Montenegro or Croatia for familiy vacation (best, rentals, Paris, hotel)

[Cinci-bound?]

We're visiting family in Trieste, Italy in June 09 and are considering adding week in either Croatia or Montenegro. It would be 2 families with 3 small kids (6mo, 1.5 yr, 5 yo). Does anyone have an opinion on either of these locations? We'd be looking to rent a private home on or very near the beach. Can anyone suggest a good location?

[BlueWillowPlate]

We had a wonderful time in Croatia. We spent two days in Dubrovnik and 3 days on Hvar (island). We also took a day trip to drive around the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. What a beautiful place.
We liked Hvar so much we stayed an extra day.
Look online for rentals. In my experience, the best places are booked far in advance. We had to make a deposit, but everything turned out fine.

[john098]

Picasa Web Albums - Sasa - Sailing in Cr...

[wastina]

Hi Cinci-bound,

I lived in Croatia for a year and had a great time. Hvar, as recommended, is wonderful. If you want to spend some time, look around (not in) Split, Rijeka and Dubrovnik. I rented a house near the coast and spent weekends near Rijeka, enjoying a house right on the water with the comforts of restaurants nearby. Croatia has more coastline, so there's more to choose from.

My parents, who visited for two weeks and toured the coast, live in Cincinnati. If you're interested in personal experiences and recommendations about Cincinnati, DM me and I'll hook you up. They visited Croatia in the immediate post-conflict period and have enjoyed watching the tourism articles arise, now that the region has stabilized.

[k374]

I've always wanted to go to Croatia.. In Montenegro Is Podgorica worth visiting? I've been to Bratislava and I'm guessing it is something like that? Bratislava was pretty depressing, sorry to say.

[CroatWebWanderer]

I'd say no. Podgorica has nothing to do with Bratislava, Montenegrin capital is a pretty ugly communist city - with extremely beautiful people if I may add.

I liked Bratislava; nice and neat Central European city.

[Digsby]

Hi Cinci-Bound and k374 !

You must go to Montenegro which is beautiful. Kotor Bay is idyllic. You'd still get a chance to travel through Croatia if you go by car and see it's beautiful coast line, have a drink or a meal on the sea side. But I would really recommand spending your time in Montenegro.

k374, CroatWW is right: Podgo is really quite ugly and there is no need to visit it. It's much more interesting to travel to the mountains, the Tara Canyon etc.

I live there so if you need any info please pm me !

Digsby

Montenegro Tribune

[chicken.or.the.nugget]

hi im of croatian descent (although not from the nice part) and went there with my family this summer and so did my cousin with his girlfriend. Id say go to croatia because it is wealthier and has more tourism (so it is easier to get around). Montengro is very new and poorer. I think Croatia is joining the EU in April so you won't have to cross any formal borders. It is also much closer and driving down croatia takes like a full driving day and since you have a week it wouldnt be worth wasting a day.

Anyways i suggest you stay somewhere near split which has an international airport. we stayed in Omis which is south, and is a cheaper tourist spot but we stayed in a really nice vila so it was great. Makarska, which has wealthier tourists like Germans, is more upscale so it can be quite pricey. Dubrovnik is more scenic than split but its an extra 3-4 hours (unless the new road has been built). But staying further north also has it's advantages because its a shorter drive from italy and is a shorter drive to plitvice lakes (Plitvice Lakes National Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). If you want a more italian feel go to Istria which has more italian food and culture (it was owned by italy from WW1 to WW2 i think).

I dont know about your financial situation but my cousin found it too primitive because he was on a budget (but he was also in paris in italy). But then if youre on a budget the amalfi coast of italy would be too expensive and i hear the their adriatic side is ugly

[chicken.or.the.nugget]

...So traveling montenegro on a budget would be extremley primitive

Oh and i suggest getting a pool or crocks... the beaches in most of europe are not like american/carribean beches. They're rocky... i found it a pain to walk on so little kids should have thick souled water shoes

heres the website my mom found the villa on
http://www.croatianvillas.com/index....ral&destid=304

heres the one i wanted....it even comes with a donkey
http://www.croatianvillas.com/index....n=hotel&id=280

heres the one we stayed in...it was nice and there was a cute little cat that would also come by and ruins up on a mountain you can climb to. There are two apartments (we rented both for all us).
http://www.croatianvillas.com/index....n=hotel&id=112

heres one right near the beach
http://www.croatianvillas.com/index....on=hotel&id=56#

[Digsby]

Originally Posted by chicken.or.the.nugget

hi im of croatian descent (although not from the nice part) and went there with my family this summer and so did my cousin with his girlfriend. Id say go to croatia because it is wealthier and has more tourism (so it is easier to get around). Montengro is very new and poorer. I think Croatia is joining the EU in April so you won't have to cross any formal borders. It is also much closer and driving down croatia takes like a full driving day and since you have a week it wouldnt be worth wasting a day.

Anyways i suggest you stay somewhere near split which has an international airport. we stayed in Omis which is south, and is a cheaper tourist spot but we stayed in a really nice vila so it was great. Makarska, which has wealthier tourists like Germans, is more upscale so it can be quite pricey. Dubrovnik is more scenic than split but its an extra 3-4 hours (unless the new road has been built). But staying further north also has it's advantages because its a shorter drive from italy and is a shorter drive to plitvice lakes (Plitvice Lakes National Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). If you want a more italian feel go to Istria which has more italian food and culture (it was owned by italy from WW1 to WW2 i think).

I dont know about your financial situation but my cousin found it too primitive because he was on a budget (but he was also in paris in italy). But then if youre on a budget the amalfi coast of italy would be too expensive and i hear the their adriatic side is ugly

Hi again, I'd like to correct a few things!
First Croatia is very unlikely to enter the EU in April! Furthermore, there is an unsolved issue about a border dispute with Slovenia... see EUobserver
So, 2011 is more likely.

Some even say that Montenegro could enter before Croatia as it is evolving faster (because it is smaller!). Also, Montenegro already uses EURO, so this is a real plus compared to Croatia. Regarding crossing borders, there is not much hassle as people are crossing frontiers very easily along the Adriatic. Actually, you even have to cross the Bosnian border to reach Montenegro (as Croatia is split in 2), and usually, car don't even stop at the border, so...

It is true that there is more tourism in Croatia... So it depends if you like that fact or if you prefer a more undiscovered place such as Montenegro, which won't stay undiscovered for so long, so you should probably go there in the next 2 years, if you want to benefit from this.

If I had advised Croatia, I would have said go south, because it is more natural, smaller villages, beautiful islands etc. But again, it depends if you prefer crowded places with mass tourism (and a lot of wealthy Germans...) or a more authentic experience. Oh, and by the way, Dubrovnik is also an International airport, but you go by car I think. If you stayed around Dubrovnik or in the Kotor bay in Montenegro, you could explore both south Croatia and Montenegro. Maybe a good pick.

If you are looking for accomodation around the Kotor bay, call or email Keystone agency they will look for exactly what you need. (try "keystone tivat" on google)

Disby

Montenegro Tribune