The Mountains of Montenegro. Rudolf Abraham

in good supply. Fresh fruit and vegetables are available on local markets, along with local cheeses and dried meats.

      Rakija, a potent local spirit, comes in a number of guises, including travarica (made with herbs) and loza (made from grapes); and sampling a good domaća (‘homemade’) is an integral part of travelling in the region. The best Montenegrin wine comes from Crmnica, the region northwest of Lake Skadar; the best local beer is the eponymous Nikšić Pivo. Fruit juice is widely available.

      See Appendix D for useful phrases when ordering food and drink and translating menus.

      Be aware that Montenegro is notorious for some appallingly bad service. Even my Montenegrin and Serbian friends agree on this and are used to the same treatment themselves – so don’t take any such experiences to heart or let them ruin your visit!

Language

      The official language of Montenegro is Montenegrin (crnogorski). It was given this name in 2007, following independence from Serbia – before this it was called Serbian (srpski), as it is still known by many. Montenegrin/Serbian is a south Slavonic language, very similar to Croatian and Bosnian. (When these countries were all part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, language was standardized, and given the name Serbo-Croat.) Many Turkish words entered the Serbian language during the region’s centuries of Ottoman rule Serbian is a phonetic language – that is, every letter in a word is pronounced, and the pronunciation of any given letter is always the same. In this respect it is far more consistent than many more familiar European languages, including English and French.

      Serbian is written in the Cyrillic script, similar to Russian but with some important exceptions. However, the Latin script (as used for Croatian) is also in common use in Montenegro (there are newspapers and magazines published in both), which generally makes reading menus, signs and timetables much easier. Still, you will almost certainly encounter Cyrillic at some point during your visit, so should ultimately familiarize yourself with both scripts (see Appendix D).

      The Bay of Kotor (Boka Kotorska), from Perast

      Pronunciation is very important if you are to be understood clearly. Note that a number of letters, though they may appear quite familiar (in both Cyrillic and Latin scripts), are nevertheless pronounced very differently to how they would be in English: the Cyrillic letters X, J, H, P, C, Y and B are actually pronounced ‘h’, y, ‘n’, ‘r’, ‘s’, ‘oo’ and ‘v’ respectively. The Latin letters C and J are pronounced ‘ts’ and y respectively.

      English is spoken fairly widely in main tourist centres along the coast, less so inland (with the exception of places which see plenty of overseas visitors such as Žabljak).

      See Appendix D for further language notes, basic phrases and vocabulary, and a list of words which you may need to recognise in Cyrillic.

Getting to Montenegro

      And now that we are approaching the wilder parts of Jugoslavia a word about roads and maps is timely.

      JA Cuddon, The Companion Guide to Jugoslavia (London, 1968)

      Visas are not required for visitors travelling to Montenegro on UK or any other EU passports for stays of up to 30 days. The same rule applies to citizens of a number of other countries, including Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the United States. If you plan on staying longer than 30 days, by far the most straightforward solution is to pop over the border into a neighbouring country and then return.

      Flights from the UK and Western Europe

      Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) fly direct from the UK to Podgorica, which is the most convenient (and cheapest) way to reach Montenegro from the UK, and is well placed for accessing the walks in this guide. Easyjet (www.easyjet.com) fly direct from the UK to Tivat on the coast.

      Other flights from the UK and Western Europe to Podgorica – including the national carrier, Montenegro Airlines – involve one (or sometimes two) stops, and are considerably more expensive.

      Podgorica’s airport is at Golubovci, about 15km south of the capital. A shuttle bus is meant to operate between the airport and Podgorica, timed to meet Montenegrin Airways arrivals/departures – however in reality it doesn’t, so you will need to get a taxi. The fare into central Podgorica shouldn’t be more than €8–10. Taxi touts waiting at arrivals may quote considerably more than this – in which case, politely decline. If you want to book a taxi in advance, contact Taxi PG (www.taxipg.com, Tel: [phone]) or Taxi Travel (www.taxi-travel.me, Tel: [phone]). Golubovci is on the road to Virpazar and Lake Skadar (Route 5), so if you’re visiting this area (and it is highly recommended that you do so) it makes sense to start or finish your trip there.

      In view of the comparative length and expense of other routes, many people still find flying to Dubrovnik, in Croatia, and then continuing to Montenegro by bus or taxi, a convenient option, particularly if visiting the Montenegrin coast or hiking on Orjen (Routes 1 and 2) – see below.

      Travelling via Croatia

      Travelling via Croatia carries the alluring prospect of spending some time on the lovely Croatian coast and islands after your exhausting days or weeks of walking in Montenegro.

      Dubrovnik’s airport is actually at Čilipi, less than 20km south of Dubrovnik and only some 30km from the Montenegrin border at Debeli Brijeg. From the airport there is a shuttle bus to Dubrovnik. Take this if you plan to spend the night in Dubrovnik, or go as far as the turn-off to Cavtat if you want to stay there. (The local Dubrovnik-Cavtat bus picks up here, and will take you the last 3km down into Cavtat; it runs approximately every 30mins.)

      Old mill in the Ropojana Valley, Prokletije (Route 17)

      There are buses from Dubrovnik to Herceg Novi on the Montenegrin coast, continuing to Kotor and Budva at 10.00, 11.00 and 15.00 daily, with the 11.00 service continuing to Ulcinj. Buses don’t pick up from the airport, but will let passengers off there, so unless you plan to spend the night in Dubrovnik, you may be better off taking a taxi over the border and using the bus when you return.

      If you are heading straight to Montenegro, a taxi from the airport to Herceg Novi (from where you can continue by local bus) will cost around €50; coming the other way, fares are roughly €40 Herceg Novi to Čilipi, around €50 to Dubrovnik (but some Montenegrin taxi drivers may be reluctant to cross the border). Hitching to, or over, the border can prove difficult, as very few drivers will stop to pick people up here – and any taxis waiting on the other side will ask extortionate rates. Note that the two border posts at Debeli Brijeg are quite far apart – if you’re walking or hitching, allow 20mins to walk between the two.

      Airlines flying direct to Dubrovnik from the UK include British Airways (www.britishairways.com), Croatia Airlines (www.croatiaairlines.hr), Easyjet (www.easyjet.com) and Monarch (www.monarch.co.uk). Book flights (and accommodation in Dubrovnik, if you plan to spend any time there) as far as advance as possible – it’s the most popular destination on the Croatian coast.

      Dubrovnik can also be reached by ferry (from Italy, and from other cities on the Croatian coast) and by bus (from most places in Croatia), and by domestic flights from Zagreb (www.croatiaairlines.hr).

      For more information about travelling via Croatia, see Appendix C and visit www.croatia.hr and www.visit-croatia.co.uk.