of time without a visa. We were splitting up our time within the “zone”. We had been to Croatia before and loved it, and with Montenegro being so close, we assumed it might be a little similar.

When I was first approached with the “lets live in Montenegro for a few months”, I was a bit apprehensive.. as one should be. But after going down the rabbit hole of all things Montenegrin, I decided it was a great idea. It sounded great online. Stunning scenery, delicious sounding food, friendly people, clear waters and beautiful beaches. All for super cheap. Where do I sign up!?

Welp. I’m glad so many others have had such lovely, budget friendly times, but I sure wish people would mention some things that they weren’t expecting. Let me start by saying our family loved life in Montenegro. It is one of the most beautiful places we have ever been to and some of my favorite memories are from here. But we encountered a few hiccups along the way. A lesson learned from full time travel – just go with the flow.

We came here from Spain, aka one of the cheapest countries to visit in Europe. We had watched a ton of videos and read a bunch of articles on Montenegro. The best places to stay, the must sees, the best foods, the cats, all the things. And in all of our research, everything claimed that Montenegro was so cheap. Maybe we were reading and watching videos produced by billionaires or something, because that was not the case in our adventure. 

I’ll break down all the hard facts below. So if you ever decide to travel to Kotor, Montenegro, you’ll be prepared.

Here’s Our Experience in Montenegro.

 

 

So for those of you that are new here, we spent most of 2023 traversing the world. We booked long stay (super cheap) apartments in different cities around the world. We really wanted to get a feel for these places.  About 6 months before our trip we booked a cute 1 bedroom apartment right in the center of Old Town Kotor. Cobbled streets, cute narrow alleyways, it overlooked a church, and was next door to a pizza place named after me. All of this for about $800. It was perfect!

A few weeks before our arrival, they canceled. No! Why?! 

Oh. It’s because they relisted it during peak season for almost triple the price, and it was gone within a matter of days. 

With nonrefundable flights booked (make sure to protect yourself with AirHelp) and during peak tourist season, we needed to find a place ASAP. We ended up finding something in Dobrota, which is just on the outskirts of Kotor and still along the bay, but our stay was also half the size and more expensive. $1200 got us a studio apartment that was equipped with the bare essentials (I cannot stress the word BARE enough), but had a breathtaking view of the Bay of Kotor. Although still cheaper than any rent in California, it was more than we expected. Especially for a place we had read about being “budget friendly”.

I understand we were visiting during peak season, but the size of the space we were about to be living in for almost 2 months, and the lack of simple amenities we were used to, I was a little worried. We decided we’d just cook more at home instead of eating out to balance that budget. You know, since everything on the internet told me that groceries were like “Omggg so cheap.”

It’ll be fine.

 

 

The People

We read online that Montenegrins are friendly and welcoming. While this is true for some, it is not true for everyone. I don’t know what I was envisioning people being like, but I definitely read the room wrong. Blunt, straight to the point, no bullshit kind of people is a more accurate description in my opinion. 

But that doesn’t mean that people aren’t friendly. Our stay host was the friendliest, warmest person I have ever met. Her and her family made us feel welcome and safe. Anything we needed, she was there. A few times, we returned home to find thoughtful gifts left for us, which was a delightful surprise. Our daughter bonded with her and her mother very quickly, and was so sad to leave them. Sometimes you meet people who feel like family. 

 

 

Languages of Kotor

Out of all the places we have traveled, Montenegro is where we had the hardest time communicating. We found out -through talking to a local- that most people here speak Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, and Albanian. Only the true locals speak Montenegrin. Which is not an option on some translator apps. Ours included. Most people that live here can speak all of the languages, or at least enough to get by. Seeing as how the cruise ships bring in most of the business here, it would be very helpful to speak multiple languages.

Majority of the people, especially in the tourist towns like Kotor, speak English. All of the younger people could speak English, while the older people could speak little to none. We noticed that while dining at more upscale restaurants, or sticking to the main grocery stores, we found friendlier faces and more comfortable conversations. It was when we stopped into a no name grocery store or small restaurant, we were served looks and shortness.

Stick to popular areas and you’ll probably leave with a few friends.

 

 

The Food

When I think of Montenegro, I don’t picture a poppin’ off food scene. I knew going into it that it was going to be a lot of meat and bread, which I’m ok with since I come from a “meat and potatoes” family, and am proud to be an official carb connoisseur.

I just thought there’d be more vegetable options? Maybe more fresh produce? 

I feel more comfortable eating fruits and veggies while traveling. The produce selection here was lacking much more than I expected. The grocery stores all had produce, but not a big selection and not much that wasn’t already rotted.

Restaurants offered a few salad choices, but usually the only vegetable sides were french fries. 

Who wants the meat sweats while trying to explore and create lasting family memories?

Not me, thanks.

Not all is bad. With plenty of restaurant options, especially in Kotor, there is something here for everyone.

I left here with some new favorites – which I think about and drool more often than I should openly admit. 

 

 

Grocery Stores in Kotor

We came here thinking that we could eat out as a family of three for under $15 per meal, and leave a grocery store with a bag full of goodies for under $10. Another hard lesson of “don’t believe everything you read on the internet”. 

..unless you’re reading this. Then these are facts. Tried and true. Real life experiences. No shenanigans.

There is a good selection of grocery stores in the area, and all ranging in price. The ones closest to the water are the more pricey ones, and they seem to get cheaper as you go inland. Aroma, Idea, City and Voli are the local grocery stores. Things were different prices at each one, but fresh breads and the deli department were pretty consistent. We eventually figured out our staple items and where they were the cheapest. We would plan our day around having to  walk to the 3 different stores to get what we needed. 

Unexpected items were very expensive here. Olive oil, balsamic, and maple syrup were so expensive. Around $20 per bottle. Just coming from enjoying a baguette dipped in olive oil and balsamic almost every night while living in Spain – because it’s delicious and so cheap – to having to quit cold turkey! That was hard for us.

 

 

Stick to the Big Name Grocery Stores

Right down the street from our stay was a small, run down grocery store. They had a produce selection that was always covered in bees and flies, and the inside had boxes of unpacked food scattered around the floor. Small and crowded. They had a small section for fresh baked food, where we came across a potato burek. I’ll get more into that later. 

We would only come to this store if we didn’t want to trek around the town to shop, or if we only needed one item (like a slice of burek). The ladies that ran this store were the rudest people we encountered. And because of their lack of shelf-stocking skills, our family got food poisoning from here. We bought a pack of sausage and while cooking it that night we noticed a different smell. Thinking it was just a different type of sausage than we’re used to, we all started eating. After a few bites we all stopped. Clearly something was off. That night my husband was up all night. All. Night. Long. The next day it hit me and our daughter, who has NEVER thrown up in her entire life. Only tiny baby spit up. Never actual vomit. It was scary and horrible for all of us. 

We went to this store to investigate said sausage, and that’s when I noticed a stack of boxes, sitting out in the sweltering heat, full of meat. Thawed and warmer than room temp. I’m a chef and a stickler about food safety. How did I not see this before?! I was disgusted with myself, but mostly with them. Unfortunately, we tried to say something, but the ladies who work here are just nasty. They pretended like they couldn’t understand us, when we’ve heard them speaking English to other customers before.

So word of advice, stick to the popular grocery stores!

 

 

Grocery Store Cheap Eats

Visiting the grocery stores in Kotor often, we noticed the deli departments were always poppin off! We noticed a few school kids ordering a sandwich from the deli and when the lady rang them up, it was under $2. We stepped up next and said “we’ll take what they ordered!” The lady behind the counter made us a salami sandwich with cheese on a baguette style bread (we got to choose our own bread from the bakery). That was it, and it cost us under $2. We finally found some super cheap food! We went back to this same grocery store and ordered the same thing almost every day. Until it was that lady’s day off and the new lady couldn’t understand our translator apps and botched Montenegrin, so we got the same sandwich for $7 instead. 

Family Favorites

For the first few weeks we were in Kotor, I was not impressed with the food. The local restaurants were good, but nothing blew me out of the water. Until I found 2 of my all time favorite foods. The Krempita, and the Burek. 

 

 

 

The Burek. This food changed me. Just when I’d lost all hope, here was this perfect slice. It’s flaky dough layered with well seasoned potatoes and salty cheese. There are also spinach and cheese and meat burek options. I’ve scoured the internet for a recipe and have found many, but none that resemble what we ate. Unfortunately the small run down grocery store had this item and it was so good. So, so good. But because of the food poisoning incident and the lack of respect from the employees, I didn’t get to eat it as much as I would have liked, since I was protesting them. There are other stores that have it, and most bakeries too. But get there early..before the flies.

The Krempita. Also known as a custard slice. Oh. My. Words are hard to come by. My little slice of Montenegro heaven. There was a small bakery near us that would have at least two full sheet trays for sale each day, and they would be gone first thing in the morning. No wonder. Flaky puff pastry layered with rich vanilla custard. It is just perfect.

 

 

Restaurants

There is no shortage of restaurants in Montenegro. Bigger cities are packed with dining options, and small towns have multiple eateries. Bakeries are popular and usually serve both sweet and savory options. Montenegro’s version of a boardwalk is lined with restaurants with plenty of outdoor seating. The places along the water offer fresh seafood dishes along with the local favorites. Beer is cheap, and usually cold and refreshing. 

Little Bay Restaurant in Kotor was our favorite place while here. It sits right on the water and has beach access. While waiting for your food to arrive, you can jump off the deck and take a dip! Our daughter loved that. They also had delicious pizza and stunning views. I’d go back just to spend the day there eating and drinking.

 

 

If you go into Old Town Kotor, just aimlessly wander through the alleyways and you’ll find plenty of restaurants. We found the area where our first stay was supposed to be located, and dined at “Pizzeria Sara”, since that’s my name! It was delicious and we sat directly in front of the beautiful St. Tryphon’s Cathedral. Life is good. 

Further inside the old town walls we found quirky shops, clothing stores, churches, ice cream shops and more restaurants. Read reviews of these places before you dine. 

*I recommend visiting Old Town Kotor when there is no cruise ship in port that day. Which is rare. It is so less busy.*

 

 

Our Stay in Kotor

Let me start by saying that I grew to enjoy our little studio apartment in Dobrota (a neighboring town which is 2-5 minute walk to Kotor). The area is so cute. We were on the top floor so we could see all of the neighbors’ beautiful gardens filled with grape vines, pomegranate and fig trees, tomatoes, and flowers. Most people grow their own produce here, and I wish they’d sell it to me because it looks way better than the shit in the stores.

Getting There

The road to get to our stay was steep. Like really steep. And everyday, the elderly lady next door would walk up and down it, no problem at all. It wasn’t until at least the last few days there that I finally started to acclimate to it. Once we arrived at the building, we had to climb 3 flights of stairs to get to our door. Imagine doing all of that with arms full of groceries and/or a 4 year old, while your husband is behind you carrying as many jugs of water as humanly possible. Oh and it’s a thousand degrees outside. I’m having a hard time understanding why I’m not totally ripped. Wtf.

 

 

The Room

Once inside there was a small kitchen equipped with a mini fridge, 2 sinks, 1 single plate burner, and a kettle. Ok ok, I can work with this. There were 4 plates, bowls, cups and utensils, and 1 frying pan and 1 pot. A small drawer for food. I’ve never lived in such a small space, and I’m going to be honest. I had a total meltdown. I didn’t know if we could live like this. 

A toilet/shower combo was in the bathroom. No shower curtain, so it was inevitable that the floor was always wet. Like a puddle of water wet. Which attracted all of the mosquitoes and all of the other wonderful bugs of Montenegro. Since we only had 1 towel each it’s not like I could wipe it up. It needed way more than 1 little towel.

There was a couch that could be turned into a bed, which my husband was banished to when he first got food poisoning. The bed itself was big and comfy, and fit all 3 of us pretty well. 

The huge slider door and balcony are the highlights of this apartment, and the main reason I’m ok with such a tiny space. Since our place sat so high on the mountain, we could see the whole Bay of Kotor. We loved watching the cruise ships come and go, wondering how in the world they could turn those big ships around in that little bay, and watching the big storms through that slider while lying in bed all night is one of my favorite memories from here.

With little to no storage, we lived out of 1 drawer each. We learned to love one pot meals, became small load laundry masters, master hikers, and adjusted pretty well to small living.

 

 

Getting Around Kotor

We walked. A lot. Up and down steep hills in the sweltering heat. What. An. Adventure. It was about a 5-7 minute walk to the water from our apartment, depending on how quickly or slowly our daughter wanted to walk. Once we got to the water, it was a straight shot down to the local restaurants and one of many grocery stores. From our stay to that area took about 15 minutes. There were a few occasions we walked to Old Town Kotor, which would take closer to 30-45 minutes. 

We love walking around and exploring new places, so this sounded like easy money to us before we arrived. We did not factor in that we would be walking straight up mountains in the heat, sometimes/mostly carrying a child.

 

 

Also thinking that public transportation was an option, we were a little let down when we waited for almost an hour for a local bus. Good luck finding any sort of time table or bus routes for these buses.  The buses were so full of people that most of them were standing. I don’t even know if the driver could shut the door. I’m sure it’s only like this during peak season, and the locals must get pissed.

The last week we stayed in Montenegro, we decided to rent a car. We went on an epic Balkan road trip, and got to discover more of Montenegro. Driving here was straightforward and easy. Finding parking was the hard part! We drove to Herceg Novi and Perast which were both a lot closer than I expected. We were able to discover a lot more that way and with more freedom. 

 

 

Amenities in Kotor

Things are a lot different here compared to the US, and a lot of things were very unexpected. It is always a rush experiencing a new culture, but it also requires a lot of problem solving and patience. It was a humbling experience, and I’m glad we got to show our daughter what it is to live small. We all learned a lot living in Montenegro. Here are some things that were a little difficult to adjust to!

Hotels vs Apartments

Because we were staying longer than the average tourist, we looked for long term stays. Most people who are only planning to stay a week or so usually look for hotels. There are little to no hotels here unless you are staying within the walls of Kotor. Most places you find are apartment buildings. Some places offer hotel-like amenities such as changing your linens and providing fresh towels. Some will offer coffee or tea and sometimes breakfast, but these are usually more expensive than most and in the high traffic tourist areas. If you are staying on the outskirts of these areas, be prepared for a bare bones, basic, essentials only kind of stay.

Laundry

The whole reason we were totes ok with renting a small studio with no laundry, is because we looked up “laundromats near me” and a few popped up. We were ok walking 5 or 10 minutes to go do laundry once a week. 

Once we arrived, we quickly realized that “laundromats” in Kotor are not what you think they are. There are no self service laundry facilities. Anywhere. Nowhere. The “laundromats” here are all dry cleaners, and most have contracts with the apartments/hotels in the area. The first place we asked, they did not understand our question (we did not have any laundry with us, we were just asking how much it was going to be). The next day we hiked to the other laundry facility where they told us they did not have time to do our laundry since it was the busy season with their contracts, but gave us the names of a few other places. The next day we found a place that said they would do it, but it would cost 100 Euro!!

We had about a medium size load, mostly toddler clothes, and brought our own laundry soap, and they also told us it would take a few days for us to get it back. Holy moly. We eventually found a place that did our laundry for 22 Euro, and it took 24 hours to get it back. Since then, we hand washed all of our clothes in our tiny little sink and hung them on the balcony. So pretty much every day we were here, I was doing laundry in the sink. Which is not a huge deal, it’s just something I wasn’t mentally prepared for while living in Montenegro. You’ve been warned.

 

 

Adventures

The beautiful thing about living in Montenegro is that you are rarely inside. It is known for its outdoor activities. Hiking, swimming, boat rides, paddle boarding, and more. My favorite outdoor activity was posting up on the sidewalk with a good book, some snacks, and taking a dip in the Bay of Kotor.  If you’re looking for some ideas, GetYourGuide has some great options.

Here are a few of our favorite things about living in Montenegro.

Weather

I love a good thunder and lightning storm, and the ones here are epic. I spent many nights up all night staring out the slider door window watching the show. The weather can be a little unpredictable. We were caught in a big storm late one night when there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the weather said it would be clear! We ran home – uphill – got back soaking wet and our power was out and no hot water. Living in Montenegro sure is an adventure.

 

 

Swimming

Though a little chilly, even during the late summer months, the Bay of Kotor is a wonderful place to swim. Sparkling rocks cover the beaches and crystal clear water beckons you to jump off that sidewalk. Packing up our stuff for the day and finding a place to lay our towels among the locals was our favorite way to spend the days. The cool waters are a much needed reprieve from the heat. You can really tell the locals from the tourists here. The locals jump right in and are not affected by the cold at all.

Boat Tours

As with most touristy places, you can usually find people standing around trying to get you to go on their tour. Same is true for Kotor. There are people standing around the bay offering scuba diving, boat tours to Our Lady of the Rocks and/or the Blue Cave, and more water adventures. Each person cheaper than the last. 

Almost everyone in Kotor makes a living from the tourists, but you will also find a lot of people flipping off and yelling at the cruise ships as they come in and leave. It does get so super crowded when the ships are in, especially if there is more than one, and that happens quite often. The grocery stores are overflowing, the local buses are jam packed with people, the sidewalks are too crowded to walk down, and there’s absolutely no room left on the beach or the sidewalk. It can be very frustrating, and we would usually wait until the ships left or before they got there to go out and about. But hey, they bring all that cash moneyyy.

We knew we really wanted to take a boat to Our Lady of the Rocks. It’s such a cool story, the same goes for the island next to it. After much research, we discovered it’s so much cheaper to make our way to Herceg Novi and catch a boat to the island from town. There were plenty of boat tours from Kotor, but it usually included extra people on the boat and it was a little pricey.  I could do without the extended boat ride, even though I’m sure it would have been beautiful.

 

We like doing things on our own time. 

Much like a cat..

Cats of Kotor

Everything you read about the cats is true. They’re everywhere! Majority of them are super friendly. The locals will put food and water out for them. We found so many kittens, it was hard not to bring one home! Our daughter loves cats. She loves all animals, and has the uncontrollable urge to pet every one she sees. The cats here absolutely loved it!

She did get scratched by one, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to love the rest.

 

 

In Conclusion

We did a lot while living in Kotor, Montenegro, and learned that the best things to see and do here are the free things. Everything we paid for, the Aquarium, the boat rides, the churches, was a good time and we enjoyed seeing them, but the beaches we found, the views we had, and the people we met, free of cost, were the most memorable things here.

Even though living in Montenegro wasn’t what we expected, we would definitely come back. A cruise stop there would be the perfect amount of time there to stop in and say hi to our favorite Montenegrin family, and to stock up on some of my favorite foods.

 

 

We’d love to hear about your adventures in Montenegro or any tips you have—drop your stories and suggestions in the comments below!