What others say about Montenegro

Montenegro is a rising start in tourism

“Montenegro sees one of the most impressive improvements this year out of all countries,” reads the World Economic Forum’s “Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011.”

The report measures and analyses the drivers of travel and tourism competitiveness in countries world-wide. In terms of actual ranking, the report says that Montenegro is “going up by a full 16 places to 36th overall, just behind Croatia in the region.”

Source: Balkans.com

Finding Paradise in Montenegro

Driving south along the precipitous Budva corniche, described by Lord Byron as “the most beautiful meeting of land and sea” anywhere, I glimpse Aman Sveti Stefan far below. A cluster of red-roofed cottages on a rocky isle moored to the mainland by a catwalk of pink sand, the 15th-century pirate stronghold converted into a “hotel-village” in the late 1950’s seems to float on the wide dark-blue Adriatic.

The paradisiacal view hasn’t changed since I first came here as a child in 1962, when Montenegro, a remote mountain kingdom on the historic fault line between East and West, was part of communist Yugoslavia. I remember being woken one night by gunfire, the ruckus apparently caused by exuberant “bim-bams” (ex-freedom-fighters) in the hills. The country is still trying to shed a romanticized reputation for brigandry and clannish political intrigue. But Sveti Stefan, an off-the-radar haunt of movie stars, jet-setters, and world leaders until it fell into disrepair during the wars in the Balkans in the 1990’s, has been reborn. After an extensive multimillion-dollar makeover, the Singapore-based luxury group Amanresorts has relaunched the hotel as Aman Sveti Stefan, which comprises the private island, with freestanding cottages, and the eight-suite Villa Miločer, a former royal palace located on the mainland.

Source: Travel + Leisure

Montenegro: Europe’s New Ski Destination

If your plans to enjoy North America’s famous powder snow and tree-skiing have been derailed by the current economic downturn, why not try a quicker, cheaper and altogether more unusual winter holiday in the tiny but spectacular country of Montenegro? While many European resorts suffer from overcrowding, limited fresh snow and unskiable pine forests, Montenegro’s mountains offer deep, light powder, virtually no people and acres of perfectly spaced beech trees. If your timing is right, these can rival Colorado’s best aspen groves for a fraction of the cost.

Europe’s best-kept ski secret lies in the Bjelasica mountains at Jezerine, about 15 minutes by car outside the town of Kolasin, itself an hour and a half’s drive up the stunning Moraca Canyon from the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica. Although the range’s highest peak, Crna Glava (Black Head), is only 7,018 ft. (2,139 m), the amount of snowfall and variety of terrain in Jezerine will surprise you. While relatively small compared to many European resorts — there are only five lifts, although a high-speed quad is being built — Jezerine’s tree-skiing, powder and lack of crowds make it truly exceptional. In March, under blue skies with flurries of light, cold snow, it was possible to ski untracked powder all day, on groomed trails and through the trees, with fewer than 10 skiers on the mountain. At only $30 for a ski-lift ticket, with a good restaurant and brand-new rental and locker facilities on-site, this may be the greatest ski bargain in Europe.

Source: TIME

Tivat: The Next Monaco

The old Yugoslav naval base at Tivat on the coast of Montenegro is a derelict place. Colossal jetties stretch out from an abandoned work yard piled with crumbling concrete, twisted metal rods and broken glass. In one corner, a Cold War-era submarine, its giant propeller exposed to the summer winds, is being slowly dismantled by a local crew in flip-flops. The berths are fouled with paint chips and rusted metal, and until a recent scavenging operation, explosives lay on the seabed.

The naval base may be ugly and unglamorous, but thanks to a group of high-profile foreign investors, Tivat is about to be reborn. Next month, construction begins on a new marina for megayachts that its backers say will help turn this lowly industrial town into a glistening new Monaco. Its current appearance notwithstanding, Tivat is fortuitously situated on the so-called Venice-Corfu leg, the fastest-growing cruise destination in the Mediterranean and a pleasure ground for some of the world’s wealthiest people. Montenegro’s roads are crumbling, its power supply sporadic and its sewage system inadequate, but its coastline is one of the most spectacular on the Mediterranean.

For Peter Munk, 80, the Hungarian-born Canadian who heads the mining giant Barrick Gold, that potential makes Montenegro a prime candidate for development. Relaxing in shorts and bare feet on his chartered 162-ft. (49 m) yacht on the deep blue waters near Tivat, Munk says Monaco was also a relatively backward town before it transformed itself — and swaths of the French Riviera with it — into the playground it is today. Tivat, or Porto Montenegro as the marina area is being renamed, will have a similar effect, Munk declares: “The whole Adriatic is going to be lifted up by this new Adriatic Monaco.”

Source: TIME

The Montenegro puts tight

Seafarers. Who speaks little English, but capable of a smiling welcome. Fishermen until a few years ago, a waiter or receptionist tomorrow. This is the face of the ongoing transformation in two steps from Tivat, the new Monte Carlo of the Mediterranean, as they like to call the travel agencies. In this context there is the marina of Porto Montenegro, protected bays in one of the largest in Europe, just off the Bay of Kotor, a ten minute drive – just under the boat – the airport of Tivat. In fact, beyond a few palm trees imported from Uruguay, it is still difficult to compare it to the famous Principality of Monaco.
Compared with the glossy postcards that immortalize marinas such as Saint Tropez or Portofino, Montenegro retains a wild and unspoilt charm. The work of dismantling the old naval base will be built on which the entire complex is in progress and in the background, it is possible to glimpse what remains of villages like Lastva Donja, a fishing village (730 inhabitants) with small stone houses built Venetian style. This place has fallen in love for the first Peter Munk, the octogenarian Canadian businessman who made his fortune with the largest gold mines in the world and now owns the majority of Adriatic Marinas, the main developer of the project .

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Montenegro as Exotic Destination

The American Luxury travel magazine placed Montenegro among top 11 trends for luxury travels during this year. The magazine oriented exclusively on high-scale tourism placed Montenegro among distant destinations ideal for vacation, whose attractiveness is contributed to by the newly-built exclusive hotels, among which are the Chinese Hangzhou and Tibet, the Syrian Damascus, the Lebanese Beirut, and Luang Prabang in Laos.

Situated on the Adriatic Coast, Montenegro is rapidly developing as a destination which can offer not only extraordinary and divers choice for vacation and event organisation, but also an exceptional experience for nature lovers and active sports enthusiasts.

Source: SEEbtm

Montenegro: The Mediterranean’s New Hot Spot

The beautiful Balkan nation of Montenegro is positioning itself as the Mediterranean’s new hot spot.

Source: Departures

Travel: Montenegro, jewel of the Adriatic, has it all

“It could be Jay Z!” my 12-year-old shouted excitedly as the man stepped out of the private jet which had just touched down at Dubrovnik Airport.

I squinted to see if it indeed was the American rap star who was making his way down the steps to a fleet of waiting limos.

“No, looks too old,” said my partner Alex. “I reckon it’s Nelson Mandela!” In the event, they were both wrong.

The mystery celeb turned out to be none other than the “voice of God” Morgan Freeman. He once played Mr Mandela, so I guess Alex wasn’t too far off… As we watched him being driven off the tarmac it made us realise what a glamorous destination we had just arrived in.

After all, as the Thomson stewardess let slip, supermodel Caprice had been on an earlier flight just that day to start her sailing holiday.

Montenegro, with its magnificent Adriatic coastline, has long been a mecca for glamorous types.

Source: Mirror Travel