Coastal Montenegro (Kotor Bay and Petrovac)

Destination: Petrovac & Kotor, Montenegro
Time of travel: August 2015
Duration: 4 days (3 nights) in Petrovac
Travel plan: 4 days in Pula, Croatia. 2 days in Mostar, BiH. 1 day in Split, Croatia. 4 days in coastal Montenegro (Petrovac and Kotor), 1 day in Pluzine, Montenegro, 3 days in Sarajevo, BiH, 2 days in Zagreb, Croatia

Kotor Bay

We recently added a new country to our (never ending) favorite destinations list. The whole Balkan area is on top of our list but there’s one country we plan to return to soon. It’s beautiful Montenegro. Even though coastal Montenegro is very popular and boasting with tourists more and more every year, it’s also beautiful inland. The natural beauty combined with high level of safety and you have a great holiday destination in front of you! Being in Balkans you still need to keep your eyes on the road when driving but in Montenegro it wasn’t even that bad, at least when comparing to some of the neighboring countries.

Crossing the mountains, from Bosnia Herzegovina to Montenegro

We drove in from Bosnia, driving to our fourth destination of the trip (Pula – Split – Mostar -> Montenegro..) via road R429 which was a relatively small road. Crossing the border was nice and easy. After the passport control you pay the road tax of 2,50EUR and off you go. The official currency of Montenegro is euro even though it’s not officially in the euro zone. The country has been working hard to become a part of the EU and is also making it easy for tourists to travel to and in the country. Montenegrins are very kind and friendly people to tourists and we really had no issues at all. Due to large amounts of tourists from neighboring countries such as Italy, Austria, and a further one, Russia, many languages are spoken in the country.

Continuing down to Meljine along the coast all the way to Kamenari where we, by a lucky chance, drove directly to the Lepetane – Kamenari ferry queue. We weren’t planning on taking the ferry but driving around the bay would have cost us an hour so we decided to take the ferry as it was almost departing. We didn’t plan on taking the ferry as we thought they’d be full and it’d be a long wait but it really wasn’t. In total it took us about 15 minutes as after getting the tickets we drove directly on to the ferry which departed almost immediately. Talk about timing! We definitely recommend driving around the Bay of Kotor, it’s one of the most beautiful roads. If you’re shot on time, take the ferry.

Full Moon in Petrovac

Even though the popular road are in quite a good condition, it will probably take time reaching your destination because of all the other tourists on the road. Reserve some additional time of 30-60 minutes if possible. Everybody wants to enjoy the views and as the roads are narrow and winding on the side of a mountain, you’re not driving very fast. You might also want to spare some time to stop and enjoy the view. It’s magnificent!

The coast of Montenegro is absolutely full of accommodation options. It’s striking to realize how popular this country actually is among tourists, especially as in many parts of western Europe people can’t even place it on the map! Montenegrins are very used to their tourists and really go out of their way to help you.

End of summer celebration, August 31st

Our first destination was Petrovac (aka Petrovac na Moru), a small town 25kms to the south from Kotor. We chose Petrovac because of a nice hotel we found but might have easily stayed somewhere else also. Petrovac was nice, small and very touristic. It has a good, relatively clean beach with super warm and clear water, and lots of restaurants by the beach. Swimming was a lot of fun but we’d recommend to leave your snorkles at home. Maybe further from the shore it’s cleaner but near the shore the sea floor was filthy with bottles, pipes, plastic bags, deck chairs, basically whatever you can throw in the water was there.

We spent four days in Petrovac, which was enough to reset in between of our more active destinations. We were originally planning to drive in the surrounding areas and drive up to Ulcijn not far from Albanian border or even the capital Podgorica but felt so relaxed and comfortable that driving a car felt like such a burden! The weather was absolutely fantastic all day and night long, not a drop of rain and even nights were warm enough to take a dip in the pool. The incredibly warm breeze will dry you off in no time.

Tourists arriving to Kotor

Kotor fortress

Kotor town

Up up we go!

On the fourth day, in the afternoon, we drove to Kotor and later continued all the way across the mountains to the small town of Pluzine, not far from the Bosnian border. Kotor is a beautiful, super touristic historical town by the bay of Kotor. Kotor was built during the Venetian Period (Republic of Venice) thus has a lot of similarity to Italian architecture. Our original plan was to quickly stroll across the town and shoot some photos but we actually ended up hiking all the way up to Kotor Fortress – about an hour – an hour and a half in total if you’re fast. We were completely unprepared for the hike, wearing sandals and flip flops (and me a Michael Kors bag..) which made it a little uncomfortable but it’s worth it and highly recommended. You can actually buy water and soda on your way up and down from one of the vendors along the walking path. The path is slippery, especially on the way down you might need to take it slow.

Those lazy summer days..

As it was a hot day, above 30C we decided to take a dip in the sea before taking off to Pluzine. You have lots of small beaches to choose from, just pick a spot and jump in! The swimming experience in the bay is actually an interesting one! The water in the bay is very warm, I’d say 25C but there’s cooler water pouring in from the mountains which brings in layers of cooler water so you have these pockets of cool water in the warm bay. You can even see the cooler spots with your bare eye. Very cool!

Could be a great idea to stay at one of the B&B’s by the bay, you’ve got plenty of choice and they looked very nice. Also, the scenary is breath taking, wouldn’t mind spending a week enjoying it!

The view

I better end my post here by the bay of Kotor, before continuing the journey to the north east of the country.

To sum it all up, Montenegro is an incredible destination for sun, beach, relaxation, nature and hiking. I believe it’s even great for buying real estate as tourism is growing and the economy is also growing fast after recession. Although, be fast, the prices are getting higher and are currently at the level of South of Spain and Portugal! Otherwise shopping in Montenegro will save your money because there’s not really that much to buy. Food is very good, seafood is recommended as well as everything with meat – Montenegrins really know how to barbeque seafood, meat as well as vegetables. Dishes are simple and very tasty. Try the Srbska salad which is a version of Greek salad, you won’t be disappointed!

We love food!

All in all, it’s not an expensive but also not particularily cheap destination. Especially coastal areas try (and should) benefit from all the tourists. However, it’s very much worth it and if you dig deep enough you do find great deals. Further inland prices drop and tourist masses get lesser.

In the waves of Honolulu, Oahu, Hawai'i

Destination: Honolulu, Oahu, Hawai'i
Time of travel: December 2014
Duration: 9 days
Travel plan: 5 days in Honolulu, 4 days on Big Island (Hawai'i), 6 days in San Francisco 

Paradise!

Approaching Honolulu

Honolulu is the capital city of Hawaii. It's located on the island of Oahu, on the west  of the island chain. With it's long, enchanting history it will tell you stories and myths about the birth of Earth, sea and sky, Polynesians arriving on boats from the Marquesas islands (another dream destination!),  WW2, all the way to current days belonging to the United States and being a popular holiday destination especially among Americans and the Japanese. We had a very practical reminder of the US impact right at the time of our expected landing when our plane had to give room to another plane landing on Honolulu airport at the same time - The Airforce One. We'll tell you more about our visit and the President later.

Being the capital city, Honolulu offers you pretty much everything you need from a holiday. There's beach, shopping, restaurants, night life, hiking, surfing, everything! Oahu definitely has it all. It's relatively small considering all the activities you can enjoy on the island yet big enough to enjoy the beautiful scenery even in privacy.

Beach life

The famous Waikiki beach is exactly what you expect. It's a fantastic spot to enjoy some sun and beach while enjoying the view to the Diamond Head crater and watching surfers catch the waves. The water isn't the warmest and you should watch out while walking in the water as it's full of rocks but aside that, you'll have some fantastic time under the Hawaiian sun.
If, however, you prefer to lounge by the pool like we did, you can choose from one of the fabulous hotels by the beach. Hawaii is very popular any time of the year so be prepared to reserve your spot on the beach or on the sun lounger early in the morning as it really gets crowded!
Needless to say, Hawaii in general is super popular among surfers because of it's great waves.

Toes in the sand!

Best beaches:

Waikiki Beach

Bellows Field Beach Park

Papailoa Beach (a little windy)

Sightseeing

Sightseeing is made very easy in Honolulu. You can either walk around the city, take the Hop On Hop off bus, take a tour, rent a bike or drive around by car. We found driving to be the best way to get around the island. You can easily drive around the whole island in one day but we recommend two or three so you have lots of time to stop and enjoy the scenery. However, pretty much all the activities are very well organized and you'll surely find your way even to more remote sights and museums even without a car.

USS Bowfin at Pearl Harbor

Hawaii has an enchanting past that should definitely be explored. Walk around Honolulu and you’ll notice many examples of how the ancient customs have found their way in the lives of present day Hawaiians. We were lucky to see a funeral take place on Waikiki beach. It was a festive event with food and native music, people were calm and smiling, enjoying the day and remembering the past soul.

Waikiki beach ahead

Restaurants, bars

You can't really go wrong with food no matter where you go on Oahu. Best picks are the Asian restaurants as well as everything North-American. Generally the quality is superb and even the Asian restaurants are constantly visited by the Asian tourists which rarely happens in many European locations. Try fresh seafood and sushi!

A restaurant to visit:

Mikawon, a fantastic Korean restaurant

2345 Kuhio Avenue, Honolulu, Oahu

We knew that Barack Obama was born in Honolulu but having him visiting the island at exactly the same time as we did was a fun coincidence. Not only did we arrive at exactly the same time as he did but he also dined at one of the restaurants of our hotel! It was indeed a huge surprise to lounge on the balcony of our hotel and suddenly see several black SUV's pulling up in front of the hotel, blocking the street and escorting the president to the restaurant.

I guess we did good job choosing the hotel!

Shopping

Shopping in USA is always fun but we had our doubts on Hawaii as it is more expensive than other U.S locations especially when it comes to hotels and restaurants. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the high prices don't really apply to shopping and we made lots of fantastic purchases, especially as we were there during the Christmas holidays and the sale had just begun! You have several shopping centers on Oahu as well as a designer outlet. Again, you can reach the shopping centers by public transportation, taxi's or a shuttle bus but driving is always an option also. Just don't leave your belongings in the car (now even in the trunk!). Breaking in rental cars is very common on Hawaii!

Shopping centers:

Ala Moana Center

1450 Ala Moana Bulevard

T Galleria Hawaii (Duty Free shopping for tourists)

330 Royal Hawaiian Avenue

Kalakaua Avenue

Royal Hawaiian Centre

2201 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu

Waikele Premium Outlets

94-790 Lumina Street, Waipahu 

Exploring Oahu! Ka'a'awa Valley

Hiking & adventure

Although we didn't go hiking on Oahu, we were aware of several fantastic hiking trails. An easy one, where you really don't need any equipment for would be to walk to the top of Diamond Head. We walked up in our flipflops so don't worry about it being a difficult hike. It does have lots of stairs but it's still relatively easy. However, you do have a huge selection of hiking paths all over the island so you can easily select one to suit your level. It does rain relatively often on Hawai'i which might affect your trip. We were initially planning to hike one day on Oahu also but due to stormy weather decided to skip it.

Ka'a'awa Valley

One of the Lost series filming locations, old Walaiua Sugar Mill (Mr. Eko's Nigerian Village)

US is not the ideal location to drive around and explore, which is what we constantly do in Europe. This was also something that we didn't love on Oahu. When ever we picked a road that looked like an adventure, it didn't take long to be stopped by fences, gates and Private Property signs. Luckily, there's plenty to see and experience despite of all the fences.

Hawaiian style

To sum it all up..

Ever since our trip many people have asked if it's really as expensive as it seems? And more importantly, if it's worth it? To tell you the truth, it is expensive! But it's also 100% worth it. You will need to spend big bucks on a decent hotel, on the car as well as restaurants but it's Hawaii after all! Good thing is that generally you also get good value for money. Going for cheaper hotels is always an option but the budget hotels are far from decent and probably won't give you the fantastic Hawaii experience. You won't be disappointed!

We stayed at The Modern Honolulu, a great hotel in Waikiki. Great location, good service, spacious and modern rooms, great toiletries (so good that I've been trying to find them online!). Two pools one of which was adults only. Good cocktails and decent restaurants.

We can almost hear Jack, Kate and Sawyer! This is Papailoa Beach (aka. Police Beach), one of the filming locations of Lost.

Don't limit your trip to Oahu only! Make sure you get to visit one of the other islands as well. They're all quite different, some are better for adventure activities and sports, others are popular for parties but I doubt you could go wrong no matter which island you pick. For us, the other island was the island of Hawai'i. This is where it gets confusing for those who haven't familiarized themselves with the Hawaiian islands. Basically the island chain is called Hawaii with islands (starting from the left/west) Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, Hawaii. The main island with the capital Honolulu is Oahu yet the biggest island in size on Hawaii, which is often referred to as The Big Island because it's the biggest of the islands. The Big Island also keeps on growing because of it's constantly erupting volcano Kilauea. Now how cool is that? It is also the number 1 attraction in the area. Traveling from island to island is made very easy and there are several flights departing every day and the distances are short.

Diamond Head crater

How much did we actually spend then? We got a good deal on flights which was around 850€  per person with a departure from Amsterdam (with two stop overs, first in London, second one in L.A).This was a  fantastic price and we also got to include San Francisco, where we stayed for five days on the way back. Average price is usually around 1200€, anything below that is a good price. Hotels were from 125 - 260€ per night. Considering we traveled during the peak season, Christmas holidays, these prices were absolutely great.

Spam Musubi on the go while driving around Oahu. It tasted strange and nice yet addictive.

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What languages do you really need to get by in the world, pt. 1

In 2012 we took my grandfather to Italy. It was the first time in 20 years he went abroad, and first time ever that he traveled to a non-Russian speaking country. He did quite a bit of traveling when he was younger. This was back when the Soviet Union still bloomed, and all of the countries he visited were under the soviet occupation, thus at least partly Russian speaking. It came as a bit of a shock to him when he realized that the nice, Italian lady at the reception of one of our hotels really didn't speak a word of Russian. He turned to another employee, yet he couldn't help him either. 

His world is much bigger now but it took a couple of more trips to other countries in western Europe for him to realize (and admit) that Russian is currently not one of the major languages of western Europe. What languages do you need to get by in the world then? Here are a few of our observations, starting with Europe and the Americas.

Europe: English works in most of Europe with some exceptions like some French and German speaking regions as well as the Balkans. Even in Spain and Portugal, with very widely spoken languages of their own, you will be able to communicate in, at least some level of English. However, pay a visit to the French speaking areas in Belgium or France itself and you will most likely need to use your hands and toes to communicate. In countries such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland you might also need to grab that good old German phrase book, especially when traveling outside the capital areas. 

Eastern Europe has many Russian speakers and even though the Baltic citizens often prefer English, you can easily find Russian speakers in most businesses as about half of the population has Russian as the native language. Traveling south from Baltics to countries such as Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary you will be able to use your German, but English is very widely spoken as well. When you finally reach Balkans, you can use English which works fine in most regions but knowledge of Russian helps a lot. Countries like Romania and Bulgaria have surprisingly wide population of French and Italian speakers also, at least this is what we have noticed on our trips. Traveling in Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey is much easier if you understand a bit of Russian. Speaking Russian in those regions will actually work in your benefit and probably even give you a small discount with your purchases!

Did you know that many people living in Kosovo speak English due to the presence of Nato troops in the region?

In Greece you’ll get by in English quite well, but also German is widely spoken, at least in most touristic areas.

All in all, Europe is incredibly multilingual and you will get by by speaking at least one of the following languages: English, German, French, Russian. However, Speaking either Spanish, Italian or Portuguese will also help you as these three languages are very similar - and widely spoken.

Central and South America, Caribbean: Spanish will get you furthest when traveling in this region. It is true that Portuguese is also very widely spoken, mainly in Brazil and touristic regions in Argentina but Spanish is the most common language used in majority of these countries. In the Caribbean and northeast regions of South America you can get by in Dutch, German and French but majority also speak Spanish and/or English. For example Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire are all Dutch (and/or Papiamento) speaking islands. French is spoken in Haiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique, Dominica and Saint Lucia as well as the French region of Saint Martin (aka Sint Maarten). 

Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico have Spanish as the native language.

Brazil is an exception making Spanish speakers a minority! In Brazil you will need Portuguese but, German and Italian might help you also. By the borders you'll probably get by in Spanish, but don't count on it. Again, English is, of course, spoken is touristic areas but Brazilian is the biggest and most important language in this country. 

One of the surprising languages you’ll be able to use in Americas is German. Starting all the way from Mexico down to northeastern parts of Caribbean (some regions of Easter Islands)  and continuing all the way down to Brazil and Paraguay you should be able to use German, at least in some areas. Some schools and universities in Mexico actually offer German as one of the optional languages to study meaning you can choose either English or German. 

It is fascinating how much you learn about the different regions in the world only by knowing the locally spoken languages! Did you know that there used to be a small Courish settlement (Baltic tribe that used to live in parts of present day Latvia and Lithuania) in Tobago (Trinidad and Tobago of present day South-America) back in the 17th/18th century? Wonder what would have happened had the colony succeeded, and if we could add one of the Baltic languages to the list?

Tip: Make the most of TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor has improved tremendously in the recent years and also the user base has grown all over the world amongst both, the clients and the service providers. Also, it has turned from a true tourist database into a traveller guide site and is able to help almost any traveler anywhere in the world and includes even the most remote destinations.


TripAdvisor is not based on facts, it's based on personal experiences

Just like with everything else in life, always do your research, trust your own instinct and form your own opinion. TripAdvisor is a collection of peoples opinions and experiences that always depend on their personal point of view, previous life experiences, origin, mood, you name it!

Keep an eye on the location of the reviewer, the age and even family status. A review written by a dad with 4 kids might not be the best source for information if you are searching for a hotel for a wild bachelorette party. Also, travelers from US prefer (and are more used to) larger room sizes than Europeans. The room that Europeans  may call large or of decent size is often on the smaller side for someone from the US.

Looking at the Traveler Type you get a pretty good overview of the average visitor profile of the hotel. Like this hotel below is popular among couples, business travelers and friends. Might not be the number one option for large families but ideal for a weekend getaway with you loved one!

Never trust reviewers with just a few (1-3) reviews

Many hotels, restaurants and tourist service providers rate themselves or ask their friends and family to review them. Many create fake profiles and rate their business excellent to get the rating higher. Most of them are everything but excellent!

See a review with less than 4 reviews? We suggest you skip reading the review or, at least, stay alert when reading!

Found a TripAdvisor listing with lots and lots of reviews that don't seem authentic? It's a huge red flag and the place should be avoided. Move along, there's plenty more to choose from!

Review reading order for hotels/accommodation:

Hotels or other accommodation often has a huge amount of reviews. The overall rating can be high so don't get stuck only on the rating.

1. read reviews on several pages (flip back at least 2-3 pages). No need to read them all but do browse back to older reviews and read here and there if you don't have time to check them all

2. always check the reviewer and their number of reviews on the left of the review

3. take a look at the date of the review

4. always look at the pictures taken by visitors

Rule of the thumb is never to book hotels with a ranking less than 4/5. Certificate of excellence is brilliant (but doesn't tell the whole truth). Always check the negative reviews!

Best combination is this: Great rating, a decent number of reviews and no Poor or Terrible ratings at all! This is The Augustin in Brussels, by the way! They've really done well and probably have a Certificate of Excellence coming their way this year!

Always read negative reviews (but don't make up your mind solely based on them)

Always read the negative reviews when booking a hotel. It might not be important when booking a restaurant but when it comes to accommodation, this is what you must always do! Does the hotel have a history of stealing or burglary at hotel premises or even worse, from the room or the safe? Be cautious! If you find reviews like this, just move on and never book at that hotel. There's plenty to choose from anyway!

No stealing or anything alarming like that and overall rating reflects your needs and expectations? Looks promising! Go back to all reviews, flip through few more and make up your mind. Don't let the negative reviews affect you (unless they mention stealing or frauds), it's important to form a realistic expectation before booking. 


Booking accommodation on TripAdvisor?

To get the best price, cross-check the prices on a couple of different price comparison sites. TripAdvisor is currently making it's way to the top of our list as one of the best price comparisoon sites as it lists the most popular (more importantly, most reliable!) international booking sites . Also, you can list hotels to fit your needs by filtering hotels by your preferences. They have lots of different filtering options from the price, hotel class/ rating, style, brand/chain, location, amenities and so on. We love centrally located luxury hotels with a pool and that's the filtering we often use. TripAdvisor has saved our filtering options and uses analytics to gather information from our profile and the hotels we've visited before meaning that every time we search for a hotel we can sort it either by our preferences, ranking, price etc. 

However, never rely on just one source. Also check HotelsCombined.com or Trivago.com, to mention a few.

Destination pages (written by travellers)

Destination pages have recently had a facelift that made a huge difference! The pages are very easy to read and browse through, also it's easy to search for specific information and if you have the patience to scroll all the way down, you see an overview of airfares for the next three months!

For more specific questions, check out Forum and post your own questions.

Also, browse through the travel guides written by fellow travellers for 3/5/7 day guides, arrival info, shopping guides and more.

Why the #1 restaurant in town is not the best place to go

The top-on-the list restaurant rarely is that good. It is, however, ok in price, located near touristic hotspots and have something for everyone. The best restaurants are often on page 2 and 3 (depends on the size of the destination). Want to take it to another level? Search for restaurants with top reviews in the local language!

In the picture below I'm on page 2 and all of these restaurants have the Certificate of Excellence which definitely makes it very promising!