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. It has everything to create an atmosphere of a dream - a warm sea, sunny beaches, fascinating mountains, ancient architecture, and all this - at prices that are quite inferior to those of Western Europe. However, you will have to pay a great deal to get here, because many experienced travelers prefer not to spend money on travel agency services, but to organize their own holidays.

There are no difficulties in finding rented private housing for all tastes in Montenegro - the locals perfectly understand the tourist potential of their country and use it with pleasure. On the Internet, you can find several sites offering 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 search for apartmentsBecause hotels do not so often provide higher comfort, but money is being asked for as an example no more.

At the same time during the search for housing should heed a few valuable tips.

Montenegro is literally a “rubber” country, it can accommodate tourists much more than local people live here, but the question is what will get you - the best, chosen according to your own tastes, or something residual.

Even 2-3 months before the start of the season, the choice is no longer the same, and if you arrive and start looking for housing already in place, you risk losing all day to search and either pay triple the price for a normal cottage, or choose 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 cheerful holiday with a sea of ​​adventure, you can face a deep disappointment. The fact is that only 625 thousand people live in Montenegro, it does not reach the level of many regional centers, so all these people are scattered around many towns and villages.

If your rented apartment is located somewhere not in the center of Opshtina (not in the district center, if in our opinion), you may be confronted with the fact that there is nothing but the sea and the beach. The same store can be one and overpriced, buses rarely go here, there is no taxi 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 have ever sold something yourself, then you probably understand that the seller’s task is to concentrate on the good qualities of the product, trying somehow not to remember the bad ones. 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.

For example, under the promising phrase “apartments in a villa with a private kitchen”, an ordinary apartment is usually hidden in a low-rise building, but the flowery wording itself can confuse you and you will overpay for housing, which in Montenegro does not claim a higher standard. Similar “Walking distance nightlife” means that the lark will be extremely difficult to sleep in the evening, let alone put a child to sleep.

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

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

In Montenegro, there are no large cities - lovers of walking 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 everything is not so simple.

In Montenegro, the mountains are many where they break straight into the sea, and some townships are pressed directly to the rock, descending to water in tiers. It looks damn picturesque, but 10 minutes is convenient to go on a flat terrain, and here all this time can be spent on the descent (and on the way back - on the ascent) along a rather steep staircase. Agree, “a thousand steps” looks less tempting than “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 because it’s convenient to find suitable housing, but also because it can find useful information from other users. So, the owner will never write about the negative aspects of his offer, but one of the previous guests can fulfill his social duty and leave the hint to other travelers about why this option is doubtful.

Montenegro is an ancient country, and the local people cherish the ancient architecture. Chasing the color, you can choose a village with narrow streets, where the car can not be put even from the logic of reasoning - it will clearly block the half of the 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 it and from it.

Travelers with experience know that the more people live in an apartment or room, the cheaper it is per person. Renting a three-room apartment for six people usually still will be cheaper than renting three double rooms, even with a shared bathroom and kitchen. In this case, the same guest room in the master's house is often described as accommodating up to four people, but the sleeping places can be different - someone will get a comfortable bed, and someone can stay in a folding chair.

If your company is all equal, such an alignment can be a problem.In addition, couples often basically want a double bed, but the owners are more profitable to put single beds - then the room can accommodate guests of any degree of kinship.

Going on vacation, remember that Montenegro is located far to the south and that this is a country with a stunningly warm sunny climate. Almost all summer there is a palpable heat, which is partially smoothed by the sea, but still can cause discomfort. If suddenly you decide to go south in winter, note that in Montenegro there is no 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 planning a vacation is carried out several months before the trip itself.

It happens that the landlord after you come across a more profitable client for the same dates, and since your agreement remained only on paper, nothing prevents the owner to doubt your arrival - Sometimes you are not even warned that your reservation has been canceled. Another thing, if you have already paid part of the money, and you also have confirmation of this.

Hotels are usually chosen by those tourists who rightly believe that you should not deny yourself comfort, and it is simply impossible to overpay if conditions improve. It should be noted here that in Montenegro there are both modern hotels with 4 and 5 stars with their own sandy beaches, a water park and the beloved “all inclusive” system, as well as the old “monsters” of Yugoslav times, which no one has bothered since. rebuild or at least radically upgrade.

For this reason, based on guest reviews, we’ll briefly go over several popular places that show how well you can live in Montenegro.

Pearl of Budva. If you choose the most popular resort in the country, it makes sense to choose the best hotel in it, and this hotel is in the top in the scale of all of Montenegro. It will take an average of about 15 thousand rubles per person per night, but the level of service is considered European. Naturally, this institution can boast 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 Kotor Bay, and this hotel is on the first line. In general, it can be called sanatorium with full treatment, because there is everything to maintain health - baths, saunas, fitness equipment and swimming pool, tennis courts and bowling alleys. Nearby there is the opportunity to ride on this yacht or dive to the seabed with an aqualung.

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

Located in southern Ulcinj and valued by guests for offering full meals throughout the day.Taking care of guests is manifested in the fact that not only breakfast, lunch and dinner, but also beach accessories such as umbrellas or sun loungers are already included in the price - do not have to pay extra for anything.

The unusual design in the medieval Italian style attracts lovers of color here, and the location of the city itself literally pushes for excursions to Lake Skadar 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, an individual tourist or a family or a group of friends can choose a place to stay on vacation. In addition, you can navigate through the wallet - there are budget options "for students", and there are vip-rooms for the richest guests.

It should be noted that The main tourist flow goes to Montenegro on the sea coast, while you can call any corner of this truly magical country beautiful. Lovers of walks through the mountainous terrain and ancient architecture will be able to live in almost any Montenegrin settlement, but due to the nature of tourist flows, the infrastructure inside the country is developing relatively slowly.

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

For those who are not interested in the sea coast as much as the mountains, Montenegro offers accommodation in campgrounds. It is not worthwhile to consider such a placement option as a budget one, since such a method of settlement in this country has a characteristic feature - Many local campgrounds essentially offer renting of small summer houses in the mountains.

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

At the same time, as it should be camping, many of these institutions still allow you to live in the most budget among all known methods, that is, in a tent. In this case, the tent can be yours too - then you are offered to put it in an equipped, and, possibly, protected area, nearby with minimal infrastructure, like a common kitchen and the same shower.

As a rule, such housing is concentrated in the picturesque mountainous areas, where you can go in any direction and accidentally get on an exciting walk through charming places. This, of course, is not exactly a resort vacation - it’s more like a vacation trip to the village, as many in the reviews highlight the opportunity to swim in a river or a waterfall, see beautiful landscapes and even just overeat juicy fruits from trees growing around.

It’s another thing that you hardly can find such an entourage within your own country, anyway, in Montenegro, the mountains are very high, and most importantly, incredibly beautiful. Camping will appeal to those who like a colorful ride to visit, and will definitely help to “reboot”.

It is not a secret for anyone that rest in a sanatorium can have a positive effect on health, and combining business with pleasure can be both reasonable and beneficial. Another thing is that in any post-Soviet country the system of sanatoriums is somehow incorrectly built - in fact, you simply come to one or another relatively picturesque place where doctors constantly follow you with their pills and syringes.

In Montenegro, everything is completely different, because the local infrastructure is focused on foreigners who will not specifically come to an ordinary hospital.

There is no problem anywhere with the entourage here - 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 since ancient times people have been eager to recover from serious injuries or emotional turmoil. Those who have been here say 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 top-level party leaders and team-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 problems of the musculoskeletal system, skin diseases, and recovery of patients after surgery or heart attacks. The very nature here contributes to the relief of symptoms of allergies and other diseases of the respiratory tract.

In Prcanj there is a medical center with the same complex name “Vrmac”, which also deserves attention. Here, the focus is on cardiovascular diseases, but they treat the locomotor system, nerves, and respiratory organs. It has been proven 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 "Female" - in fact, it is not intended specifically for the fair sex, it just hits the sulfur source, whose water is very useful for treating female infertility.

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

Whatever type of housing you choose in Montenegro, you probably want to save some money without losing comfort. As it often happens, tourists with experience can advise several interesting decisions that are economically beneficial, but do not spoil the impression from the holidays.

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

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

• As often happens, the longer your stay in an 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, while on other days there will be no demand and housing will be empty. Naturally, the owner wants a clearly visible future, so he will agree to a discount if you, figuratively speaking, want to stay for the whole summer.

• According to the logic described above, it makes sense to book a home 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 the available options. As mentioned above, it is theoretically possible to settle in Montenegro on the day of arrival, but literate tourists are beginning to be interested in the issue of summer living in January.

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

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

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

How to choose housing in Montenegro, see below.