Originally Posted by
froske
Just got back from Montenegro and the Hotel Splendid in Budva. Sure, it is nice, in a Russian kind of way - huge lobby, everything glitzy, but a lot of errors once you just peek right beneith the surface... The service is also certainly not 5* - but maybe for Montenegro it is good. The surroundings are pretty bleak - it is still a developing country. However the local brick fortress or whatever is nice.
Not my cup of tea, all in all, but other travellers in my party enjoyed it.
I am from former Yugoslavia and have been to Montenegro in the 80s, 90s, and 00. I also have been to the other republics and travel to Croatia almost every summer.
Montenegro is known for its splendid beauty. However, compared to neighboring Croatia it is small and pale in comparison. Sure there are some nice spots - Herceg Novi, Bay of Kotor, Sveti Stefan, however most of it has been tarnished by underdevelopment in Communist times and mismanagement in the post-communist Era. Some examples include:
Some examples of Montenegro highlights:
- High Number of Stolen Vehicles
- Cigarette Smuggling (PM was banned from Italy for some time because of this)
Montenegro is well known in the region as a small but rouge state. Before the breakup of Yugoslavia all tourists went to Croatia; only during the war did people who could no longer travel to Croatian coast go to Montenegro. Compared to staying in places up the Adriatic, the experience was diminishing. I know because I have been to both places.
Secondly, its turn into a tacky place for Belgrade tourists which are abundant, but are only there because they either don't have the money or cannot travel to Greece or Croatia. Now it's a hotspot for black market Russian profeeters - who are buying anything in Montenegro - because they know they can wash their money there (versus Croatia for example which is under close EU watch because of its membership aspiration).