Montenegro experience- Gastronomy & wine tour

Group meeting and pick up at Podgorica airport, and start our journey in direction of your accommodation in Kotor. Depending on time of the flight arrival, we could organize lunch somewhere on the road, and optionally visit one of the attractions on the road. In late afternoon, we will arrive to the accommodation in Kotor, have dinner and free time. Dinner would be served in one of the local restaurant and prepared in typical Mediterranean style - fish (Se bass, Se bream, risotto, sea food such as squids, mussels, oysters). Overnight.

After the breakfast, our guide will pick up guests at their accommodation, and show them the Old Town Kotor, taking them through the cozy streets of this UNESCO-protected World Heritage Site. They will pass over the Squares of Arms with its Clock Tower and palaces. They will also stand in front of (or optionally visit) the oldest Catholic Church in Montenegro dedicated to the Saint Tryphon. Other attractions on this short walking tour are the Maritime Square and Orthodox churches, such as Saint Luka’s and Nicholas, Cats Squares and more. Our tour guide will also tell stories that showcase the harmony between the different religions and the old daily routine of Kotor’s citizens. Next, we start a panoramic ride through Boka bay surroundings, which will take us to Perast - one of the best preserved baroque settlements on the Mediterranean. After a short walk through the city center, we will take easy 5 minutes boat ride to the artificial island “Our Lady of the Rocks’’ famous of its beauty and interesting stories and legends. After the visit to the island and Perast, we will go in direction of the local mussels farm where you will be served local grow and caught mussels that are fruit of the Adriatic sea, and all that combined well with the well chosen white vine and some other spirits typical for this area. Back to the accommodation in Kotor. Free time. Overnight.

After the breakfast at Kotor, we will proceed to visit the city of Tivat and its yachting marine Porto Montenegro. There you will have free time to walk around, have a drink and catch some great photos of newest touristic zone of Montenegro. Then we will explore a more remote part of the Boka Bay and its biggest peninsula - Lustica, where we will visit its famous traditional village area. In one of the Lustica villages, we will visit a local farm, its olive grow, old mill and our wonderful host will serve us their domestic cheese, prosciutto, olive oil, wine, liqueurs, rakia and present us his olive oil production. You will enjoy their hospitality, nice temper and little garden with olives and animals. Afterwards, we will proceed to have a boat ride where in two hours you will come from the Boka Bay to the open Adriatic Sea and visit the secluded Blue Cave - a local natural attraction. You will also see old fortifications for defense, old famous island Mamula and other. Then we will proceed to the one of the most interesting local households that is practically village for itself called Gastro village - Klinci, where we will have a great experience visiting the centuries old houses, their olive grow, old mill, see their animal and hear about their family history before we proceed for the lunch made by their organic products. In later afternoon, we will proceed back to our accommodation in Kotor. Free time, dinner in a local restaurant, overnight.

Check out from the hotel in Kotor and departure. We will start the tour to Lovcen Mountain following the famous 25 serpentine old road that used to connect Kotor with Lovcen and Cetinje region. Switchbacks will take us to one of the amazing viewpoints, postcard-worthy, that give you a bird perspective of Boka Bay. After the stop for photostops, we will proceed to the zone of the highest Lovcen peaks and if the group want, we will spend 1 hour in the visit of the famous cultural attraction of Montenegro – mausoleum dedicated to the famous old leader and poet Petar II Petrovic Njegos. There are 460 stairs to climb so you can reach the peak where the mausoleum is, still it is worthy as there you will enjoy its beauty and great story with 360 degrees view on Montenegro. After, when we come at Ivanova Korita, we will have some free time enjoying the heart of Lovcen mountain national park. We will continue in direction of Cetinje, where we will visit the local household – honey farm in the village near Cetinje and have lunch. Here you will be able to try traditional Montenegrin cuisine and various kinds of liqueurs that are mixed with the honey through the manufacturing process (honey wine, different sorts of the fruit liqueurs with the wine…), you will hear family stories and enjoy interior of 200 years old family house. After lunch and great experience your guide will take you through the historical parts of Cetinje that is just nearby the village and honey farm. In Cetinje you will visit its most important monuments, beautiful parks and charming promenades. You will see the famous Blue Palace and many old embassies. You will get to see the ruins of old Cetinje Monastery from the 15th century and the 19th century Cipuri church before we come to the Monastery of Cetinje, which was rebuilt at the beginning of the 18th century. You will see the Biljarda castle, then monument dedicated to Ivan Crnojevic, King Nicholas palace and many others. After the Cetinje walking tour, you will have some free time and we will proceed towards Podgorica. Check in at the hotel. Free time and overnight.

After the breakfast, check out from the hotel and departure for our city tour in Podgorica. We will visit remains of Ottoman old town and continue to see the part of the town mostly built during the time of Communism when the town was known as Titograd, named by the former Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz Tito. You will see its institutions, parks, bridges and monuments of former leaders as you walk through the charming streets of Podgorica. Now will head to the vine region of Montenegro characteristic for its small traditional wineries, small vine yards but famous of its autochthonous red-black grape. Our first host will host us in his local village, showing us its vineyard, its little cellar, and we will hear stories of its family tradition while we are trying few different types of wine, liqueurs and traditional food. After the first visit and sightseeing, we would start a 1 hour and a half boat ride through the national park Lake Skadar. We will enjoy its channel and open zone full of beautiful panorama, stories, and if we are lucky you will see some rare sort of birds, as there are more than 260 species you can find in the national park. If the weather conditions allow, you can have a swim. You will enjoy the most beautiful parts of the National park – Lake Skadar and hear the story of its flora, fauna and how important it is not only as a natural resort, but also for the history of Montenegro. For refreshments, our host on the boat will serve us with delicious homemade donuts and drinks (water and juices). After, we will proceed again to the region of Podgorica to visit one of the most important wine producers - company - Plantaze covering with its vineyard an impressive area of 2.300 ha in one complex and is the biggest of that kind in Europe. You will visit former military airport hidden in the hill, and today it is a company vine cellar more than 300 m long. You will have a great tour and combine the food and wine of this region (vegetarian, meat or fish menu prepared by one of the most famous chefs of former Yugoslavia region and combined with the particular wine). Back to our accommodation in Podgorica. Overnight.

We will continue our drive for 1 hour in direction of the famous remote Orthodox monastery - Ostrog, one of the most famous monasteries in Orthodox tradition visited by thousands of visitors every month. We will visit its lower monastery of Saint Trinity before we go to the Upper monastery where we will visit its oldest part from 17th century and see the remains of Saint Basil (its founder and protector). Afterwards, we will go down the same way back to the bus. We will continue toward a local household in a village near Niksic. You will sample different kinds of home-made products specially prepared by our hosts like three different kinds of fruit brand, honey, specialties of meat, juices and cheese all prepared in the traditional Montenegrin way. You will feel the good known Montenegrin hospitality on the every step of the tour. You will see the interiors of an old Montenegrin home and learn about how food was prepared and preserved during the winters. Our host will also show you how they make honey and if you like they will give you a protection suit and a hat and explain to you how the bee community functions. In spring and summer, the colors are impressive as our host have more than 20 trees of different kinds of fruit. We will arrive to our accommodation near Zabljak, where we will check in and have spare time before diner. Overnight in Zabljak.

After the breakfast, we will go in the heart of Durmitor national park, with river Tara creating the only natural zone in Montenegro protected by UNESCO World Heritage. We will have a great panoramic tour called Circle around Durmitor. Here we will drive through the heart of Durmitor National Park taking a look at the mountains highest peaks, with a few stops for picture taking and breathing in the nature around us. After, we will visit one of the national restaurants of north where you will try its specialties - Kacamak, Durmitor steak and similar… You will visit the most beautiful and biggest of Durmitor's 18 glacial lakes – Black Lake. The trail that will take you around the lake, and environment around it covered with the pine forest, makes this place one of the top destinations in Montenegro for nature lovers. The tour will last around 1 hour and 30 minutes. Free time until dinner. Dinner would be served again in one of the local national restaurants where you will try Tara river trout. Overnight.

After the breakfast we start our journey. We will continue our ride in direction of Kolasin and on our way there we will make a short break to visit famous Djurdjevica Tara Bridge from 1937, one of the miracles of Yugoslavia old architecture. You can have coffee, take photos, and walk over the bridge. We will continue over this beautiful canyon and arrange lunch in one of the local restaurants near the Tara River. Following the beautiful canyon of Tara river, we will arrive at Biogradska Gora national park with its very popular tourist attraction, the Lake Biogradsko, and one of the few remaining virgin forests in Europe. We will take a leisurely stroll around the lake with loads of photo opportunities to capture its breath-taking beauty. In Kolasin, you can try the signature dish of the region – called Kačamak. This strong dish is typical for the north region of Montenegro. It is a mix of cheese, crème cheese, corn flower and potatoes. Later, we will take a ride in direction of Podgorica through the canyon of river Moraca, and we will have the chance to once again enjoy a great panoramic road. Drive back to Podgorica. Free time. Overnight.

Breakfast and check out. Free time for shopping, lunch or walking through the town, until the transfer to the airport. Arrival at the airport and departure.