Exploring Kotor And More Of Montenegro with Kids

After Macedonia we spent a few days in the mountains in Serbia on our way to Montenegro where we spent 10 amazing days. We aren’t posting about Serbia since it was a stopover and we were in the middle of nowhere, but the mountains were beautiful there and we even hiked into Kosovo! If you are thinking about a trip to Montenegro and especially to Kotor, these are some things to do there with toddlers or young kids.

Our first stop in Montenegro was Durmitor National Park, one of Montenegro’s top attractions. To reach the park, we drove alongside the Tara Canyon, Europe’s deepest canyon. The drive was spectacular! Apparently, the best ways to experience the canyon are to see it from above, or to go rafting inside it. I think driving alongside it definitely counts as a great way to see it.

In Durmitor we stayed on a farm about 20 minutes outside of the park. We booked the farm through Airbnb and really loved the place! Our cottage overlooked a mountain plateau, the grounds had a great playspace for kids that included two playhouses and a trampoline, and the best part was that, whenever you stepped outside, you’d see farm animals (we even saw a dog walking three cows down the road with no owner in sight—seriously!). The kids loved it even though one of our two days was a rainy day. This is what we did during our time in Durmitor:

• We visited the Black Lake, the largest and the best known of 18 glacial lakes in the park. You can walk around the lake on the easy 3.6 km walking track that circles it. We didn’t walk around the lake but really enjoyed walking from the parking lot to the lake through a path in the woods. Once we arrived to the lake, the kids just wanted to play on the shore, skip rocks and climb around the big boulders that were there. Pro tip: try to visit the lake either early in the morning or after 4:30pm to avoid the tour buses and the crowds.

• We hiked up to the Curevac Viewpoint. This short hike is about 3km roundtrip on pretty rocky terrain leads you to the best view of the deepest part of the Tara River Canyon. The hike was spectacular, in and out of forests alongside rocky cliffs. It was completely foggy when we were there, but we thought it was still a beautiful view of the canyon covered in fog. Valentina hiked part of the trail, but mostly rode on Joe’s shoulders, and Hugo hiked it all. It’s a good trail for kids who are already little hikers and can handle the ups and downs. You need a car to reach the trailhead for this hike.

Our next and final stop in Montenegro was the Bay of Kotor. The drive from Durmitor to Kotor was also beautiful. We had read that one of the highlights for visiting Montenegro is driving around the country to see its amazing natural beauty and we couldn’t agree more with that. We basically drove the entire country and it’s full of dramatic mountains.

The Bay of Kotor is a geographically stunning place. Mountains shoot straight down into a large bay that flows in from the Adriatic Sea. Somewhere we read that it is the southernmost fjord of Europe. It is the kind of place you have to see to really get the full scope of how beautiful it is.

Our Airbnb was a 10 minute walk from Kotor’s old town. We loved our apartment because it had a lovely garden, lots of space, a beautiful view of the old town of Kotor, AND a huge selection of children’s books! It seriously had such an amazing library with books that were perfect for our kids’ ages and interests.

We spent a week in Kotor and these are some of the things we did during our time there:

• We spent time exploring the streets of the old town, usually in the early mornings or late afternoon/evening. (Cruise ships dock alongside the town and fill it with tourists from about 9:30 to 5:00—we were able to avoid the crowds!) Kotor is a really fun medieval town with lots of cafes, stone churches and buildings, and twists and turns. The kids loved choosing which narrow street to follow. The nice thing about Kotor is that it is small enough that you can’t really get lost. The food in the Old Town is generally the same in the different restaurants and we made most of our meals at home. Our Airbnb hostess recommended Bastion (seafood restaurant) but we didn’t get a chance to go there.

• We hiked up to the church Of Our Lady of Remedy. The church is on the way to the Fortress that is at the top of the cliff above Kotor. You have to climb about 520 steps to reach the church but the view is well worth it! Paola really wanted to reach this spot during the golden hour so she rushed up to the church while Joe was left with the two kids to hike up at their pace. He really earned the super-dad award when he reached the church carrying Valentina and having carried Hugo part of the way up!

• We drove to the pretty and picturesque town of Perast, about 20 minutes from Kotor. Perast is probably the second most visited town in the area after Kotor, and we can see why. It used to be owned by the Venetians and you can definitely see their influence in the architecture. We walked on the waterfront, explored the back streets of the town, ate lunch and headed back to Muo. If you like photography, this would be a great place to be at sunset, when the cliffs on the eastern side light up with the warm colors of sunset.

• We visited the Njegos Mausoleum Monument in Lovcen National Park. Petar II Petrović-Njegoš is buried here. He is thought to have been Montenegro’s best poet, and one of its greatest kings. It normally takes about an hour to reach the mausoleum on very narrow twisty mountain roads. We had an extra treat to our visit: there was major construction going on in the park, so, after a million switchbacks, most of the road was torn up and we even had to wait for a bulldozer to even out a rocky stretch of the road so that cars could go over. Somehow we didn’t get a flat tire! It took us an hour and half to get there. To reach the monument you have to climb about 400 steps (mostly shaded) but it’s absolutely worth it for the 360 degree view of the Bay of Kotor and the mountains. We were there early and had the place to ourselves. There’s a small fee to enter the mausoleum so be ready to pay when you get to the top.

• We drove 10 minutes up Vrmac Ridge behind our house to visit an abandoned WWI Austro Hungarian bunker. Officially, the bunker is not open to the public but you can easily go in through one of the two windows that have had their bars taken off. Paola went it for a little bit and Joe took both kids down the hallway that connected the rooms with the open windows. While we were there, another group arrived and started exploring the inside as well. Afterwards, we climbed up the hill and found other abandoned buildings that had obviously been bombed during the war. Definitely bring a headlamp and watch your step if you go!

During our time in Kotor we also celebrated Valentina’s 2nd birthday! We got her a cake from Dolce Pinocchio (a nice Italian bakery recommended by our Airbnb hostess) and made her some of her favorite foods (we were limited by the availability of ingredients!). We can’t believe our little monster girl is already two! Thanks to all of you who remembered her big day and wished her well. She had a pretty special day!

We were sad to leave Montenegro but excited to go see a new country! We are in Bosnia now and we can’t wait to share more about this beautiful country and our time here with you!

If you’d like to know where exactly we stayed in any of these places, send us a message and we’ll share the listing with you. Also, check out this post to learn more about how to book the best Airbnb for you.