Montenegro – Petrovac 1/8/16 – 3/8/16

Only 90 minutes by bus north of Ulcinj lies the tiny bay of Petrovac. We were dropped of at its small bus station and spotted a taxi. A young man came over to us and asked something, not sure what as it was in a language unbeknown to us. We said “English” and he tried as best he could to offer us a taxi. We gave him the address of our apartment to which he showed the taxi driver and a couple of locals. No one knew where it was! Finally he showed it to the young lady at the ticket counter who gave the instructions. Phew, in a strange land, not knowing the language, hardly anyone around, and not knowing which way the town way, we nearly started to panic. However once we arrived we were met by an elderly lady who showed us in. A lovely tiny room with balcony and ensuite. Booking.com had stated a small kitchenette, and for love nor money we couldn’t find it, that is until we went onto the balcony. There in the corner was a small bar fridge and a 2 burner ring thing sat above it. Next to the fridge was a kettle. How sweet in the fridge the lady showed us complimentary 2 bottles of water and 2 bottles of local beer. It wasn’t long before we headed out. The beach front is exquisite in every way, lots of restaurants, boutique shops and of course a few bars. This tiny bay, although packed as its the main summer season, overlooks across the Adriatic Sea out to the beautiful blue coloured abyss, with small rock formations and tiny islands as far as the eye can see – really stunning. After a drink we wandered back and bought tickets for a glass bottomed boat ride for tomorrow, which goes around the bay, viewing the local landmarks by sea.
At night the views are more amazing, lights everywhere delicately placed around this tiny bay. No neon lights at all, just the street lights and the ones lighting up the houses etc, beautiful. It took us around 20 minutes to walk the length of the promenade and we had a drink at the cliff top bar, over looking the many caves and jagged rock faces as the sun set. Then onto another bar and the next. As we walked to the other side, Tina spotted a bright red lettered sign, we both read “pants”, so headed for it. What we found, dug into a rock face was a bar called “Panto”. It was brill, open air bar right on the waters edge with a Mexican band playing. Wow what a find, a great evening.
Next day we ventured around the tiny town and to our amazement we spotted lots and lots of hotels being built. Crazy as the place is full of hotels already and looking at the beach, it can’t withhold the amount of tourists already visiting. That evening we went on the Montenegro Star, glass bottomed boat for out 1hr 40 m sailing trip. The weather was beautiful, but the sea was raging, so as can be expected a few children and adults were showing everyone what they had for lunch. I however held all mine in, quite remarkable by my boating standards. We sailed along the beach line and passed Buljarice Lucie, the islands of Katic and Santa Domenika, Hotel As (which has been derelict since 2008 – half way through building it), Monastery of Rezevici and the tiny area called Sveti Stefan. Great views of all from the water, and a great way of viewing these landmarks all at once. Along the way we spotted a walkway which appeared to meander through caves in the rock face, so we thought that’s what we would do tomorrow.
The following day, we headed to the wharf and found the stone stair case heading up into the forest, and ventured up. At the top we joined a narrow sealed road which took us to our destination. The views from up here were spectacular as the walkway leads you through 3 caves, all dug out from the cliff face. Along its route the views got more impressive overlooking the cliffs and out over the sea. At its end we came across the Hotel As, (which we had seen from afar yesterday), it’s colossal size is very impressive yet intrusive of the natural fauna of its surroundings. Not sure why it never got built, but it lays in ruins with rocks all around it. Beyond this lies a stunning small pebbled beach with a very nice restaurant alongside it. Great to stop for a drink before heading back.
We’ve spent 3 nights/4 days here and as lovely as it is, we could have spent half this time here. It’s bijou, small appearance should not put anyone off from visiting as it is as quaint as they come. Perhaps an overnight stay would suffice on a journey from Ulcinj to Budva, or vice-versa.